“Shit, this is a pretty swanky room”, Michael Novotony commented as he walked around his shared hotel room in the Trinidad island.

 

 

“Ohhh, isn’t it just?!” squealed his room-mate and close friend, Emmett Honeycutt. He jumped up and down, clapping his hands together in excitement as he spoke. “This vacation is going to be life changing, I just know it”, he said decidedly. Michael chuckled at his friend’s unashamed and unreserved flamboyance and enthusiasm.

 

 

There was a loud knock heard at the door. Michael smiled and danced right on over to the door, already knowing who it would be. Sure enough, he opened the door to see his incredibly handsome life-long best friend, Brian Kinney. He smirked at Michael, obviously sensing the excitement from both of his friends. “Mikey”, he greeted, reaching over to grab his friend’s face and plant a big, wet kiss on his cheek.

 

 

“Brian”, Michael greeted back, wiping the wetness off his face with a smile. He stepped aside for Brian to enter the room.

 

 

Brian let out a surprised “oaf” when Emmett practically jumped on him, pulling the man into a tight hug. “Brian I am so glad you suggested this trip!” the queen shouted out. “And that you found this amazing hotel!”

 

 

“Yeah, yeah Honeycutt, now will you let me go?!” Brian choked out.

 

 

Emmett released his pal after giving his body one last squeeze. He toyed with the idea of refusing to let go, but decided he didn’t want to ruin Brian’s seemingly good mood by annoying him. “Sorry sweets” he said with a tongue-in-cheek, but friendly smile.

 

 

Brian shook his head but smiled nevertheless. “Why are you already so damn excited? We’ve only been here three hours” Brian reminded the queen.

 

 

“I know, I know. It’s just that I have a really good feeling about this trip”, Emmett admitted. He quickly became animated again, resuming to jump up and down while shouting out, “Tonight we are going to hit the town!”

 

 

The other two men rolled their eyes through their laughter. “Oh hell yeah”, Brian agreed. Although he thought his friend was being overly dramatic as usual, he couldn’t disagree with him. Something told Brian that this particular trip would one to remember. He had been the one to suggest to his friends that they travel to the islands of Trinidad and Tobago while on break from college. Not surprisingly, they had all agreed with great enthusiasm. And so, two week later, Brian Kinney took Emmett Honeycutt, Michael Novotony, Lindsay Peterson and Melanie Marcus to a place unlike any place they’d experienced before.     

 

 

---

 

 

Justin Taylor was awoken by a nudge on his arm. He slowly opened his eyes to see his friend James Hunter Montgomery fulling a ridiculous face at him. The teenager let instantly sat up straighter in his plane seat and let out a soft, confused chuckle. “We’re about to land”, Hunter told him, explaining his waking his friend up.

 

 

The prompted Justin to sit up even straighter, a smile growing on his face. Oh yeah, I am so ready for this, he thought with excitement. He had been waiting all year for the senior trip and finally, FINALLY they were there. In fact, Justin himself had been on the committee of students and teachers planning the trip. They had decided on the island of Trinidad, to become involved in an unfamiliar culture and to help build a new building in a local school that needed all the assistance they could get.   

 

 

Several minutes later, the plane had landed and the chaperoning teachers were calling out instructions to the students before they all raced off the aircraft. Less than an hour later, the school group were on buses and on their way to their hotel, which Justin happened to know, was a good one. Chatter from many eager teenagers filled the bus Justin and his friends were on.

 

 

“Oh my Gosh, I am so fricken’ excited!” exclaimed Daphne Chanders from her spot behind Justin and Hunter. Both boys turned their heads back and nodded enthusiastically. “Holy shit!” she yelled suddenly.

 

 

“What, Daph?” Justin asked, both confused and amused.

 

 

The teenage girl bounced up and down in her seat and pointed ahead of her, out the front window of the bus. “We’re here!!!” she squealed. Hunter and Justin snapped their heads back around to the front in unison to view the grand hotel they were approaching. Hunter lifted up his hand to give Justin a triumphant high-five.

 

 

“Hell-the-fuck-yeah!” Hunter called out, prompting several students around him to laugh.

 

 

Mr. Christianson, the head teacher of the trip, however, did not find this remark funny at all. “James Montgomery!” he chided, shaking his head. A low “oooohhhh” from all the buzzing teenagers sounded around the bus. Mr. Christianson rolled his eyes while Hunter merely smirked. This God-darn kid, thought the teacher.

 

 

“Oh come on, Sir! Lighten up!” Hunter urged. “We’re in Trinidad! Don’t tell me you’re not excited.”

 

 

This was met with a forced disapproving look from the teacher. What the students didn’t know was that he was suppressing a big ol’ smile. Because Hunter was right; the man was incredibly excited, just like the rest of ‘em.       

 

 

---

 

 

Emmett crossed his arms impatiently while he waited with his other male friends for Melanie and Lindsay in the hotel lobby. “Remind me why we invited along a sex-crazed lesbian couple to come with us”, he said to Brian. “Are they ever going to get their butts down here?!”

 

 

Just as he had finished speaking the words, the two very women they were waiting for tumbled out of the elevator, giggling and holding hands. “Sorry to keep you waiting fellas”, chuckled a very pleased-looking Lindsay. The boys shared a look, not believing that either of the girls were really sorry at all.

 

 

“’Bout time”, Brian remarked. “Now that we’re all present”, he began, looking right at the two loved-up ladies that had kept them waiting for fifteen minutes, “Let’s get to site-seeing. We can pick out all the cool bars we want to check out later when it’s dark.”

 

 

Melanie scoffed, causing everyone to turn their heads to look at her. “Is that all you ever think about, Kinney? Booze?”

 

 

“Of course not”, Michael answered for his friend. “All he ever thinks about is getting laid.”

 

 

All the friends laughed, including Brian. “That’s for sure”, Lindsay giggled. “I bet you’ll be scoping out all the hot guys on the town the entire time we’re here”, she said, addressing Brian directly.

 

 

“That may or may not have been a part of my plan”, Brian said with a mischievous wink.

 

 

And with that, the group exited the building, intent on enjoying the island.

 

 

“Oh shit sticks”, Michael grumbled. Melanie, Lindsay and Emmett all groaned when the spotted what their friend was complaining about. “Teenagers.”

 

 

“High schoolers”, Emmett added, unimpressed at the arrival of the fellow hotel guests.

 

 

The friends watched as the group of school kids all climbed out the buses, collected their luggage and bundled into the hotel. “Why, of all hotels, did they have to pick the same hotel we did?” Melanie complained. Emmett shook his head, clearly less than impressed with having to share a hotel with a bunch of no-doubt trouble-making, loud, smart-ass teenagers.

 

 

Brian, however, was too busy staring at what had to be the most stunning boy he had ever laid eyes on. The man had to stop himself from drooling as he ogled the teenager. Standing at the end of one of the buses, presumably waiting for something, was a gorgeous kid who had porcelain skin, sunshine blond hair, perfectly pink, kissable lips and the bluest eyes Brian had ever seen. Even though they were several feet away, Brian could tell; this boy was beautiful. “Holy mother of God”, he murmured to himself, completely forgetting the presence of his annoyed friends.  

 

 

Each of Brian’s said friends turned to look at him with one raised brow on each of their faces. Michael followed his friend’s gaze and spotted the very blond that had his complete attention at the moment. “Oh no”, he said flatly, turning back to the seemingly entranced brunet. “Hell no.”

 

 

Emmett was incredibly confused. “What? What is it sweetie?” he asked, with slight concern, in case something was really wrong.

 

 

Michael rolled his eyes as he glanced at his other friends, then to Brian again. “Brian do not even think about fucking a high school kid. He can’t be more than sixteen!”

 

 

The other three friends instantly understood what had Michael complaining this time, and all followed Brian’s gaze to the blond kid as well. Brian smirked, not taking his eyes off the fair beauty. Lindsay delivered a smack to Brian’s upper arm. “Kinney, don’t you dare!”

 

 

It was only then that Brian turned had head to stare into the faces of his friends. “What? Surely you’re not accusing me of planning to do anything unthinkable with a teenager.” He got several blank, unamused stares back at him. “I’ll have you people know, I am always the perfect gentleman.”

 

 

“Yeah right Brian, and I’m a 6ft4 Jamaican man with a twelve inch dick”, Michael remarked, not believing one word of his friend’s bullshit. He knew him. They all knew him. Brian Kinney may have his charms, but around a hot peace of ass, a gentleman he was not.

 

 

“You wish”, Brian joked.

 

 

Michael rolled his eyes and gave Brian another smack on his arm. “Don’t change the subject Kinney, that’s not the point here.” Brian just looked at Michael as if he had no clue what he was talking about. The Italian man let out a frustrated sigh before continuing on. “Alright, Kinney, listen to me and listen good. Do. Not. Fuck. A. Stupid. Teenager.”

 

 

“You haven’t even talked to him and you’re already calling him stupid. What happened to the understanding, accepting Mikey we all know and love?”

 

 

“All he’s saying is that teenagers can be bad news, Brian. They can give you a ton of grief. Fuck one, it’s he’ll be nothing but trouble”, Lindsay said as calmly as she could, not wanting to cause a stir.

 

 

Brian snorted and rolled his eyes. “Will you all relax?! I’m a big boy and you needn’t worry a single hair on your pretty little heads about me. The kid is safe from big bad Brian Kinney”, he assured them. “Still”, he mused, looking back at the boy, who now stood with two other laughing kids. “He is one fine-looking thing.”

 

 

The four other adults all rolled their eyes yet again at their horny friend’s never-ending checking out of men, or in this case, a boy. Lindsay and Melanie stood on either side of the stud and grabbed an arm each, dragging him away, with Emmett and Michael walking behind them. “Come on you”, Melanie said as they walked. “We’ve got an island to explore.”

 

 

Still watching the glorious blond, Brian noticed him and his friends begin to follow the other kids into the hotel entrance with their bags. Their eyes locked briefly and Brian gave him a flirtatious smile, accompanied with a wink. He laughed at the look of utter astonishment on the kid’s face as his friends tugged him away as fast as they could.   

 

 

---

 

 

Hours later, the teens had all settled into their rooms for the night, although Daphne had decided to hang out in Hunter and Justin’s room until lights out. “So”, she began, speaking to her friends while comfortably sitting atop Justin’s bed. “we need to figure out how we’re going to have fun ‘under the radar’, if you know what I mean”, she finished mischievously.

 

 

Hunter gave the girl a blank stare, coked his head and said in a little boy voice, “Gee Daph, I’m not so sure I know what you mean.” He swiftly dodged the pillow she threw at him in response.

 

 

“Daph, I don’t think it’s such a good idea to breech the rules anyway”, Justin told her.

 

 

“Oh, I’m not talking about breeching the rules. We are going to completely break them”, she replied with a cheeky grin. Hunter nodded, a twin devilish grin on his own face.

 

 

Justin laughed and rolled his eyes. “Come on, guys. We’ve put a lot of planning into this trip. You don’t want to spoil it by getting caught doing something stupid, do you?” he pleaded.

 

 

This time, it was Justin dodging a pillow being launched at him. “Will you relax?! I just want to be able to have a little night fun in this place. What’s the worst that could happen?”

 

 

It took less than a second to respond. “We could be sent home, or arrested, or kidnapped”, he said flatly.

 

 

Daphne and Hunter exchanged looks before rolling their eyes at their dramatic friend. “What about that guy who was making eyes at you out the front, huh?” Hunter asked, referring to the handsome young stranger Justin had noticed staring at him outside the hotel earlier. In fact, the stranger had been the most gorgeous man Justin had ever seen. He was tall, with lightly bronzed, toned skin, chestnut brown hair, and beautiful hazel eyes. “Maybe you could get to know him a little better, get him to fuck you, even”, Hunter suggested, waggling his eyebrows.

 

 

As expected, Justin instantly turned beat red. “Hunter…shut up!” Justin laughed, pegging the ‘attack’ pillow in his direction. Caught by surprise, Hunter was hit smack-bang in his face. The three friends all burst out into laughter. They laughed so hard, that there were tears in their eyes.

 

 

It was true, Justin had let his mind wander off to thoughts of the beautiful man that winked at him that afternoon. He’d even toyed with the idea of speaking to him during dinner or something like that. Justin would be happy with any time he got with the man. But he hadn’t seen the man at dinner. He hadn’t seen him since that brief moment they walked past each other and his heart almost stopped completely at the lovely smile he’d received.

 

 

He wondered if that time he passed him would be first and last time he’ll ever lay eyes on him.

 

 

---

      

 

Brian smirked and shook his head as he downed another drink and watched Michael passionately kiss the hot guy he’d been dancing with ever since they’d arrived at the club they were in. Mikey is so getting some tonight, Brian thought, both pleased and proud.

 

 

After another song, Michael pulled Ben towards Brian and the girls at the bar. A second later, Emmett appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. “Guys, this is Ben. Ben Bruckner”, Michael said, introducing his date to his friends.

 

 

Ben reached out to shake everyone’s hands as they all introduced themselves. Emmett and Brian were very impressed by Michael’s choice of dance partner for the night. Ben was built like superman, which seemed a perfect fit for a comic fanatic like Mikey. He was real handsome, too. “So, some guys I know are holding this boat party in two nights time, and I’d like you to come”, Ben said to Michael after some friendly chit-chat with everyone. He looked up and smiled a superhero smile and added, “If you guys would come along too, that’d be great.”

 

 

“I’d love to”, Michael said, completely wrapped in Ben. Emmett cleared his throat dramatically and nudged Michael with his elbow. “Oh, uh…I mean we’d love to.” Briefly glancing at his friends for confirmation, Michael added with confidence, “We’ll all be there.”

 

 

This seemed to please Ben, as he pulled Michael in for a big kiss. “That’s fantastic”, he whispered once they’d pulled away ever-so-slightly.

 

 

“Naw”, Melanie and Lindsay gushed at the pair. Michael beamed despite his blush.

 

 

“Our first night here, and we’ve already been invited to a hot party”, Brian said. “Way to go, Mikey”, he gave his friend an encouraging pat on the back, who poked his tongue out at him jokingly.

 

 

The real fun will begin at that party, Brian decided. Something in his gut told him that what Emmett had said earlier about their trip being one to remember would somehow tie into this party. Brian did not know just how right he was, but he would soon find out…

 

 

TBC

 

---

  

 

 

TWO DAYS LATER

 

 

Justin took a quick sip of water before putting the water bottle back into his satchel bag. He raced over back to where he was helping to cut wooden planks with a mechanical hand-saw earlier. Justin and his classmates had spent all day helping out at the building site at the elementary school, just like the previous day, and they had made great progress.  It was now late afternoon, and the group had become increasingly tired as the hours seemed to drag on and on in the heat.

 

 

Twenty minutes later, which felt a whole lot longer than it was, Mr. Christianson was ‘rounding up the troops’ to head back to the hotel for some relaxing. More than happy to comply with the orders of their teachers, the kids all got packed up and piled onto the buses in no time.

 

 

Hunter smiled at Justin as he wiped some sweat off his brow. “I can not wait to get out of this damn heat!” he said, relieved that they were on their way.

 

 

Daphne leaned over so her head was between Justin and Hunter’s seats, as she normally did. “Hey guys, when we get back, everybody’s planning to chill out in the pool for a while”, she told them.

 

 

“I was going to suggest we do that anyway”, Justin replied, nodding his head with a smile. A dip in a nice, cool pool sounded very appealing to the teenager, as it did to every other person on the bus. Justin was admittedly proud of the work the school group had been able to get done on the new classroom that day, and what he’d contributed. He felt they all deserved a little fun in reward.

 

 

The boy was pulled from his trail of thought when Hunter pinched him on the arm, sensing that he was out of it. When Justin demanded what his friend wanted, only feigning annoyance at the hard pinch, Hunter gave him a naughty smirk and said, “Maybe ‘Mr. hunk-a-licious’ you’ve been daydreaming about will be there, watching your ass in the water.” Daphne burst out laughing at the deep red blush on their Justin’s cheeks in response to this comment. Without warning, he reached over and whacked his friend right in the stomach. “Ouch! Hey man, I’m just teasing you”, he insisted.

 

 

“Yeah, yeah. You still deserved that hit, though”, Justin said, trying his very best to suppress his laughter, to no avail. Seconds later, the three friends were laughing until there were tears in their eyes.

 

 

*****

 

 

An hour later, Justin and Hunter waited for Daphne to meet them down at the pool. Hunter was beginning to get impatient, when the girl pranced up to them in a too-cute pink, one-piece bathing suit. “Heya fellas!” she greeted cheerfully. Justin grinned at her in response, while Hunter’s eyes nearly popped out of his head as he took the glorious sight of his dark skinned friend in. It was not the first time the boy had admired Daphne’s looks. “Shall we?” she asked, gesturing to the inviting-looking pool, already full of boisterous teenagers.

 

 

“Hell yeah!” exclaimed Justin. The three young friends all raced over to the water and jumped in, in a flash. Soon, nearly the entire senior class were in the large, glamorous pool, splashing, laughing and having the time of their lives.

 

 

Justin noticed Daphne admiring Hunter’s dripping wet body as he stood at the edge of the pool, poised for a dive. Justin leaned over and whispered into the girl’s ear, “Admiring the view?” Daphne’s eyes widened, realising that she’d been caught out staring. Instead of answering Justin’s somewhat rhetorical question, Miss Chanders blushed profusely.         

 

      

Her face then changed as her eyes settled upon something apparently above them. “Oh, look, your admirer is back!” she pointed out, nodding up at one of the balconies overlooking the pool area.

 

 

Justin looked up, following his friend’s gaze to see none other than the gorgeous man who winked at him two days earlier. Standing on a light red balcony, the beautiful man was staring right at Justin…again. The blond felt his heartbeat pick up slightly. Holy…Hot…Dayum! he thought, praying he hadn’t shouted it out loud instead.    

 

 

---

 

 

Brian Kinney smirked as he looked out at the view from his hotel balcony. It was a near perfect sight of the magnificent pool area. But what really made the view worthwhile was the very same beautiful boy he’d been almost drooling over two days earlier. His smile and eyes turned flirtatious when the teen finally looked up at him from his place in the pool. Although the blond was surrounded by multiple other animated bodies, Brian only had eyes for him.

 

 

This was not exactly a common occurrence for Brian. Sure, he’d seen many hot pieces of ass over the years, but this kid seemed a little different. Usually, when Brian Kinney saw something he liked, he would walk right over and claim it as his until he was bored with it. He knew he was a little shallow in this way, but ‘Brian Fucking Kinney’, as his friends called him, did not care; he did what he wanted, all others be damned.

 

 

But this young man Brian could not seem to take his eyes off, was unlike any man he’d ever seen…or fucked. Never before had Brian thought a guy was beautiful. The way the boy blushed made Brian sure he was indeed gay as well, but Mikey was right; this kid couldn’t be more than sixteen years old! Despite being somewhat of a slut in his own right, Brian Kinney still did have morals. Morals that included not taking the innocence from an underage teenager, no matter how attractive he may be. Perhaps this was one reason Brian was so captivated with him; he was forbidden fruit.

 

 

Brian always did like breaking the rules.      

 

---

 

 

Daphne and Justin jumped as Hunter suddenly barged into the hotel room, flinging the door open carelessly and dancing inside. “Guess what we’re doing tonight?” he said, rather than asked in an expressive voice. “Some guy downstairs is inviting people to this boat party his buddy is throwing, and I scored us an invite!” he announced.

 

 

“Way to go, Hunter!” Daphne cheered, jumping off the bed to run over to give her friend a high-five. “Alright! We are gonna par-tay!”

 

 

The two teenagers danced about in a silly fashion, laughing at their own ridiculousness, realising after several seconds that Justin was not joining in on their celebrating. Daphne cocked her head at the boy and asked, “What’s up with you? Don’t you want to live it up?” She shook her hips and waved her arms about to emphasise her idea of ‘living it up’.

 

 

Justin sank back into the arm chair he was comfortably sitting on and shrugged. “I don’t know if sneaking out to some stranger’s party is such a good idea…” he said, not meeting his friend’s stares.

 

 

“Oh come on, where’s your sense of adventure?” Daphne asked, walking towards him, Hunter following closely behind her…getting a nice view of her behind. “Didn’t you want to come out here to experience new things? Well a hot boat party in a different part of the world is something none of us have done before…” she said persuasively, continuing to inch forward.

 

 

The blond teen on the arm chair was not yet convinced. “Daph, we’ve only been here a couple days. If we get caught, we’ll be sent home. Do you really want to be kicked off the trip so early on? The trip that I helped to plan?!”

 

 

Hunter stepped out from behind Daphne to stand right in front of Justin. “Look at me Justin, and listen to me carefully.” He placed his hands on the boy’s shoulders as he continued, “Nothing bad is going to happen to us. We won’t be the only St. James kids there; plenty of others got invited as well. We just want one night of secret, outrageous fun, and then I promise to behave for the rest of the trip.”

 

 

“Yeah and what’s one night?” Daphne added.

 

 

Justin looked back and forth between his friend’s eager faces as they waited for his decision. He still didn’t feel completely comfortable with breaking the rules and sneaking out, but he believed that his friends would not let anything bad happen to him. They would stick together, always. Finally, he sighed and nodded slowly. “Urgh, fine. But if there is any funny business, I am so blaming you guys”, he said.

 

 

Daphne squealed in delight and jumped up and down, clapping her hands. Hunter settled for giving his bro a high-five. “This is going to be a total blast!” exclaimed Daphne.

 

 

*****

 

 

A little under forty minutes later, the three ‘outlaws’, all ready for the party, arrived at the dock in a cab. After paying the cab driver, Hunter and Daph excitedly ran over to the party boat, decorated in coloured lights. Justin trailed behind them, nowhere near as glad to be there as his crazy friends were.

 

 

They raced onto the boat, and Justin immediately spotted things that made him think this was a really bad idea. As he’d expected, there was a bottle or can of some sort of booze in just about every party guest’s hand. He did not want to be in charge of carrying a drunken Daphne or Hunter back to their hotel, where they would no doubt be caught.

 

 

“Shit”, he mumbled, spotting some people, including some of his fellow classmates snorting what was quite obviously cocaine.

 

 

Daphne nudged his arm with hers. “Oh, will you relax?!” she asked slowly. “I promise not to get wasted. Now stop grumbling and start trying to have a little fun!” Justin merely nodded his head and stopped himself from rolling his eyes. “Good”, she said. “I’m gonna go dance, okay? You two have fun!”

 

 

Before the pair could respond, she was off. “Shit, well I’m gonna go look for something to drink”, Hunter told Justin, who was starting to think that maybe just maybe, a drink was exactly what he needed.

 

 

“Get me something while you’re at it, will ya?” he asked. Hunter smirked and nodded, seemingly pleased that his friend looked to really be trying to relax and enjoy himself. Justin made his way around the boat, deciding that standing around doing nothing would be indefinitely pathetic and boring. “Oh jeeze”, he muttered, struggling to move past a couple who looked like they were trying to eat each other’s faces.

 

 

This is going to be a looong night, he thought, clutching the strap of his satchel tightly. And how right he was…

 

 

---

 

 

“Guys, these are my friends Ted and Brandon”, Ben introduced Michael and his gang to his own friends.

 

 

“Brian”, Ted greeted the stud. “Lindsay. I had no idea you two were coming out here for break as well.”

 

 

Ben looked surprised that his long-term friend was apparently already acquainted with two of Michael’s friends. “Theodore”, Brian returned the greeting with a hand shake and a smile, as did Lindsay. “What a pleasant surprise.”

 

 

Noticing Ben and Brandon looking at him in question, Ted realised he was expected to explain how he knew these two people. “Brian, Lindsay and I all go to the same college.” Ted’s two friends nodded, Ben marvelling at the coincidence. “And Mel”, Ted said, only just noticing the dark haired woman. He reached over to shake her hand as well. “We work together as assistants at the same law firm, just in different departments”, he explained to his friends again. But that was not all.

 

 

“Teddy, it’s so great to see you again!” Emmett said with sincere kindness. He gave the short man a quick hug.

 

 

“Hey there, Ted”, Michael greeted, shaking his hand. This time, it was he who explained this acquaintance to Ben. “We’ve met a couple times because of Bri, or Mel, or Lindz, or around Liberty Avenue.”

 

 

Ben laughed and shook his head. “Well it’s amazing how small a world we live in”, he said, receiving nods from his friends, old and new, in agreement.

 

 

Pleasantries were exchanged between Brandon and the rest of the gang, until he got to Brian. They exchanged a knowing smirk and shook each other’s hands. “Brandon. So, ‘Mr. Good-fuck’ has a name, it seems”, Brian joked, pulling an amused laugh from Brandon. Noticing his friend’s stares on him, Brian explained, “We fucked at the white party last year. It was fun, too. Especially since we never exchanged names.” Brandon laughed again at this.  

 

 

“Why am I not surprised?” Mel remarked.

 

 

“You know, I was just about to say exactly the same thing”, Michael said. Brian’s friends all exchanged a look; they knew their guy all too well. All this was in jest, of course.

 

 

Ted offered to fetch people drinks, which they all accepted gratefully. After standing around as a large group, chatting for a short while, Ben leaned in and whispered to Michael, “You wanna go somewhere more private?” Michael nodded, almost shyly, his eyes sparkling. All evening Ben had been looking at Michael like he wanted to eat him up. The pair excused themselves and raced off together like a bunch of lovesick teenagers.

 

 

This was what caused the large group to disband. Mel and Lindz disappeared when no one had noticed them sneaking off. Emmett was having fun catching up with Ted, whom he hadn’t seen in quite some time, but was very fond of, and vice-versa. As for Brandon, he’d sauntered off to hit on a cute guy who’d been eye-balling him since he got there. 

 

 

So Brian was left on his own, which he did not mind one bit. Truthfully, Brian quite enjoyed his own company. He stood near the back of the boat, a beer in hand, watching the stars in the night sky. There were so many of them. The stars looked so much prettier out there than they did in the city area of Pittsburgh, Brian noticed.

 

 

Feeling a nice mix of relaxation and buzz, Brian was having a fairly good time. That was until he was pulled from his thoughts by a body crashing into his. “Oomph!” Brian staggered backwards, trying to regain his balance, which had unexpectedly been taken from him. “Watch where you’re going, jackass!” he growled. Looking up, Brian saw a pleasantly surprising face. Standing before him, wide-eyed and blushing, was the beautiful blond kid from the hotel.

 

 

The blond looked rather taken aback- at having crashed into someone in the first place, and the fact that it was ‘his’ gorgeous brunet that he had crashed into. “Oh…uh…s-sorry. I didn’t mean to…uh…” the kid stuttered, laughing nervously when he’d run out of ramblings.

 

 

Brian’s expression changed a little. If he was honest, he was kind if glad he was getting to see ‘his’ blond again, and this time up close and personal. He smiled ever-so-slightly to help relax the nervous boy. “Are you always this nervous? I’m not going to kill you, you know”, he said lightly.

 

 

“Huh? Oh…n-no…I’m not always nervous…I mean, only most of the time…and I-I know you’re not going to kill me. Cause that’d be crazy, right? Ha…ha…” Brian could tell the kid had never wanted to disappear more than he had right in that moment. The blond’s face burned with embarrassment and Brian knew he thought he was making an absolute fool of himself.

 

 

Brian interrupted the kid, saving him from embarrassing himself even further, although Brian was not really judging him at all. “Kid, you need to relax”, he said. The blond nodded and gave Brian a small, but beautiful smile. “Only make sure you look where you are going next time”, he advised in a joking manner. “You took me out like a bowling pin back there.”

 

 

“Yeah, sorry. I…I tripped”, the teenager explained, almost lamely with a shrug and shy smile. Brian looked the boy up and down, liking what he saw. This kid is even more beautiful up close, he decided. He noticed the pink tinge return to the kid’s cheeks upon Brian’s ‘inspection’ of him with his eyes.

 

 

The brunet stud leaned in close to the boy with a smirk. “Why don’t you go get your friends and get on home”, he suggested in a whisper. It was not nasty or condescending, but friendly instead. “You don’t want to get into any trouble, now do you?”

 

 

The blond stepped back and looked up at him with a quirked brow. “In case you haven’t noticed…we’re kinda on a moving boat. I can’t ‘get on home’”, he pointed out.

 

 

“Oh, right. That’s right…Heh, maybe I’ve had more to drink than I thought I’d had”, Brian responded. He gave the kid another smirk and looked into his eyes intently. “On that though, I’m out”, he announced and tipped his empty bottle over to watch a few drops drip out. “Stay out of trouble, you hear”, Brian called over his shoulder as he walked away from the delicious boy, intent on getting himself another beer.

 

 

For some reason, talking to the kid for the first time, however short and unusual a conversation it may have been, felt amazing. Brian loved the ways the boy seemed to always react to him. With stuttering and shy smiles and blushes. He’s fucken’ adorable.

 

 

---

 

 

Justin had not been having a great time. He hadn’t seen Daphne at all since she’d dashed off as soon as they’d arrived at the damn party. So he’d hung around with Hunter for a while, doing some light drinking. That was until Hunter decided to hit on a group of three slutty-looking girls, taking turns sucking each of their tongues. This was something that Justin simply could not stomach. So he wondered off on his own. Towards the back of the boat.

 

 

He heard his phone beep, signalling that he’d gotten a message. Justin was so concentrated on getting his phone out of his satchel and reading the message, that he completely missed the large bag placed inconsiderately on the floor.

 

 

“Woah!” Justin tumbled over the bag and his body flew right into another one. Holy shit! he thought as he flung into the other person; the larger, strong body he sensed made him think instinctively that it was a man. “Sorry! I’m so sorry!” he rambled in such a way that his words were almost nonsensical. Looking up, his heart skipped a beat. He was right; he had crashed into a poor, unsuspecting man. Only this man was pleasantly familiar. It was the handsome hazel-eyed brunet from the hotel.

 

 

At first, the harsh sound of the gorgeous man’s voice made Justin worry that he was angry…with good reason. But looking up into the man’s softening face, Justin realised that the guy recognised him as well. In fact, unless Justin’s mind was playing tricks on him, he thought that the man was actually glad to see him. They bantered on for a short while about virtually nothing, Justin making an idiot of himself by saying the most stupid things…and stuttering, too! Eventually, the man left in obvious search for more booze.

 

 

He’d told Justin to stay out of trouble. Ha! Well I’m not the one who actually goes looking for trouble. You’ll have to talk to my friends about that, seeing as they’re experts at breaking the rules and dragging me into all their ludicrous shenanigans, Justin thought.

 

 

Several minutes later, the party came to a halt and the sound of sirens were heard. “Oh shit”, Justin said to himself.

 

 

The Trinidad water police.

 

 

People dashed to tip all the drugs off the boat and hide as much of the booze they could before the nearing police boat arrived. And officer announced that the party was over and that a quick raid would commence over a megaphone. “Aw man”, one loser moaned in disappointment.  

 

 

Justin backed away, lifting his head to peer into the crowd to see if he could spot where his two ‘idiot’ friends had gotten to. He was not at all pleased with them at the moment. They’d convinced him to come, promising that they’d stick together and that they would not be caught, yet neither of these things turned out to be true. “God darnit”, he muttered under his breath.

 

 

People were moving quickly around the boat, rushing all around the irritated teen. Someone even managed to knock his satchel off his shoulder. Sighing, Justin bent down to pick it up again, but when he stood up, some big guy bumped into him while running past him, sending the teen flying backward. Justin felt himself hit something, undoubtedly another person again on his way backward.

 

 

But it did not stop there. It was not just a light bump in which Justin only fell back a small distance. It was a hard shove, and since the teenager had already been standing not too far away from the edge, he, along with the poor innocent soul he’d crashed into, went tumbling off the back of the boat and into the cool water.

 

 

“Fuck!” two voices cried out in unison as they toppled into the cold Caribbean Sea.

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED…         

---

 

 

Brian spat water out of his mouth as he broke through the surface of the sea. “Urgh, fucken’ hell”, he growled, blinking sea water out of his eyes. Another person, the fool who’d pushed Brian into the ocean in the first place, surfaced soon after Brian did. He too spat and sputtered about. “Hey, you moron! What the fuck was that?!” Brian yelled while trying to stay afloat.

 

 

Said fool turned around to face a furious Brian. Shit. AGAIN, it was the same blond kid from before! Christ, how many times am I going to literally bump into this kid? Brian thought. Sure, the boy was hotter than hot, but that didn’t change the fact that he was apparently as clumsy as a person can possibly get. “Fuck, you again. You really need to get a set of eyes!”

 

 

“I am so fucking sorry, I don’t even know what the hell happened”, the blond rambled as they both made their way over to the dinghy precariously tied to the main boat with a rope. Unbeknownst to either man, the rope was incredibly weak and in danger of snapping at any moment.  

 

 

Brian hoisted himself up and climbed into the dinghy first, speaking as he moved. “I’ll tell you what happened; you are a total and complete klutz who needs to think before he moves.” Brian at least was courteous enough to assist the gorgeous ‘airhead’ into the dinghy to sit in front of him. It was more than the kid deserved, in Brian’s eyes.

 

 

“Hey, shut up, will you?! I am not a ‘total klutz’! It wasn’t even my fault!” the boy defended himself.

 

 

This ought to be good, Brian figured. “Oh it’s not, is it? Well would you mind telling me whose fault it actually was then, huh?” he demanded.

 

 

The blond huffed as he shifted in his position in the dinghy. “You saw what was going on. People started moving around like crazy when the police showed up. Some fat lard of a jerk shoved me backwards, and I crashed into you before hitting the water! It wasn’t my fault that an idiot who didn’t even notice who he was bumping into or where he was going, practically threw us in!” One thing was clear to Brian from the boy’s little speech; the kid was angry. Well, so was Brian.

 

 

“Yeah, well you’re lucky that this damn dinghy is here, cause there is no way we could climb back onto the boat from here. And if there wasn’t any kind of life boat or anything, you would be so dead. In fact, you’re lucky I don’t have your neck right now, kid”, Brian told him.

 

 

The teenager’s expression transformed from frustration to pure anger. Brian watched as his blue eyes darkened and a frown formed on his perfect face. Even though Brian was pissed off to the max, he couldn’t help but notice again just how beautiful the young man was. His wet hair was plastered to his face, water droplets sprinkled his lovely long eyelashes, and water still ran down his porcelain face. Fuck, this boy is damn perfect. Well, aside from being a total imbecile. A slightly raspy tenor voice interrupted Brian’s thoughts. Sure enough, it sounded angry. “Fuck you, you jerk-off! I already told you what happened. We were both just in the wrong place at the wrong time”, the kid said. The boy was so busy telling his accuser off that he completely failed to notice the police boat speeding away. “I didn’t even want to come to this stupid party, anyhow. I was dragged here. And my name’s not kid, by the way. It’s Justin.”

 

 

Brian spotted the police boat leaving while the fiery little blond raved on. He returned his eyes to look into the attractive face. “Alright then, Justin. Looks like we’ll be getting out of here soon anyway”, he said.

 

 

Justin frowned in confusion. “What the hell are you talking abou-WHA!” The, now shut down, party boat sped away without warning. At least Justin wasn’t expecting it. Brian laughed, watching the boy lose his balance and topple over in the dinghy as the boat took off, pulling them along with it. “Oh what the fuck are you laughing at, you ass?!” Justin growled.

 

 

“The name’s Brian, kid”, Brian corrected in a teasing manner, the boy’s snarkiness having no affect on him whatsoever, which only annoyed Justin even further. “Oh, don’t look so livid”, Brian chided. “You won’t have to spend much more time in here with nasty ol' me. We seem to be picking up more speed now.”

 

 

“Could this possibly get any worse”, Justin grumbled to himself, but loud enough for Brian to hear. A crack of thunder was heard, causing both men to snap their heads up at the dark sky. Rain began to pore down in torrents, further drenching the already shivering boys. “Fuck.”

 

 

Brian moaned in frustration. His clothes were going to be completely ruined. “Looks like you spoke too soon.” Both men were flung about in the dinghy, due to the rough sea the sudden storm was creating. There was a big bump that felt like the dinghy had been pulled back by something…or let go. “Woah!” Brian yelled as he fell onto his back. Justin fell forward, landing right on top of him. Sitting up as best he could, Brian saw the main boat quite far ahead of them. A little too far. “What the?” he said, frowning. He pushed Justin away as the boy struggled to get off of him and sat up straight to see that while the boat was moving, the dinghy was not. “Fuck! Oh no, no, no, no, no…” The man leaned over to confirm what he feared was true; the rope that attached the dinghy to the main boat had snapped!

 

 

His eyes wide, Brian sat back into his previous position, even though the sea was still incredibly rocky. He barely took notice of Justin grunting next to him as he pushed himself up into a sitting position as well. The kid looked at Brian and frowned, having a sinking feeling that something was very wrong. “What’s up with you?” he asked cautiously. Brian told him to see for him self, and see Justin did. Sensing already what was wrong, Justin sucked in a breath before slowly turning around to see the main boat getting further and further away. “Fuck”, he said in a strangely calm voice. “Fuck fuck fuck FUCK FUCK!” he yelled, getting more worked up as he spoke. “We are totally fucked!”

 

 

“That’s an understatement”, Brian huffed. He shifted, uncomfortably and unhappily in his ‘seat’. “What are we gonna do?”

 

 

Justin looked at him blankly. “How the fuck should I know? This is total shit!”

 

 

“Well you’re the one that got us in this mess!” Brian accused angrily. It was all this darn kid’s fault in Brian’s eyes. If it weren’t for him, Brian would still be on the party boat, safely on his way back to the dock. Now, he was stranded in the ocean in the middle of a storm with a useless teenage boy.

 

 

A frustrated sigh sounded from Justin’s mouth. “I already told you; it was not my fault!” he defended himself, sounding very offended and fed up with Brian’s accusations. “It was that guy!” Brian scoffed and rolled his eyes, not wanting to hear a single word of it. In his mind, this kid was guilty as sin. “Oh, you don’t believe me?! Why the fuck would I throw us both off the boat on purpose, huh? Go on, tell me what you think!” the blond challenged.

 

 

While they were quarrelling, the dinghy continued to be tossed and knocked about in the ocean, the boys moving along with it. “Well you have been staring at me at the hotel. And you bumped into me BEFORE as well. Maybe you just wanted an excuse the get close to me, like some kind of freaky stalker”, Brian spat.

 

 

A disgusted Justin reached over to angrily shove Brian’s shoulder. “I was staring at you? What the fuck asshole, YOU were the one drooling over me all the time! And why, why, WHY would I scheme to get stranded out in the sea with some total douche-pickle, only to be yelled at, and be accused of being a fucking psycho stalker!?! Trust me bucko, there are a million places I’d rather be right now, than here with you!” Justin shouted indignantly.

 

 

The sea became even more rough for a number of seconds, as the rain pouring down got harder. The dinghy was lifted into the air a few times, bouncing off the waves, sending the boys flying about, and struggling to hold on. Justin was unsuccessful in holding on. “Ahhh!” the young blond yelled as he fell backwards, starting to slip out of the side of the dinghy. If it wasn’t for Brian’s quick, strong hands grabbing onto the teen and pulling him safely back into the life boat, Justin would definitely be in the raging sea. If that had happened, he really would be well and truly fucked.

 

 

“You okay?” Brian asked as the blond recovered from his near-miss. He was visibly calming himself down, trying to even his breathing. The sight made Brian decide to cut the boy some slack - at least for the time being. He felt a wash of relief when the kid looked up at him and nodded. Justin looked grateful, though he did not voice it. Brian suspected that even though he had just saved the boy’s life, he was not completely trusted yet. He figured that was understandable; Brian didn’t really trust Justin either. Right now, however, they had to work with each other. Whether they liked it or not - which they did not, they were in this together.

 

 

A short while later, the sea calmed as the storm cleared and the rain stopped- good news for the boys.

 

 

---

 

 

Justin started panicking as soon as he felt himself being flung back into another body and over the back of the boat. It felt like everything was going in slow motion. And shit, the water was freezing! Justin almost didn’t want to surface, knowing that once he did, he was in for a shit storm from whoever it was that he’d taken along with him in his topple overboard. He felt terrible. Not only was he all wet and cold, but he’d made another person experience the same. It wasn’t as if it was his fault exactly. Justin had no intention of going anywhere near the damn water. If only that jerk that bumped into him had been watching where he was going. If Justin ever got his hands on that guy, he’d give him a piece of his mind before crushing him.

 

 

Accepting that he couldn’t stay underwater forever, Justin broke through the surface, coughing and sputtering about, spitting water from his mouth and blinking it from his eyes. He heard a familiar voice shouting at him from behind, sounding very, very pissed off. Of course he’s pissed, Justin! You essentially pushed him in! the blond thought. He turned to face the same beautiful man he’d laid his eyes on multiple times. Only this time, he was not greeted with a flirty or friendly smile. This time, Justin saw nothing but pure anger and annoyance, with good reason.

 

 

Despite his bitterness, the man at least helped him into the dinghy on the back of the boat. Justin figured that at least counted for something. But then he starting blaming him for causing all this trouble, making all kinds of nasty accusations, after Justin already explained to him what happened. Who the fuck does this jerk think he is?! Justin thought.

 

 

The sudden onset of a storm and the rough seas created a rocky, unpleasant ride for both of the unhappy boys. And. Then. It. Happened. The rope connecting the dinghy to the back of the boat snapped, leaving the boys drifting in the Sea. So, we’re basically fucked. No- scratch that, we’re totally, utterly and completely fucked! Justin had no idea what would happen to them, or how long they’d be stuck out there, but he did know that being stranded in a life boat in the Caribbean Sea was NOT a good thing!

 

 

He learned the man’s name was Brian, a nice strong, fitting name, Justin thought. They argued a while longer while the lifeboat was tossed about in the sea. Justin nearly jumped right out of his skin when he lost his balance and grip on the side of the dinghy, feeling himself start to fall out. He felt as if he was about to throw up his own heart. But, thankfully he was saved by a pair of strong hands and arms; Brian’s. The man pulled him back into the dinghy before Justin could really fall to what would have been his eventual doom. Brian asked if he was okay while Justin shook with fear at his almost fall and what could have been. Brian was his saviour.

 

 

This was the moment Justin realised that no matter how much they disliked each other at the time, they were stuck with each other for who knows how long, meaning that they must work together. It was far too dangerous not to.

 

 

The rain and waves calmed down after that. And eventually, the rain stopped completely.

 

 

---

 

 

THE NEXT MORNING

 

 

“Alright, everyone”, Mr. Christianson began, not at all pleased with the events of the previous night. Half of his students snuck off to a stranger’s boat party that was unwarranted, and ended up being shut down by the police because of this. He was also aware that there was alcohol involved. Truth be told, Mr. Christianson, along with the other teacher’s chaperoning the trip were incredibly disappointed with their students. “Thanks to the rule breakers and subsequent ‘muck ups’, our trip has unfortunately had to come to an early end. I hope everyone’s all packed and ready to go, because we will not be returning for any forgotten items.”

 

 

At that moment, the star football player of the school, Chris Hobbs and his friends, as well as Hunter came bounding into the lobby where their school group was situated. “Gentlemen, nice of you to join us”, Mr. Christianson remarked lamely as the trouble making students entered. With that, the teacher began to call out the names on the roll-call to make sure that every student was accounted for. When he got to Justin Taylor’s name, there was no answer. “Justin Taylor?” he repeated, looking around the group.

 

 

Daphne and Hunter shared a worried look. “He’s not here, Sir”, Daphne spoke up.

 

 

The teacher raised his eyebrows at the girl. “Oh? Then, please, Miss Chanders, can you tell me where he is and why he’s not right here where he should be?”

 

 

These were questions that neither Daphne, nor Hunter, had answers to. They both gulped, real concern for the whereabouts of their friend growing. “Actually, Sir”, Hunter began, causing everyone present to turn their heads towards him. His cheeks warmed slightly at the attention. “Justin uh…h-he never made it home last night. I mean, it looked that way.”

 

 

Daphne raised both her eyebrows in surprise. "He didn't?" she asked him, Hunter shaking his head 'no' in response. She and Hunter hadn't seen Justin since the party boat, but Daphne had thought that her clever, responsible friend would make it back to the hotel safely. It worried her to know that he hadn't. Where in the heck could he possibly be? she wondered.  

 

 

"Mr. Montgomery, what do you mean he never made it home?" Their beyond pissed off teacher demanded impatiently. These kids better not be dicking me around, he thought grumpily.

 

 

Hunter gulped loudly before answering the intimidating man. "Um...well...w-we kinda lost track of him on that boat last night and...well, we figured he's clever enough to find his way back, so we...uh...came back without him..."

 

 

A deafening silence was birthed after Hunter's confession, the teachers glaring at him and the students placidly quiet. "So you mean to tell me that you went to this party AGAINST the rules like the others...and then LEFT Mr. Taylor there?!" Mr. Christianson growled, most unimpressed.

 

 

"I-I thought at first that maybe...he was with someone, but h-he's not here, and now I'm not so sure..." Hunter stuttered.

 

 

"Perhaps you were right, Hunter. Justin may just be with someone and is late getting back", another teacher, Ms. Ackard suggested. Mr. Christianson nodded, thinking her idea plausible.

 

 

Hunter and Daphne again shared a look. "No, Ms. Ackard", Daphne piped up. "Justin wouldn't do that. He couldn't have just run off with a total stranger and not come back. You know him, Mr. Christianson. Justin is never happy unless he's right where he's supposed to be. He would not have just bailed", she explained. Hunter nodded in total agreement.

 

 

"Well then where in the world is the boy?!" Mr. Christianson demanded, a throbbing headache beginning to form.

 

 

"I...I don't know. I don't know where he is..." Daphne answered lamely in a small voice. The usually confident, fiery girl was truly afraid for her missing friend.   

  

 

TO BE CONTINUED...

 

 

 

 

 

HALF AN HOUR LATER

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah, he's got blond hair and blue eyes...and a big bubble butt!" Hunter told the Trinidad police officers, describing his missing friend to them. Daphne rolled her eyes at Hunter's ridiculous behaviour. He seemed to get even more stupid when he was nervous. Nevertheless, the officers wrote down every word they spat out about Justin and his absence.

 

 

 

 

 

"So do you think you'll find him easily?" Mr. Christianson asked the officers, concerned for the usually well-behaved student. Plus, his ass was on the line here. If anything terrible happened to this kid while he was supposed to be under his supervision, he could be in deep-shit trouble.

 

 

 

 

 

One of the officers nodded and said, "It's more likely that he'll find you. We're familiar with this sort of thing. Teenagers like to run off, but they always find their way back."

 

 

 

 

 

Daphne shook her head and spoke up, "No, that's not like Justin. Come on, Mr. Christianson, you know how much of a goody-goody nerd he is. He would never just run off...and not come back! I'm really worried about him!", she declared with heartfelt emotion. She and Hunter looked at their teacher and at the officers expectantly, waiting to see if they'd finally listen to her. She just knew something wasn't right. Justin was in trouble.

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

TEN MINUTES LATER, ACROSS THE LOBBY

 

 

 

 

 

Michael snapped his cell phone shut and sighed. "Fuck!" he muttered out in annoyance. Ben put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "The damn call didn't go through again! It's like him not to answer, but not for his phone to be off all together. Where the fuck is he?!"

 

 

 

 

 

Ben continued to rub his new lover's back soothingly. "Hey, I'm sure everything's alright", he said.

 

Though Michael was grateful that the gorgeous man was trying his best to comfort him, he just knew something wasn't right. "I don't know, Ben", he responded. "This time I'm not so sure..."

 

 

 

 

 

"Still no sign of Brian?" Melanie asked as she and Lindsay walked towards the boys, their arms around each other. Ben shook his head while Michael stared at his cell phone hopelessly. "Eh, I'm sure he's just out at some trick's bungalow after fucking the night away", she said shrugging. Lindsay nodded, agreeing with her girlfriend.

 

 

 

 

 

Michael shook his head, exasperated. "I don't think so, ladies. I think something might be up...like he might be in actual trouble or something", he told his friends. Melanie snorted at this and Lindsay couldn't help but chuckle along with her. Michael heaved out a breath, unimpressed at the immaturity of his two friends.

 

 

 

 

 

"Good morning my darlings!" Emmett sang as he pranced over to his friends, pulling along a very satisfied looking Ted Schmidt. He gave each of his friends a kiss on the cheek when he reached them.

 

 

 

 

 

"Hey, we were wondering where you two went off to last night", Ben greeted the pair with enthusiasm. Mel and Lindsay nodded, knowing smiles on their faces. Michael couldn't help but smile.

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh, well Teddy and I were...getting to know each other better. A lot better", he said cheekily, making his friends laugh while Ted grinned triumphantly. "Now, what were you all discussing when we came over here?" he pried.

 

 

 

 

 

"Michael thinks Brian's gone missing", Lindsay informed Emmett and Ted.

 

"He didn't make it back last night?" Ted asked. Everyone shook their heads, different expressions on their faces; Melanie had her eyebrows raised, Lindsay shrugged, Ben was neutral and Michael's brow was creased in concern.

 

 

 

 

 

"The girls here think he's just off with some trick still", Ben said.  

 

 

 

 

 

"Well maybe he is", Ted offered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michael shook his head and turned his body so he was completely facing Ted and Emmett. "Look, I get why you would all think that, but Brian's my best friend. I live with him for Christ-sake. I know him. And this; having his phone switched off and not being here by now...it's not like him", he told his friends.

 

 

 

 

 

Emmett nodded, listening to Michael's concerns. "I think Michael's right, ladies and gents. I live with Brian too and he doesn't just disappear without a trace til'...11 in the darn morning" He said, checking his watch.

 

 

 

 

 

Melanie shrugged again, still not convinced that there was anything to worry about. "We are on vacation. Maybe he likes to party extra hard in exotic places."

 

 

 

 

 

"Argh", Michael huffed, annoyed at the lack of concern the girls were showing for Brian.  

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

Across the lobby, Daphne's attention was pulled from the police officers when she overheard a pretty interesting conversation from not to far away. "I haven't seen him since before the boat party was raided by the water police. He was talking to some kid. He could be anywhere by now, I guess", a male voice said. The teenage girl turned her head and looked over to see a group of familiar looking young adults standing in a group. It looked like they were discussing something serious. The girl nudged Hunter’s arm to get his attention. "I think those people over there might be able to tell us something about last night. It sounds like they were on the boat too, and I think someone they know is missing as well", she whispered to her friend excitedly.

 

 

 

 

 

Hunter followed Daphne's line of vision and smiled when he saw someone he recognised. "Hey, see that muscly guy standing with them?" Daphne nodded in response. "That's my uncle Ben", he told her. 

 

 

 

 

 

"No way!” she exclaimed.

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah", Hunter affirmed. "I didn't know he was going to be here when we were. This is so cool!” he continued. "I bet he'd be willing to help us out if I ask him."

 

 

 

 

 

Daphne nodded and cleared her throat to gain the attention of her teacher and the officers. The men looked at her expectantly. Smiling nervously, the girl nudged Hunter's arm, silently asking him to explain their thoughts. "I-uh...well m-my uncle Ben's over there with some people and...well, we overheard them talking about the boat party last night and...It sounds like they're missing someone too. I thought...maybe they might have seen Justin or something", he said at a rapid pace.

 

 

 

 

 

The police officers nodded, taking his idea into consideration. "That seems plausible", one of the men said, starting to walk across the lobby to the group Hunter pointed to. The others followed closely behind the man. "Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen", the officer began once he'd reached them. "We were wondering if you would be able to tell us anything about that Carnivale Boat Party last night."

 

 

 

 

 

The group all raised their eyebrows in surprise at the officer's sudden appearance. "Hunter?" Ben asked, stepping forward once he noticed his nephew. "Hey, kiddo, how are you doin'?" he asked in a friendly matter.

 

 

 

 

 

"Hey, uh-um...kinda not that great right now, Ben", Hunter admitted. "See, we were on that boat last night and our friend never came back. We don't know where he is", he explained.

 

 

 

 

 

"Wait, what were you doing on that boat, anyway?" Ben inquired.

 

 

 

 

 

Hunter cleared his throat nervously and glanced at his peeved off teacher before responding, "That...doesn't really matter right now. We're just worried about our friend."

 

 

 

 

 

Michael stepped forward, an idea popping into his head. "Wait a sec, is your friend a blond kid?" he inquired. Daphne and Hunter nodded in unison. "Shit, I think that was the kid I saw Brian-uh, he's our friend by the way, talking to before the party got stopped by the cops. And we don't know where he is either", he told the eagerly listening teens, while one of the officers scribbled down what was being said.

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh crap, do you think those two might be...together?" Ted suggested.

 

 

 

 

 

Lindsay scoffed and shook her head disapprovingly. "Even after we told him to stay away from the teenagers staying at our hotel", he said.

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Christianson placed his hands on his head and sighed. "Oh God Damn it", he said quietly to himself. If the kid was off with some strange man, anything could have happened to him. Then he really would be in deep shit. This was not looking good at all.

 

 

 

 

 

"NO! No", Daphne spoke up. "Justin would never just go off with some random stranger, okay...he's not an idiot, or a risk-taker for that matter." She looked at the police officers and her teacher who did not seem to believe her. The girl sighed and continued, "Okay, I know how this must look, but...Justin wouldn't of...he just didn't, okay. I know he did not wander off with some guy he doesn't even know. That's not Justin. I think something might be really wrong here." Hunter nodded, hanging on his friend's every word.

 

 

 

 

 

"I think you're right", Michael agreed. "I might not know your friend, but I certainly know mine. Brian wouldn't harm anyone, and he definitely wouldn't disappear with an underage kid. Even...even if those two were together last night, he would be back by now, and by the sound of it, you're friend would be too. I think...you may be right, young miss. I think they could be in trouble."

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone shared looks, Hunter, Daphne and Michael all wanting the people around them to believe them. Finally, after a long moment of silence, one of the police officers spoke up, "Alright. If they're not back by the end of the day, we'll start a search. Now, we just need to get the details of your 'Brian' friend."

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Christianson sighed in relief, but Michael and the two teenagers were not quite satisfied with that answer. Anything could happen between now and then...they all thought. 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

MEANWHILE, OUT ON THE CARRIBEAN OCEAN

 

 

 

 

 

Brian groaned as he sat up in the dinghy, blinking and shaking his head. Once he was sat upright, the young man opened his eyes completely and looked at his surroundings. "Fuck", he groaned. "It wasn't a dream."

 

 

 

 

 

"No it wasn't", an unhappy voice sounded from the other end of the dinghy. Brian turned his head to look at the cranky teenager the voice belonged to. "Have a nice sleep did you?" he asked sarcastically.

 

 

 

 

 

Brian shrugged. "Meh, it wasn't half-bad. The rocking of the sea was actually quite soothing", he joked. Justin did not laugh. "Oh, come the fuck on, kid-sorry, I mean Justin. You gotta learn to relax a little, have a laugh", he told the frowning boy.

 

 

 

 

 

"Relax?" Justin repeated. "Laugh? How the fuck do you expect me to do that when we're floating on some tiny little life-boat in the middle of fucking nowhere. This piece of shit doesn't even have a damn motor!" he complained. "God, this is absolute shit! What did I ever do to deserve this?!" he said to no one in particular. Brian couldn't help but chuckle at the boy's ravings. Of course, this pissed the teenager off even further. "Oh, what is it?" he demanded.

 

 

 

 

 

When it looked like Brian was going to speak, he only laughed even harder. Finally, after a couple more seconds, Brian looked at Justin and said, "You really hit the nail on the head, didn't ya kid? I am well aware that we are totally fucked out here. I'm just trying to lighten up the mood a little, that's all."

 

 

 

 

 

"And that's funny how?" Justin demanded.

 

 

 

 

 

"You...you're the kid, right? Aren't you supposed to be the one joking about and trying to be all cool about things?" he said through light chuckles.

 

 

 

 

 

Justin ignored the fact that he thought that was incredibly cute and responded, "Well, I'll be happy to pass the role of the idiot over to you." Brian laughed again at this remark. "Hey, you're old, right? Doesn't that mean you're supposed to be the serious responsible one?" he teased, an evil smirk on his face.

 

 

 

 

 

Brian lightly kicked the boy's foot and laughed as he said, "Hey!" Finally Justin smiled. Gotcha! Brian thought triumphantly. "I'm only 21, dork!" Brian added. "And by serious and responsible, do you mean nerdy and boring?" he teased back.

 

 

 

 

 

"I am not nerdy and boring!" Justin shot back lightly, a small smile on his face. "And I am not a dork, either...jerk!"

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh, really?" Brian questioned playfully. "Then what's with the nerd satchel you've got there?" he asked, gesturing to Justin's bag, which was seated next to him.

 

 

 

 

 

The teenager grabbed his bag and began to open it. "This", he started, "Has everything you could possibly need in it." He opened up his satchel completely and looked around in it. "It's got...water, and sunscreen and bug spray", he said as he rummaged through the bag. Brian began to laugh again, halting Justin's search through his satchel. He looked up at the annoying man and asked, "What?"

 

 

 

 

 

"You are such a dork, Justin!" Brian laughed. "Who the heck brings all that shit to a party? I mean, water? What the fuck, man?"

 

 

 

 

 

"I'll have you know that getting dehydrated is what gives you a hangover, Mister. I think bringing water to a party is smart. The way you're feeling now, you know, the head-ache you so obviously have...well you wouldn't be feeling that way if you had of eaten something and stayed hydrated last night", Justin informed the laughing man.

 

 

 

 

 

Brian scoffed and teased, "Thanks for the morning Public Service Announcement, dweeb."

 

 

 

 

 

Justin shook his head. "Alright, let's see what you've got, Mr. 'I'm so cool'", Justin said. "Go on. Got anything that's in anyway useful?" he challenged.

 

 

 

 

 

"Alright", Brian accepted the challenge and began rummaging through the pockets of his jacket and his jeans. Grabbing on to something, Brian pulled out a lighter and then a Swiss-army knife. He raised his eyebrows at Justin as the boy eyed the items.

 

 

 

 

 

"Okay, alright", Justin said, nodding. "Maybe these things are useful, but who the fuck just carries a knife around with them?" he asked. Brian lifted his hand as if to tell the kid to wait. Justin was interested now. It seemed the obnoxious man had something else in his pockets. Brian's hands halted when he felt something familiar. The brunet removed his left hand from his pocket and revealed a small tube of lube. Justin frowned, not recognising the item right away while Brian freed his other hand from his right pocket. He opened that hand and burst out laughing when he saw that it was a folded up sleeve of condoms. Justin realised what Brian was holding after staring at the man's hands for a couple more milliseconds. "Oh, fuck sake!" He said. "That's just gross. As if that shit's gonna help us at all."

 

 

 

 

 

Brian looked at the items in his hands and smirked. "You never, know, Sunshine", he said, looking directly at the kid. "We just might need these", he joked.

 

 

 

 

 

Justin scrunched up his face and turned bright red. "Oh, fucking gross, Brian! As if!" He kicked the man's leg as he spoke in embarrassed disgust.

 

 

 

 

 

"Relax, would you? I'm only joking", he assured the boy through his laughter. "My buddy Emmett put all these condoms in here as a joke. I remember now. I think there must be like...30, or even 40 in here", he said inspecting the plastic sleeve.

 

 

 

 

 

Justin relaxed a tad, but a blush still remained on his cheeks. Deep down, he knew he'd love to have sex with a total hottie like Brian. But there was no way he was going to admit to that. Not even to himself. He would just push the thoughts down deep, trapping them in his gut. He looked back at the man when he remembered something from a few seconds earlier. “By the way...Sunshine?" he asked, referring to the nickname Brian had used for him.

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah, I just thought I'd give you a nickname. I figured 'Sunshine' was better than 'Nerd', right?" Brian explained, keeping the real reason he'd opted to call the boy 'Sunshine' to himself. He couldn't let the kid know it was because he was beautiful, radiant, even, his smile warm and bright as...sunshine.  Even when the blond was angry, Brian thought of him this way. And there was no way he was going to tell Justin this. That was far too...lesbionic.

 

 

 

 

 

"Whatever", Justin replied coolly, trying not the let on that the nickname excited him, making his stomach flutter ever so slightly.  

 

 

 

 

 

A few more minutes went by before Brian commented, "Man I can't believe my cell phone is washed out." I also can't believe this fucking thing doesn't have a damn motor! he thought.

 

 

 

 

 

Justin was about to make some clever remark about what a tragedy that was when he spotted something in the near distance. He sat up instantly. "Oh my God, look!" He exclaimed. "Land! We've got land!"

 

 

 

 

 

Brian turned around and saw what Justin was pointing at. "Shit, we fucking do!" Brian cheered, almost in disbelief. "Finally, we're fucking saved!" Justin smiled in excitement, agreeing with his companion.

 

 

 

 

 

What the boys did not realise was that their adventure was far from over. They already believed they'd be saved. How wrong they were...

 

 

 

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED...  

---

      

 

 

 

"Come on! We've gotta get there as quick as possible!" Justin said as he grabbed one of the oars and began to paddle.

 

 

Brian promptly reached for the other one and paddled along with the kid, who was going at a rapid pace. "Jeeze, what's the big hurry, Sunshine?" Brian asked.  "Do I smell that bad?" he joked.

 

 

The blond rolled his eyes and continued to paddle, not looking at Brian as he said, "It has been a long night, and I'd really like to get back to where I'm supposed to be, now. I'm probably already in deep shit trouble", he explained. "And...you do kind of smell." Brian laughed a hearty laugh and continued to paddle.

 

 

Several minutes later, the boys made it to the shore, puffing and panting. Justin felt a night of no sleep really catching up with him, even through all the 'excitement'. Both boys leapt out of the dinghy, landing on the wet sand thankfully. They were exhausted. "Oh, thank God", Brian panted. "We fucking made it."

 

 

Justin nodded in relief and stood up, his legs slightly shaking. He took his time taking small steps until he felt grounded enough to walk properly while Brian laid in the sand. "Come on", Justin called to him. "Let’s go find civilisation." Slowly Brian rose to his feet and glanced back at the dinghy. He walked over to it and collected the flare gun and bullets that were in a box on the life boat. "What are you doing?" Justin called. Brian merely turned back and ran towards the impatient blond. "Seriously? What are you taking that for?" Justin asked when he saw the flare gun in Brian's hands.

 

 

Brian shrugged, looking at the gun. "I dunno. To shoot the bad guys", he joked as he put the gun and bullets in the pocket of his jacket. Justin rolled his eyes and began walking towards the trees, Brian jogging after him. "Hey, wait up!" the brunet called.

 

 

*****

 

 

The tropical forest was incredible, with trees that shot to the heavens. Both boys looked around in awe as they ventured through the potentially dangerous place. Brian thought that if they were in a rainforest, they must be far away from any people. Justin groaned when he voiced this idea. "Well, I am right, aren't I?" Brian asked the boy. Justin looked over his shoulder at his companion to reply to him when Brian said, "Whoa, Look out!"

 

 

Justin looked in front of him again and yelped, leaping backwards. He had almost walked right into a spider web with a huge, hideous spider in it! The teenager jumped back so far that he bumped into Brian, who caught him in his arms. It took a short moment for Justin to recover enough from the shock before he stood up on his own again. Laughing, Brian asked the boy, "What was that all about?"

 

 

Shuddering in disgust, Justin answered, "I hate spiders!"

 

 

Brian laughed again and reached over to pat the kid on the shoulder. "Aw, now it's alright there, sonny. Brian saved you from the big bad spider!" he teased.

 

 

"Oh, shut up", Justin replied, a small amused smirk on his face. He straightened up and said, "Alright. Time to march on." Brian shook his head in amusement and followed the boy.

 

 

Ten minutes later, Brian and Justin heard the sound of water. They followed the sound until they found the source. "Oh my God", Justin commented when they reached it.

 

 

"Holy shit", Brian said slowly, looking at the most incredible thing he'd ever seen in absolute awe. Before the boys was the most beautiful blue lagoon any man had ever laid eyes on. Both boys were positive of that fact.  The lagoon had a water fall at the far end of the deep blue body of water.

 

 

After several seconds of staring at this beauty of nature, Justin cleared his throat and said, "Alright, let's keep moving."

 

 

Brian looked at the boy like he was mad. "Wait, wait, what?! You want to just leave this place?" He asked. Justin simply gave Brian a 'no-nonsense' look. "Oh, come on! Look at it! We have just found the most incredible lagoon on earth and you just want to forget about it? Don't you wanna at least go for a swim?"

 

 

Now it was Justin's turn to look at Brian like he was mad. "We just spent the night floating around in some shitty dinghy and you want to take a swim? I mean sure, this lagoon is...well it's beautiful, but all I'm interested in is finding my way back."

 

 

"I know we had a crappy night, but look where we are now!" Brian said, enthusiasm and persuasion in his voice. "When are we ever going to come back here? Never! Just think of the experience, man! Think of the college essay you could write!"

 

 

Justin thought for a moment, looking at the lagoon. It did look awfully inviting. It was all so tempting... Finally, just when Brian had thought he'd won the boy over, Justin sighed and said, "People will be looking for us. We should get back." And with that, Justin turned and resumed walking. Taking one more look at one of nature's masterpieces, Brian sighed and followed the kid.

 

 

It was going to be a long day...  

 

 

---

 

 

BACK IN THE TAYLOR FAMILY HOME IN PITTSBURG

 

 

The phone rang in the quiet Taylor house. Jennifer Taylor dashed to take the call. "Jennifer Taylor speaking", she said pleasantly into the phone.

 

 

"Mrs. Taylor, It's Alison Waters from St. James High School", the caller said. Jennifer listened closely, instantly feeling a deep worry fill her veins at being called by her son's school. "I understand your son Justin Taylor attended the Humanitarian Senior trip to Trinidad..."

 

 

"Y-yes, that's right", Jennifer responded, her voice shaking. "Has...has something happened?"

 

 

The woman on the other end of the conversation sighed; the kind of sigh a person does when they have bad news. "I'm afraid so, Mrs. Taylor..."

 

 

Jennifer clutched her chest with her free hand, feeling it tighten. "Oh god..." she said quietly as tears began to well up in her eyes.

 

 

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Mrs. Taylor, but it seems your son has gone missing", Ms. Waters informed the frightened mother.

 

 

"M-missing?!" cried the emotional woman. "How, when, why?!"

 

 

"Well, apparently some students attended some party on a boat last night without their teacher's knowledge and...well it appears your Justin did not return to the hotel with his friends", explained Ms. Waters.

 

 

"A party?" Jennifer said in shocked confusion. "This...My Justin would never break the rules...I...how can this be? Where were the darn teachers! How could they not know that all these kids went off on their own?!"

 

 

Another sigh was heard from the other end of the phone. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Taylor, but you and your husband are required to come to the school. All of your questions will be answered."

 

 

"Yes, we'll be there immediately", Jennifer informed the woman before hanging up promptly. "Craig!" she called out to her husband in panic. "Craig, something terrible has happened! It's Justin! We have to go now!"

 

 

---

 

 

MEANWHILE, ACROSS TOWN AT THE KINNEY RESIDENCE

 

 

Jack Kinney was startled awake by the ringing of the telephone. He had been drunkenly snoozing away on the couch, a half-empty beer still in his hand. "Joanie, get that, would ya?" The man called out to his wife.

 

 

An unimpressed Joan Kinney walked into the room and picked the phone up out of its holder. "Too lazy to pick it up yourself", she muttered under her breath before answering the call. "Hello, this Joan Kinney", she greeted. Her neutral face fell and a frown creased her forehead as she was told the unsettling news. "My...my goodness, are you certain?" she asked the police officer on the other end of the line. "My...God, I...don't know what to say."

 

 

Jack rolled his eyes at his wife's antics. Overdramatic old hag, he thought as he looked at her grumpily, the alcohol in him fuzzing his vision a little.

"Well, no actually", Joan said into the phone. "I haven't spoken to him in a while. I didn't even know he was going on a trip." Jack's ears picked up at this. Who was this 'he' she mentioned? Probably the blasted boy, he decided. What's the little shit gone and done now? “Oh…alright…Yes, please do…Thank you, officer…bye, bye now.”

 

 

Joan hung up the phone and took in a deep breath. “What trouble has that bastard gotten himself into now?” Jack asked the slouched woman.

 

 

“Jack, he’s gone missing”, Joan replied, worry on her face.

 

 

Jack tried sitting up, but gave up when the pounding in his head grew stronger. He groaned and looked at his insufferable wife through squinted eyes. “Ah, the little shit is probably just off dicking around like usual”, he slurred.

 

 

Joan shook her head. “No, Jack. That call was from the Trinidad police. He said Brian went missing on some kind of boat. This is serious, I’m concerned for him.”

 

 

“What the fuck is he doing in Trinidad? Little asshole. You’re probably just overreacting, Missus. The boy is fine”, Jack answered back, taking another swig out of his beer bottle.

 

 

“But, Jack I-“ Joan began, only to be cut off by her drunken husband.

“Quit yapping and make dinner already, Missus”, he ordered.

 

 

With a sigh of defeat, Brian’s mother walked into the kitchen. I’ll pray for you, Brian, she thought, closing her eyes.

 

 

---

 

 

BACK AT THE HOTEL

 

 

“Alright, so I’ve got your numbers and emails, and you’ve got mine”, Michael said to Hunter and Daphne.

 

 

“It’s absolute shit that we have to leave”, Hunter complained. Daphne nodded in agreement.

 

 

Ben put a hand on his nephew’s shoulder and said, “Next time, don’t go messing with the rules, kid.” The relatives smiled at each other and shared a quick hug. Ben shook Daphne’s hand. “It was nice to meet you, Daphne”, he said to her with a smile.

 

 

Daphne almost melted at the look. Cuteness must run in their family, she thought, looking at Hunter and blushing ever so slightly. “You too, Ben. And you, Michael.”

 

 

Michael nodded with a smile before reaching over to shake the girl’s hand, then Hunter’s. “If anything happens, I’ll let you know”, he told the teenagers.

 

 

Before either one could respond, they were summoned by their irate teacher. “You two, let’s get a move on!” Mr. Christianson called to them. Giving one final nod to Michael and Ben, the teenagers raced off to their group as they left the hotel to travel back home.

 

 

“I should call my mother and let her know what’s going on. I may have to stay here longer than planned if necessary”, Michael told his lover. Ben gave Michael a kiss on the cheek and walked away to give him a moment of privacy. Michael dialled his mother’s number and waited for her the answer. “Hey, mom”, he said into the phone.

 

 

“Sweet heart!” Debbie Novotony greeted cheerfully. “How are you?”

 

 

Michael rolled his eyes and smiled at his mother’s cheerfulness. His smile disappeared when he remembered what he’d called to tell the enthusiastic woman. “Uh…mom…I have something to tell you…”

 

 

“Oh, no, you haven’t gotten yourself into any trouble have you?” Debbie asked.

 

 

Michael cleared his throat nervously. “Not me…it’s Brian.”

 

 

Michael heard his mother huff out a breath. “Oh, what’s he done, now? Fucked someone he shouldn’t have?”

 

 

“No, Ma. He’s missing. We went to this boat party last night and he didn’t come back. Now we don’t know where he is. I’m really worried about him, Ma”, Michael told his mother.

 

 

“Didn’t come back from a party, huh? Sounds like typical old Brian to me, honey”, Debbie said calmly.

 

 

Oh great, it’s the gang all over again, Michael thought before telling his mom, “I’m serious, Ma. I think he’s in trouble. This other kid never came back from the party either. They called the police and everything”, he explained.   

 

 

Debbie thought for brief moment before responding. “The police, huh? Shit, maybe he really is in trouble.”

 

 

“That’s what I’m saying, ma. He could be anywhere…shit”, Michael said.

 

 

“Sweetie, I’m sure he’ll turn up”, Debbie assured her son. “Even if he really is in trouble, he’ll be okay. He always is.”

 

 

Though his mother’s words were nice to hear, Michael couldn’t help but think it would be a while before everything was alright again.

 

 

---

 

 

LATER, BACK ON THE ISLAND

 

 

Justin groaned with each step he took. “Argh, my feet hurt like shit!” he complained.

 

 

“Yeah, well keep moving, kid. You’re the one who wanted to hurry up and find a way back”, Brian grunted back, ignoring the pains in his feet.

 

 

“We’ve been walking for hours!” Justin pointed out. “Why the fuck haven’t we found anything?”

 

 

Brian looked around, over the cliff they were standing on. He puffed, trying to return his breath to normal. “Holy fuck”, he breathed. “Do think we might actually be stuck here?”

 

 

Justin’s eyes widened. “Oh, God…do you mean, like…this is a deserted island?!” he exclaimed.

 

 

The brunet looked at the blond seriously. “Yeah, I think it is, Sunshine”, he said dejectedly.

 

 

“Shit”, Justin said plainly.

 

 

“You can say that again”, Brian said. “Come on, we’d better get back to the beach.”

 

 

Justin followed Brian as he began walking back the way they came. “Fuck, this is going to take forever!” he complained.

 

 

*****

 

 

A while later, the boys finally reached the beach again. Sweating and fatigued, they dragged their legs towards where they left the dinghy…only to discover that it was gone!

 

 

“Oh shit!” Brian cried, running towards the shore.

 

 

Justin ran after the man despite his exhaustion. “It’s…it’s gone…” he said in disbelief. “We’re…stuck here!” He felt his legs become wobbly and his head get light.

 

 

“No…” Brian said quietly. He looked back at Justin standing behind him, noticing the kid looking faint. Quickly, he stood up and caught overtired boy in his arms as he fell. A small smile formed on Brian’s face as he looked at Justin’s sleeping one. Poor guy’s all tired out…and a total drama queen! Brian thought, shaking his head in amusement, despite their unfortunate predicament.  Picking the boy up, he walked away from the shore and laid the boy down on the sand.

 

 

Ten minutes later, the blond opened his eyes to see hazel ones staring at him. Gasping, Justin sat up with a start. “What…what the fuck happened?” he asked in a daze.

 

 

“You passed out. Guess your tiredness, added with the shock that we’re fucking stuck here got the best of you”, Brian explained. “Don’t blame ya, kid.”

 

 

Justin closed his eyes and groaned when he remembered all that had happened. “Shit…we’re really stuck here…”

 

 

Brian nodded and slowly stood up. “Come on. Let’s go find somewhere to sleep for the night”, he said, helping Justin up.

 

 

“This is so shit”, Justin commented as they searched for a safe place to camp.

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED

---

 

The boys walked through the rainforest for a few minutes before they came across a cave. “This’ll do”, Justin said, already walking inside.

 

 

Brian eyed the cave warily. “Are you kidding? I’m not sleeping in a cave!” he said dramatically.

 

 

“Oh, relax, you baby. It’ll be fine”, Justin chided. “Hey, use your lighter so we can see in here.”

 

 

Brian reached into his pocket and pulled out his trusty lighter. He flicked it to create a flame, lighting the cave up enough to reveal several bats hanging from the top and side of the cave. The light startled the bats and they began flying around frantically.  “Whaaaaaa!” both boys yelled as they dived out of the cave, falling on top of each other on the ground. Groaning, they rolled off of each other. Once they were laying side-by-side, Justin burst out laughing, Brian joining in a couple seconds later. Their wild cackles echoed through the trees, scaring many of the nearby animals.

 

 

After two minutes of incontrollable laughter, the two castaways eventually managed to settle down. “Well I guess the cave’s a ‘no’”, Brian said.

 

 

With one more laugh, Justin replied, “Yeah, I guess not.” The boy stood up, ready to find a place to settle. “Okay. Let’s head back to the beach, I guess”, he suggested.

 

 

“That’s a good idea”, Brian said, nodding. “That way if a boat or plane passes by, we’ll have a better chance of getting their attention.” With that, the companions made their way back to the beach and gathered some palm leaves nearby to sleep on.

 

 

“Know how to start a fire?” Justin asked, gathering a pile of sticks and leaves.

 

 

“Yes indeed”, Brian said, reminding Justin of his lighter. Justin chuckled at his silly moment and stood back while Brian took the time to light their fire. “There we are”, he said once the job was done. “That’ll warm us up.” Justin nodded and sat down near the fire, Brian sitting across from him. Brian stared at Justin, noticing a slight distressed look on his face. “You’re freaked out about what’s going to happen, aren’t ya?” Brian asked him.

 

 

Justin looked up at the brunet and nodded. “I mean…what the fuck are we gonna do? This is insane!”

 

 

“Hey, I hear ya, buddy. All that’s happened is totally nuts. But it’s not like we’re gonna be stuck here forever, kid. We’re going to get found”, Brian reassured his companion.

 

 

Justin gave Brian a small appreciative smile before his face lit up with an idea. “Hey, wait”, he said. “I just remembered I have something.” He reached for his satchel and searched through it, pulling a muesli bar out triumphantly. “Aha!” he declared at his find.

 

 

“Hey, way to go, nerd”, Brian said with a smile.

 

 

“Glad I have the bag now, aren’t you?” Justin asked in a joking manner. “And I thought you weren’t going to call me ‘nerd’ anymore.” He broke the food item into two halves.

 

 

Brian smirked cheekily. “Okay, okay…Sunshine.” With a small chuckle, Justin handed one half of the muesli bar to Brian. “Thanks”, he said, taking the offered food. “You know, normally I don’t really eat these things, but right now I’d eat a horse.”

 

 

Justin stifled a laugh as he munched on his half of the bar. “Tell me about it. I’m fricken STARVING!” the boy declared. At that very moment, his empty stomach let out a very long, very loud rumble. A moment of silence passed before Brian erupted into a burst of laughter. Justin blushed and smiled shyly as he took another bite of his muesli bar. “So, what were you doing in Trinidad anyway?” Justin asked after a couple more minutes, interested to know more about the young man he was marooned with.

 

 

The brunet sat up and looked at the boy, inspecting him. The look on his face implied that he really was genuinely interested in what Brian had to say. He wasn’t just making forced small talk. Okay, Brian thought, the fact for some reason pleasing him. “I came here with my friends for the fall break. I wanted to bring them somewhere that wasn’t cliché. Hence Trinidad and Tobago instead of Maui or Fiji, as nice as those islands are.”

 

 

“That’s great”, Justin told Brian genuinely. “You planned the trip?” Brian nodded, his eyebrows raised. “You must be a really great friend to do that for them.”

 

 

Brian smiled softly at being told this. “I guess…maybe I am, Sunshine. I am great.” Justin chuckled at Brian’s words. “That doesn’t stop my friends from calling me names all the time. But I think that’s kind of our way of showing our…affection”, Brian uttered the word out with disgust lining his voice, again making Justin laugh. Brian really enjoyed making this kid laugh. “Alright, we did me. Now, why don’t you tell me why you’re here.”

 

 

“We’re on our senior humanitarian trip”, Justin revealed.

 

 

“Humanitarian?” Brian pried.

 

 

Justin nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah. We were supposed to be spending our time helping to build a new school building and fix old ones in underprivileged areas. I mean, some kids thought that was lame, but I think it was a great use of our time. What an experience to have, you know? All the stories we’re all gonna be able to tell.” Brian watched the kid in amusement as he talked animatedly. “But…uh, I guess the trip would’ve been cancelled once they found out about everyone sneaking off to the party and all. I mean, there’s no way the cops wouldn’t have busted the underage people there. And with me missing and all…”

 

 

Brian shook his head. “Well, I gotta say, Sunshine, I’m impressed”, he admitted. “I mean, a humanitarian trip? And here I was planning to go to clubs and get drunk and high and fuck the whole time. But you were out making the world a better place.”

 

 

The teenager smiled and flushed in pleasure at Brian’s compliment, despite the odd wording. “Thanks”, he said quietly. “And you know you shouldn’t mix drinking with illicit drugs. Especially not if you’re in a crowded club, dancing”, he added, remembering what Brian had said about his intentions.

 

 

“Another PSA, huh? That’s two in one day. Lucky me”, Brian joked, a smile on his face. “Who needs awareness programs when the world has you?” Again, this inspired another cute little laugh from the blond. Fuck, I love hearing that laugh, Brian thought. “Anyway, as I recall, you were drinking on that boat too, young man.”

 

 

“Yeah”, Justin laughed. “Yeah, I was.” He thought for a moment. “You know…I even like to get drunk. A lot, actually.” The teenager began to laugh again, feeling himself relax around his companion. “I just like telling people what to do.”

 

 

“And you’re really good at it, Sunshine”, Brian told him through a smirk, which Justin returned. “So…what’s with your bag of stuff, anyway? Why are you such a neat freak?”    

 

 

Justin thought for a second before coming up with a clever remark. “Let’s just say I like to be prepared.”

 

 

Brian huffed a laugh. “What, channelling the boy scouts, Sunshine?”

 

 

“Actually, I was a boy scout”, Justin admitted. “I thought it was awesome.”

 

 

“Well, what do you know. I was a boy scout when I was growing up as well. I was always getting in trouble for causing some kind of shenanigan”, Brian revealed. Justin looked surprised but impressed. “I guess we have more in common than either of us would have thought”, he added.

 

 

Justin shrugged with a nod. “I guess so”, he said in a friendly manner. “So, you’re a college student?” he asked. Brian nodded in confirmation. “Where do you go?”

 

 

“University of Pittsburgh. I’m studying marketing and advertising,” Brian told him.

 

 

“Cool”, Justin responded. “You want to be an Ad Exec or something?”

 

 

Brian shrugged, not really wanting to talk about himself any longer. “I guess. But I’m more interested in what school you’re at”, he said, trying to avoid another question about himself.

 

 

As an observant, intelligent boy, Justin caught on to this but chose to respect Brian’s wishes and not say anything about it. He barely knew the guy, so he didn’t know how he would react to anyone really pressing his buttons. Deciding to play along, Justin responded, “I go to St. James Academy.” Brian surprised Justin by asking him what he was studying. “You really want to know?” Brian shrugged and nodded with a ‘why not’ attitude. “Okay… well, I study regular boring stuff, I guess. Stuff like english, math, history, geography, graphic design, physics and art.”

 

 

“Art, huh?” Brian said, taking a real interest in the boy. “You any good or are you one of those kids who are just kidding themselves?”

 

 

Justin laughed and kicked some sand at his companion. “Hey!” he chuckled as Brian smirked and dodged the flying sand. “I’ve been told I’m pretty good, actually. Good enough to win art competitions and prizes. Drawing and painting is my favourite thing to do in the world, so I should think I’m good…shit what the fuck am I going to do to amuse myself on this island if we’re really stuck here?”

 

 

“What, don’t have a sketch book in that satchel of yours?” Brian joked, his signature smirk plastered across his handsome face as he gave the boy a cheeky look.

 

 

Justin rolled his eyes at Brian but couldn’t resist smiling back at him. “Shut up”, he said light heartedly.

 

 

“You’re not a superhero after all”, Brian teased.

 

 

“I never said I was”, Justin pointed out with the same teasing tone in his voice. The boys’ joking was interrupted by a strange rustling that came from the forest behind them. Justin jumped at the sound and looked to the direction it came from, his eyes wide. “What was that?!” he said in a frightened voice.

 

 

Brian sat up slightly and looked towards the same direction Justin was looking to. With a raised brow, he said, “It’s probably nothing.” Justin seemed unconvinced. Brian sighed, “Look, kid, just relax. We’ll be fine. Now, it’s kind of an understatement to say that this has been a long and eventful day, so we should try and get some sleep. Although I doubt that’s going to take much effort, considering how exhausted you were earlier.”

 

 

“Yeah, but…don’t you think it’s creepy out here? I mean, there could be anything in that rainforest. Something that could try and kill us!” exclaimed Justin.

 

 

Lying back, Brian replied, “Quit being such a drama queen and get some shut-eye, Sunshine. Nothing is going to hurt you out here, alright?” he tried to assure the boy in a stern voice. “I’m telling you; we are going to be fine.”

 

 

Pouting for a moment, Justin hunched his shoulders and sighed. “Yeah, I guess…We won’t be here for long, anyway”, he said, more to himself than to Brian, who was already falling asleep. Hugging his knees, the teenager looked around his surroundings again, still feeling afraid. “They’ll find us”, he assured himself. “They’ll be out there looking for us and they’ll find us quickly. We won’t be stuck here for long…not forever.” He looked at Brian’s sleeping form and realised how very tired he really was. Sleep sounds like a good idea, he thought as he lay down on the palm leaves he and Brian had lain out earlier. Though his mind was whirling, the boy’s fatigue won and he quickly fell into a deep sleep, hoping that they would be saved in the morning.

 

 

---

 

 

ST. JAMES HIGH SCHOOL, PITTSBURGH 10AM

 

 

Craig Taylor’s face went dark as he yelled at the imbecile teachers at St. James High. “What in the world happened?!” he demanded. “Why is my son missing?”

 

 

Mr. Christianson sighed as the man yelled in his face. He understood the anger and the concern, but he’d just gotten off a several hour flight and could feel a head ache forming. The teacher knew that no matter what he said, he would not be able to calm Mr. and Mrs. Taylor down. He knew these people. These people were neurotic perfectionists whom he could hardly stand. And he knew that this was his fault. That was something he would not be able to get away with. “I apologise, Mr. Taylor. It seems your son was part of the group of several students that snuck off to attend the illegal boat party that night.”

 

 

“Illegal?!” exclaimed Craig. “How in the hell did those kids even find out about it?”

 

 

Mr. Christianson shook his head regretfully. “I’m afraid that part of the story is unclear. We asked the students but they all refused to give us an answer. But trust me, we will uncover the truth”, he told them.

 

 

Both Taylor parents shook their heads, unimpressed. “I just…do not understand how this could have happened”, Jennifer said. “Why wasn’t our son being taken care of better ?”

 

 

“As I said, I am very sorry for what happened. The kids snuck out, it was a mistake on our part-“ Mr. Christianson began.

 

 

“It wasn’t just a mistake, Sir!” Craig shouted. “It was an absolute fuck up! Our son is missing, and probably off with some…creep, and it is all at the fault of the incompetent teaching staff!”

 

 

Mr. Christianson blinked rapidly while he was yelled at and insulted. He knew this was what he could expect. “Now, it isn’t certain that your son is with that man but from what we were told by his friends, he is a young and kind person who would bring no harm to Justin in any way”, the teacher ranted, trying his best to come up with anything he could to calm the parents down.

 

 

It was all to no avail. “Either way, our son is likely in danger thanks to you people and my wife and I are very angry!” Craig said.

 

 

“Understandably, Mr. Taylor. But I can tell you that the Trinidad Police have issued a full search for them and that we will all be notified of any information acquired”, Mr. Christianson nervously told the Taylors.

 

 

“Well, thank you, Mr. Christianson, but that will not suffice. Craig and I will be flying over to Trinidad later today to help find our son”, Mrs. Taylor informed the teacher before grabbing her husband’s arm and pulling him out of the door. “Good bye, Sir”, she farewelled.

 

 

As the husband and wife made their way down the school corridor, they held each other’s hands tightly, as if gaining strength from each other. “We’ve got to find him, Craig”, Jennifer whispered emotionally. Craig squeezed his wife’s hand and assured her that they would. “I just don’t know what we’ll do if we don’t”, the woman added, tears welling up in her eyes.

 

 

We will find our son, Craig vowed silently. We will find him safe and well and we will bring him home…

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED    

       

---

Brian woke up with the sun in his face. He slowly opened his eyes and sat up, groaning. Again, the young man was disappointed by the fact that this was his reality rather than a dream. Well, fuck, he thought, rolling his eyes. Looking beside him, he noticed that his companion was not next to him. Standing up, he was relieved when he immediately spotted the kid on the beach with some sticks and tree branches. Intrigued, Brian walked over to the blond to see what he was doing. “Morning”, he said, reaching the kid. Justin shot a nod at him but did not respond with words. He was far too busy creating a large SOS sign on the beach with the branches and sticks he held. “Nice work”, Brian commented, watching Justin as he moved.

 

 

Justin looked up briefly this time and gave Brian a small smile. “Yeah, well, if we want to get the attention of planes or helicopters, this’ll come in handy”, he said. Brian nodded and took off his shirt. “Wha-What are you doing”, Justin stuttered, feeling himself blush at the sight of a shirtless Brian Kinney. It was a wondrous sight he could not tear his eyes away from.

 

 

The blond continued to stare, his jaw dropping when Brian took off his pants. “I’m going for a swim”, Brian told him with a knowing smirk when he looked at the boy’s flushed face. “It’s a hot morning and I want to cool down. Feel free to join me if you like.” Clad in only his briefs, Brian turned and took off towards the water. Entering the ocean was like a breath of fresh air, the water calming him instantly. Brian loved the ocean. Any morning that begun with a dip in the ‘great blue’ was a good start to the day, where Brian was concerned. Justin watched Brian diving through the waves for a moment before turning back to his SOS sign. He tried not to ogle the man too much…

 

 

*****

 

 

An hour later, Brian and Justin collected Branches and palm leaves to build a shelter. Working as a team, the pair built a fairly sturdy shelter in just over 30 minutes. “There we go”, Brian said, tying off one last leaf on the top of the shelter. All seemed to be going well until Brian felt a sharp prick to his left hand. “Ouch!” he cried out softly and jumped back slightly, holding the thenar space of his left hand.

 

 

Justin looked up at the brunet and reached out for him. “Here, give me your hand”, he said, taking Brian’s hand as he offered it to him. Inspecting Brian’s injury, Justin bent down to take a tissue and a band aid out of his bag. Brian couldn’t help but laugh as the boy pressed the tissue to the bleeding knick on his hand. “What?” Justin questioned with a quirked brow.

 

 

“Of course you would have tissues and band aids with you”, Brian said wryly. He flinched when Justin pulled the tissue away and quickly applied the band aid.

 

 

“Lucky for you. You might’ve gotten an infection if I didn’t have those things”, Justin responded.

 

 

Brian smiled and shook his head before he sat down, Justin following suit a moment later. “I still might, you know.”

 

 

Justin shrugged, “With my first aid skills?” he joked. “No way.”

 

 

The pair shared a small laugh and sat in silence for a few seconds. “Thanks”, Brian said, breaking the quiet.

 

 

“You’re very welcome”, Justin replied. Again, the boys sat in brief silence. “So…” he began awkwardly.

 

 

Brian ran his fingers through his hair and looked over at his companion. “Uh…so what is it that you want to do with you life?” he asked, saying the first thing that came to his mind to kill the almost painful silence.

 

 

Justin was relieved to have something to talk about. “Well, my parents have always wanted me to go to Dartmouth to study business, but…I’ve always wanted to be an artist”, he admitted.

 

 

The older boy nodded, listening intently. It surprised him how genuinely interested he actually was in the blond’s life. “Forget your parents”, Brian advised him in a friendly manner. “Do what ever the hell you want to do. It’s your life.”

 

 

“I think my parents would support me no matter what I did” Justin said. “They’d just be disappointed if I didn’t go into business like my father. But art is…it makes me feel…it’s everything”, he admitted, his eyes shining.

 

 

Brian noticed the passion on Justin’s face as he spoke of his dream future in art. It was mesmerising to look at. “Wow” he said.

 

 

Justin broke out of his trance and looked over at Brian. “What?” he asked curiously.

 

 

“I’ve honestly never seen that look you just had on anyone else’s face before. Not ever.” Justin looked at Brian in slight confusion and asked what he meant, to which Brian responded, “You looked so…like you were in a completely different world. Like even just thinking about art, you get lost. It was incredible. I’ve never been as passionate about anything the way I guess you are about your art.”

 

 

Taken aback completely by Brian’s profound and flattering words, Justin blushed and stuttered, “Uh…t-thanks.” He let out a small, nervous laugh, not knowing how to respond to Brian’s massive compliment. He never expected a guy like Brian to say anything like that. “Well, do you know what you want to do? You know, after you graduate from college?”

 

 

Brian thought for a moment. “I do want to get into advertising”, he told the boy. “I’m fucking good at it. I’m not trying to talk myself up or whatever, but I really am good at this shit”, he admitted as Justin nodded in understanding and interest. “So, I guess I’ll be an Ad Executive, but…I dunno, I thought maybe one day I’ll try to open an agency of my own. Be the CEO of it all. I’d like to be my own boss one day, I suppose.” Brian surprised himself for letting out his future hopes like this. He usually never did, but Justin’s simple yet passionate talk about his own dreams had inspired him. He looked away, feeling slightly self conscious.

 

 

“What about…” Justin began, causing Brian to look back at him. “I dunno, a family? You ever thought about starting one some day?” he asked, feeling awkward at the question.

 

 

Brian scoffed. “A family?! HA!” he let out a loud, sarcastic laugh. “I’ve honestly never even considered it”, he told Justin. “Besides, seeing as I’m a fag that may have been difficult even if I ever did think about it.”

 

 

Justin’s eyes widened and his heart began to beat faster. “You…you really are gay?’ he asked.

 

 

“What can I say”, Brian began with a shrug. “I can’t resist a good dick and a nice ass.”

 

 

Flushing at Brian’s illicit use of words, Justin replied. “I-um…me too.” Brian quirked a brow and smirked at him. “I’m gay too”, Justin added.

 

 

“Oh, I know”, Brian replied casually.

 

 

Justin’s eyes widened. “You can tell?”

 

 

Brian nodded. “The way you’ve been staring at me was kind of a dead give away.” Justin couldn’t help but blush. “Plus my gay-dar is pretty good.”  

 

 

The blond laughed. “Yeah, well might I remind you that you were staring at me just as much”, he pointed out light heartedly.

 

 

Brian got a mischievous look on his face and said, “Well, perhaps those condoms my friend slipped me won’t go to waste after all.”

 

 

The younger of the pair went bright red, his heart suddenly pounding faster. “Brian!” he complained, clearly not appreciating the joke. “Don’t be gross!”

 

 

The brunet laughed, relenting. “Alright, alright”, he said, lifting his arms in surrender. “It was only a joke, Sunshine.” After another beat of silence, Brian studied Justin and asked him, “You’ve never been with anyone have you?”

 

 

“I-I”, the boy stuttered. He looked over at Brian’s expectant face and sighed in defeat. “No. I haven’t”, admitted the teenager.

 

 

“That’s okay”, Brian reassured the blond. “Not everyone is a slut like me.”

 

 

Justin looked at the older guy curiously. “Huh?” he inquired.

 

 

“It’s nothing, kid”, Brian shrugged the issue off.

 

 

The teenager nodded, deciding once again not to press the young man next to him. Not when they were actually getting along. His mother always taught him to be patient with others so as to get in their good favour. That thought provoked several others that he had been avoiding. “Our parents must be so damn worried about us”, he mused aloud.

 

 

Brian huffed, “Yeah, yours might be. I doubt my folks give two shits about what happens to me.”

 

 

“Why do you say that?” Justin asked. “I’m sure they are worried about you, Brian. I mean, they’re your parents.”

 

 

The brunet shook his head, not looking at Justin. “Let’s just say I didn’t exactly have the ideal parents to bring me up”, he told the boy.

 

 

Justin studied Brian, curious about how mysterious he seemed to be. He figured he might just find out a whole lot more about Brian Kinney.

 

---

 

Pittsburgh

 

“Oh my God, Hunter, what if he’s dead!?” exclaimed an emotional Daphne Chanders to her friend.

 

Hunter sighed over the phone; he did not want to think of that as a possibility. “Daph, this is Justin we’re talking about. He always knows what to do. Even in the worst situations.”

 

“What situation could be worse than this!?” Daphne asked. “He could be all alone out there!”

 

“But he could be with that guy. My Uncle Ben’s friend. I think his name was Brian?” Hunter suggested.

 

 

Daphne nodded. “Yeah, I guess that would make sense…kinda. I mean; where the hell could they be? What if they really are dead?! Oh God!” The girl begun to get emotional thinking about what could be of her friend.

 

 

“Daphne, you have to calm down!” Hunter insisted, despite his own worry for Justin. “We have just got to believe he’s okay.”

 

 

Daphne took several deep breaths to calm herself. “You’re right, you’re right”, she admitted. “It’s just…if anything happens to him, it’ll be our fault! We never should have left without making sure he was with us! How fucking stupid could we be!”

 

 

“I know how you feel”, Hunter admitted. “I blame myself too. But we have to be strong for Justin.”

 

 

This made Daphne crack up slightly. “Did you really just say that?” she asked, giggling.

 

 

Daphne’s small laughter made Hunter smile. “Pretend you didn’t hear that”, he said.

 

 

“Too late”, the girl teased. “Anyhow, your uncle is still in Trinidad, isn’t he?” she asked, getting right back on track.

 

 

“Yeah. I’ve been messaging him and talking to him”, Hunter told her. “He said there is still no sign of that Brian guy.”

 

 

“So they probably are together”, Daphne said thoughtfully.

 

 

Hunter nodded. “It looks that way, yeah.”

 

 

A dramatic sigh escaped Daphne’s lips. “I really hope they get found. I don’t know what I’d do if we lost Justin.”

 

 

“Me neither”, Hunter admitted. The two friends stayed on the phone in reflective and sombre silence for several more worried-filled minutes.

 

 

---

 

 

Trinidad airport, international terminal

 

 

“There he is”, Craig Taylor said, pointing at Mr. Glenane, the teacher on the senior trip who agreed to stay in Trinidad to meet the missing student’s parents there. The worried parents hurried over to the man who was waving at them.

 

 

The teacher reached out his hand to shake those of both parents. “Mr. and Mrs. Taylor”, he greeted politely.

 

 

“I want to speak to the police right away”, Jennifer said assertively, not bothering with her usual WASP-ish politeness.

 

 

Nodding, Mr. Glenane turned and began walking, gesturing for Craig and Jennifer to follow after him. “There is a car waiting for us just outside”, he told them as they walked. “It’ll take us up to the hotel first, so you can unload your luggage and-“

 

 

Craig cut the man off quickly, “No. We don’t need to ‘unload’. What we need is to find our son. We’re going to the police before we do anything else”, he told him firmly.

 

 

Helpless, Mr. Glenane nodded, agreeing to the man’s demands. He knew that there was no chance of charming the parents of the missing Taylor boy. Things would be sharp business between them, he supposed. Walking fast, they exited the airport and headed for the car. Craig and Jennifer Taylor were two people on a mission that no one was going to get in the way of.  

 

 

---

 

 

The Hotel

 

 

“Okay…” Melanie began, sighing. “I gotta admit…things do seem off now.”

 

 

Lindsay nodded and squeezed her girlfriend’s hand. “Brian definitely would have been back by now. He would never disappear in a different country for over two days”, she said.

 

 

Michael ran his hand through his hair. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you guys!” he exclaimed, relieved that his friends finally seemed to agree that something was wrong. He knew his friend was in trouble and until everyone accepted that, they wouldn’t be able to help him. “He is really missing. I just know he needs our help.”

 

 

“Oh my God, what if he’s already dead?!” exclaimed Emmett dramatically.

 

 

Everyone turned to look at Emmett’s expressive face. “Emmett! Don’t say things like that!” cried Lindsay, reaching over for a hug from Melanie.

 

 

“He’s not dead, alright”, Michael said, shaking his head at his friend. “He just…he can’t be. We’ve just gotta help him.”

 

 

“How?” Emmett asked, with the same dramatic tone as before.

 

 

Michael took a sip of his water to relieve his dry throat. He had hardly slept due to his worry for his friend. “We help the police however we can. We look for him. We ask around. Anything”, he answered.

 

 

Ben wrapped his arm around Michael’s shoulders and gave him a squeeze. “And you can help him by never giving up. Don’t lose hope”, he said comfortingly.

 

 

The dark haired comic lover leaned into his new lover’s touch. “We won’t”, he responded. “Thank you.”

 

 

“What for?” Ben asked gently.

 

 

“For being here”, Michael said, reaching up to touch the hand Ben had on his arm. He gave the hand a squeeze.

 

 

“There’s nowhere else I’d be”, Ben whispered. “He will be okay, Michael”, the man reassured. “He will be found.”

 

 

Michael sighed and said, “I sure hope you’re right…”

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED…

---

 

 

-The hotel, an hour and a half later

 

 

 

 

 

A loud ringing sounded in the air, disrupting the friend’s conversation. Michael quickly put his hand in his pocket, grabbing his phone in hopes that it could be news of his friend’s where-abouts. “Hello?” he asked, not bothering to look at the caller I.D.

 

 

 

 

 

“Michael”, Debbie Novotony’s sad voice said. Even though Michael was always happy to hear from his mother, he let out a sigh, disappointed that the call wasn’t what he’d hoped it would be. “I just wanted to know if Brian showed up yet”, the woman continued.

 

 

 

 

 

“No, Ma”, Michael responded. “I told you, he’s really missing. We have no idea where he is.” A sniffling sound was heard over the phone. “Are…are you alright?” the young man asked his mother, suddenly hearing her sadness.

 

 

 

 

 

More sniffles. “I was just thinking about how worried I am”, Debbie cried, her voice high. “I didn’t take it seriously before, Michael. But I thought about it all day and all night and I…oh, he’s just so young! What could have happened to him!?”

 

 

 

 

 

Trying to sooth his distraught mother over the phone, Michael said, “Ma, you need to take a few deep breaths. This isn’t your fault. Brian’s…well, he is missing, but he will be alright. You know him, Ma. And…we’ll find him. I promise.”

 

 

 

 

 

“I’m coming over there”, the woman said, a sudden conviction in her voice.

 

 

 

 

 

“What?” Michael asked.

 

 

 

 

 

Sounding like she was straightening herself up, a determined Mrs. Novotony told her son, “I’m booking myself a flight right now, and I am going to be with you in Trinidad as soon as possible!”

 

 

 

 

 

“I appreciate that, Ma, but you really don’t need to do that. What about the Diner? Uncle Vic?”

 

 

 

 

 

“There are people who can take care of the Diner until I get back. And you know Vic has got a boyfriend now, so I really don’t think he’ll have to worry about being alone”, Debbie said hurriedly. “I am coming over to you, and we are going to find that boy and that’s that!” she announced.

 

 

 

 

 

Michael couldn’t help but laugh at his mother’s typical determined and quite ostentatious behaviour. “Alright, mom. What ever you want to do.”

 

 

 

 

 

“That’s more like it!” exclaimed Debbie, knowing that she would go over to Trinidad to help first handily whether her son liked it or not. “I’ll see you soon!”

 

 

 

 

 

After exchanging goodbyes, or rather, ‘see you laters’, Michael hung up the phone, an amused look on his face. “What was that all about?” Emmett asked with genuine curiosity.

 

 

 

 

 

“My mother is coming”, Michael told his friend. Secretly, he was incredibly relieved. He knew that his mother would know how to go about searching for Brian in the right places, with her take-charge attitude. Having her there would be great because she would never give up and encourage everyone else to do the same.

 

 

 

 

 

“Oh goodie!” exclaimed Emmett, perking right up. “It’ll be fabulous having her here.”  

 

 

 

 

 

Someone was heard clearing their throat from behind the boys, prompting them to turn around to see Mr. Glenane, who Michael had met the previous day, along with a man and a woman. “Michael?” Mr. Glenane said. “This is Mr. and Mrs. Craig and Jennifer Taylor. They’re the parents of Justin, the student that went missing the same time as your friend. I have told them all about you and the situation”, the man explained.

 

 

 

 

 

Michael nodded and reached his hand out to shake Craig’s, then Jennifer’s. “Hi, so I’m Michael. Thanks Alex”, the man said to the parents and then the teacher.

 

 

 

 

 

“Your friend went missing on the same boat party as our son, yes?” Craig asked the man.

 

 

 

 

 

“He did”, Michael affirmed. “Brian Kinney.”

 

 

 

 

 

Craig continued to stare down the young man before him. “And there may be a possibility that this Brian is with our Justin?”

 

 

 

 

 

Michael shrugged. “Well, we don’t really know for sure, but it would make sense, considering they were both on that boat, I saw them talking just before the police bust, and now neither of them are anywhere to be seen.”

 

 

 

 

 

“Wait, wait, hold on”, Jennifer interrupted. “You saw them speaking to each other? Oh God, what if that man has led him astray!”

 

 

 

 

 

“If that’s what’s going on, I am going to seriously hurt someone”, Craig said in an eerily serious tone.

 

 

 

 

 

Spotting the worried look on Mr. Glenane’s face, Michael interjected quickly, “Look, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, I understand you’re worried, but I promise you it’s nothing like that at all. I’ve known Brian since we were kids. He’s a good person. I really think that he’s in trouble because he would never run off like this in a foreign country for two days without telling us where he was…If by any chance he really is missing with your son, then believe me when I say he will be safe with him. Besides, if they are in some sort of mess, it is better that they be together rather than alone, right?”

 

 

 

 

 

The Taylor’s shared a look for a moment before looking back at the man, giving him nods. “Yes, I suppose you are right, there”, Jennifer agreed. “I’m just not crazy about the idea that my boy is with some stranger.”

 

 

 

 

 

“Like I said, Brian is a good guy. He is really smart, both book wise and street wise. He knows how to take care of himself, and he goes to college, so you know he’s a respectable guy. Your son will be completely safe with him if they are together. In fact, now that I think of it, I hope they are together”, Michael said.

 

 

 

 

 

Craig scrunched up his face slightly. “He sure couldn’t be all that respectable if he was at that party in the first place.”

 

 

 

 

 

“Yeah…well who hasn’t had a few wild party nights in their college days?” Michael said, looking between the parents, trying to see if he was getting through to them. “And…your kid was there too.”

 

 

 

 

 

It looked like Craig was about to protest, but his wife stopped him. “No, you’re right, I suppose”, the woman sighed. “I never thought my son would break the rules like that, but I guess we just have to accept that he did. That’s not what’s important. What is, is finding him alive and well. And if he is with your friend, I think we can help each other.”   

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

The docks, several hours later

 

 

 

 

 

The sun shone brightly over the water, it’s warmth along with the blue sky making the day seem perfect. It was sadly ironic for all those who knew Justin and Brian.

 

 

 

 

 

Jennifer looked out over the side of the boat in longing as it arrived back at the dock. The Taylor’s, Michael, Lindsay and Mr. Glenane stepped off of the boat, all with feelings of great disappointment once it had been docked. They had joined the police sea search that afternoon and had been unsuccessful in finding their missing boys. The worry each adult felt increased immensely. “Well that was a total bust”, Lindsay said dejectedly.

 

 

 

 

 

“Thank you for pointing out the obvious”, Michael huffed.

 

 

 

 

 

Two of the officers with them approached them. “We are incredibly sorry that we were unable to locate your son and friend”, one of the officers said. “We will be going out on another search tomorrow morning that is scheduled to last all day. You are all welcome to join that search as well.”

 

 

 

 

 

All the worried adults nodded in affirmation. “Definitely”, Craig said. “What time should we be here?” he asked.

 

 

 

 

 

“The search will start at 9:30 in the morning”, the other officer told them. “You’d be best to be ready by ten to nine.”

 

 

 

 

 

“Thank you”, Craig said. “Even though the search was…unsuccessful today, you have been very considerate and helpful.”

 

 

 

 

 

The officers nodded and conversed with them for 20 more minutes before bidding them farewell and departing. Michael turned to Justin’s parents and said, “You two must be exhausted. Why don’t we all head back to the hotel now. There’s nothing more we can do until tomorrow.”

 

 

 

 

 

Instead of arguing and protesting like they had earlier that day, Craig and Jennifer agreed, their weariness beginning to take its toll on them both. Mr. Glenane looked relieved at this. “Let’s go”, Jennifer said, her voice choked up. Her husband instinctively put his arm around her and held her close to his side.

 

 

 

 

 

“We’ll find them, Mrs. Taylor”, Michael reassured her kindly. “They will be okay.”

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

The next day, on the island

 

 

 

 

 

Justin grunted as he tossed another large branch onto the giant ‘S’. The boys were working together to create an even bigger ‘SOS’ sign right on the beach, in hopes that it would be seen if any plane or helicopter flew overhead. It seemed to be taking quite a while as the boys had to gather plenty of large branches, sticks and leaves; anything they could find that would do the trick. Finally, after Brian added one last branch to the second ‘S’, it was done. Both boys stepped back to look at their work. “This’ll work just fine”, Brian said, nodding.

 

 

 

 

 

“I guess”, Justin said, sounding unsatisfied.

 

 

 

 

 

Brian turned to look at his younger companion. “What’s up with you?” he asked with genuine interest, despite the words themselves sounding a little harsh. “You’ve hardly said anything for the last hour. I thought I was going crazy for a while, cause you usually never shut up.”

 

 

 

 

 

The younger of the pair let out a small laugh at the joke Brian had made, pleasing him. “It’s just...there’s gotta be another way off this island”, the blond said. “If we tried really hard, maybe we could-“

 

 

 

 

 

Brian interrupted the train of thought, “Sorry, kid, but I really don’t think there is”, he said. “We don’t have a boat or anything.”

 

 

 

 

 

“We could try making a raft or something”, Justin suggested, sounding hopeful but unconvinced.

 

 

 

 

 

“I don’t think there is anything here that we could really use to make one sturdy enough to hold both of us on the ocean”, Brian told the teenager, shaking his head. “This isn’t ‘Castaway’.” He looked at the boy’s sad face. “I’m sorry.”

 

 

 

 

 

Justin shook his head. “It’s not your fault. I’m just…how long do you think we’ll make it out here?” he asked.

 

 

 

 

 

“Well, we’ve already built a shelter, found a clean stream of water, found aloe vera plants and found fruit we can eat and we have only been here a couple days”, Brian responded. “I’d say we’re doing pretty well right now. We make a good team.” This caused Justin to smile, which again pleased Brian. “It’s getting dark”, he pointed out, looking at the horizon. “Why don’t we start a fire?”

 

 

 

 

 

Justin agreed and the pair got to their task. Not too long later, the boys were sitting in their ‘hut’, warming their hands by their small fire. “So…what does Brian Kinney get up to for fun?” Justin asked his companion as they sat together comfortably.

 

 

 

 

 

“Me? Uh…” Brian was not expecting Justin to want to know more about him, but found that he actually wanted to share. “Well, you know I like to party. You know, drink, drugs, dance, fuck, all that jazz.” He noticed Justin’s raised eyebrow that suggested that wasn’t what he meant. “But I…guess I love to read. And I like old movies. I’ve always enjoyed working out, too.”

 

 

 

 

 

Justin smiled at the man sitting beside him. “That’s cool. I wouldn’t have pegged you as a guy to like old movies.”

 

 

 

 

 

“I only go for the best”, Brian joked.

 

 

 

 

 

The blond chuckled. “I’m sure”, he said, his bright smile in place.

 

 

 

 

 

“What about you? What does Justin Taylor like to do?” Brian asked, wearing a smile of his own.

 

 

 

 

 

“I like cooking”, Justin told him. “And…watching TV, and hanging out with my friends doing mindless shit and spending time with my little sister. I love reading too.”

 

 

 

 

 

Brian turned his body so that he slightly faced Justin. “What’s your favourite book?” he asked.

 

 

 

 

 

“Um…’Catcher in the Rye’ is great. I really like ‘Cloud Atlas’ as well”, the teenager answered.

 

 

 

 

 

The brunet nodded and sat up straighter. “Those are great”, he agreed. “I must’ve read ‘Catcher in the Rye’ like 6 times.”

 

 

 

 

 

“Me too”, Justin said enthusiastically. “It just gets better each time.” Brian agreed with him before it fell silent again. “Hey, Brian?” Justin asked. “What…do you think everyone’s doing back home? Our friends and families, I mean. Right now?”

 

 

 

 

 

Brian moved a little closer to the blond and said, “Kid, you need to learn to live in the ‘now’. Who knows what everyone else is doing right now, all that matters is that we are here, and we need to survive. That’s all we can think of.”

 

 

 

 

 

Justin thought silently for a moment and then said, “You’re right. You know, you’re really smart.”

 

 

 

 

 

“I have my moments”, Brian said with a smirk.

 

 

 

 

 

Sometime later, the fire had died down and the boys lay in their shelter, trying to sleep. Justin was shivering. Brian himself still felt warm from the heat of the fire, so he removed his jacket and handed it to Justin. “Here”, he said.

 

 

 

 

 

Justin took the offered clothing item gratefully. “Thanks”, he replied and slipped the jacket onto his shoulders. He huddled back down in a ball on the ground. “Brian… uh…I just want you to know I am really glad that I’m not here alone. I mean, I’m glad that you are here with me.”

 

 

 

 

 

This unexpected confession touched Brian in a way that slightly embarrassed him. He was glad that Justin couldn’t read his mind. “I’m glad you’re here, too, Sunshine”, Brian responded. “We’ll help each other, Justin. Together, we will make it.” Minutes later, the boys were sound asleep.

 

 

 

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED…

 

 

 

 

The next morning

 

 

A loud bird call woke Justin from his slumber. He grunted and stretched out for several seconds before he opened his blue eyes. Awakening to the site he had been graced with for the last couple of days left him tremendously disappointed. Still on the island, he thought to himself, sitting up. He looked at his arms and saw Brian’s jacket. The memory came back to the boy, the kind moment the previous night when Brian had selflessly given him his jacket in the cold night. Justin found himself smiling at the memory. He turned his head as he sat up straighter to see his friend sleeping beside him. The teenager found himself watching Brian as he slept for a couple minutes. He had meant whole-heartedly what he told the man last night; he was so grateful that Brian was there with him.

 

Looking out at the ocean as the waves crashed against the shore, Justin stood and stripped down to his briefs. He stepped around Brian and took off for the ocean. Diving into the water was incredibly refreshing for the boy that morning. It certainly put him in a better mood.  

 

A couple minutes later, Brian opened his eyes, coming back into consciousness. He sat up right away and rubbed his eyes as he yawned and stretched. When he looked behind him, he saw that his companion was not lying beside him. He stood up and looked toward the sea, instantly spotting the teenager. A smile grew on Brian’s face as he watched Justin happily dive and swim through the water. Brian stood still and watched the boy for about a minute before deciding to join him. ‘I deserve a bit of fun, too’, he thought. He removed his shirt and pants until he was only clothed in his underwear and ran over towards the sea.

 

Brian reached the water and dived into an oncoming wave, making Justin notice him. Once Brian surfaced, the pair exchanged morning greetings and genuine smiles. “Morning”, Justin said cheerfully. The new friends enjoyed a morning swim in the ocean together, surprisingly having the time of their lives. For a little while, they could forget that they were marooned on a deserted island.

 

---

 

Later that day, at the hotel

 

 

Michael stepped out of the hotel elevator, holding Ben’s hand in his. Together, they made their way to the lobby to meet with the Taylor’s. They had called Michael a couple minutes ago, requesting to speak with him in the lobby. As he rounded the corner, he heard a familiar voice that stopped him in his tracks. “Michael?” Ben asked, looking at his new lover with concern.

 

Jennifer Taylor popped her head up from where she was sitting a little away from the men and waved. “Michael!” she called out. “Look who’s here.”

 

A woman got up from the chair facing Jennifer and Craig and turned around. Sure enough it was Debbie Novotony, dressed in every colour in the rainbow. “Mikey!” she cried and ran over to take her boy in her arms. She gave him a big bear squeeze.

 

“Ma”, Michael huffed, pulling himself out of his mother’s death-like grip. “What are you doing here?” he asked, straightening out his shirt with his hands.

 

“I told you I’d get the first flight out here, didn’t I?” she explained, a big smile on her face. “Well, I most certainly did and now here I am. Aren’t you glad to see me?”

 

Michael watched his mother’s expectant face. He decided to take pity on her, knowing that underneath her smile, she was just as worried about Brian as he was. “Yeah, Ma”, he answered, giving her another hug that was gladly received. “It’s good to see you.”

 

Debbie hugged her son to her until she spotted an awkward looking Ben standing a little away from them, unsure of what to do. She pulled away from Michael. “Who’s this?”

 

“Oh. Ma, this is Ben Bruckner. We met when I first got here”, Michael explained, shifting his eyes between the two as they looked at each other.  

 

Ben stuck his hand out and greeted the woman, “I’m sorta his boyfriend. It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Novotony.”

 

Debbie looked from Ben’s hand to his face and let out a loud cackle. Instead of shaking the man’s hand, she grabbed him and pulled his body towards her, wrapping him in one of her famous hugs. “If you’re with my Mikey, then you can call me Debbie. We’re family now.”

 

Michael turned bright red. He couldn’t believe Ben had called him his boyfriend. They were seeing each other, and he did like him very much, but they hadn’t discussed making it official yet. The truth was that Michael wanted to, but he was too afraid of what Ben might say. Now he had said it all. “Alright, mother, let the man breath”, he said, breaking the two apart. He gave Ben a shy smile when their eyes met, which Ben returned.

 

“You didn’t tell me you had a boyfriend!” Debbie said, hitting her son’s arm.

 

Michael rubbed his arm. “Ouch! Ma!” But the woman did not let up. She continued to eye him intensely. “Okay, okay! I’m sorry, alright!”

 

“That’s more like it”, Debbie said with a big satisfied smile on her face. “Now, I’ve just met Jen and Craig. You didn’t tell me about them either.”

 

“The last time we spoke was before I had even met them”, Michael defended himself.

 

Debbie relented, patting her son on the back and walking him towards the Taylor’s. “Alright, I forgive you”, she said light heartedly. She sat back down on her chair and motioned for Michael and Ben to take seats of their own.

 

“Hello again, Michael”, Jennifer Taylor greeted politely. “We were just telling your mother how strong you’ve been the last several days.”

 

Michael gave the woman a smile. “That’s…that’s really great of you to have said. Thank you, Jennifer.”

 

Craig took his wife’s hand in his and gave it an affectionate squeeze. “I do hope you know it’s true, Michael”, he said. “We know you are worried about your friend, and you have shown such determination to find him. You’ve also been so considerate of my wife and I, reassuring us about our son. Sure, it’s only been a couple of days, but your actions have been admirable.”

 

Michael was taken aback by Craig’s kind words. “I…I don’t know what to say.”

 

“A nice ‘thank you’ would do just fine”, Debbie said, patting her son’s hand.

 

“Right. Thank you both”, Michael said, looking at Jennifer and Craig. “I’ve gotta admit, I’ve never seen more determination in anyone than you two wanting to find your son. I’m sure he’s a great kid.”

 

Tears formed in Jennifer’s eyes as her husband squeezed her hand again. “He is”, she said, her voice choked up. “He really is.”  

 

“I’m so proud of you, son”, Debbie said, ruffling Michael’s hair affectionately. “Brian will be too once he finds out what you have been doing for him.”

 

Michael reached out to give his mother‘s hand a loving squeeze. He really was glad that she was there.

 

---

 

2 days later

 

 

Emmett squeezed Michael in his arms. “Oh! I’m going to miss you so much!” he cried. The man turned and gave Michael a big wet kiss on the cheek. “You take care of yourself.” Finally he pulled away to look his friend in the eyes.

 

“I will, Em. I’ll miss you too”, Michael said to his friend, stroking his arms gently with his hands. He let his friend go as Melanie approached him.

 

The woman pulled him into another big hug. “I’m sorry that we have to go”, she said.

 

Michael shook his head. “It’s okay. Staying here any longer would cost money that you don’t have. I get it.”

 

Melanie pulled back. “That’s not stopping you”, she remarked. “You’re staying despite the fact that you’re as broke as we are.” 

 

“Brian is more important than my eternal debts”, Michael said with a smile on his face. “I’ve got to stay until we find him. He’d do the same for me, I know it.” Melanie nodded and stepped back so that her girlfriend could launch herself into Michael’s arms.

 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?” she asked him, on the verge of tears.

 

Michael held his emotional friend close to him. “No, Linds. You go back home. It’s okay, really.” He pulled back to look the blonde in the eyes. “Besides, I’ve got Ben here.”

 

“And your mother”, Melanie pointed out.

 

“Don’t remind me”, Michael groaned, thinking about how intrusive his mother had been over the past two days when it came to him and Ben. She walked in on them twice when they were fooling around. Twice!

 

The friends all shared a laugh. Ted stepped forward to shake Michael’s hand. “Good luck”, he said. Michael thanked the man. Brandon gave Michael a handshake and good wishes of his own after Ted.

 

“Okay, we’ve got to get going”, Melanie announced. After more goodbye’s and good lucks, the friends got into the shuttle that was taking them to the airport. They all waved out at Michael as the shuttle pulled away from the hotel. Michael took a deep breath and turned to go back inside.  

 

---

 

Back on the island

 

 

Over the next couple of weeks, Brian and Justin worked together to survive on the island. They continued to rebuild their large ‘SOS’ sign on the beach using all the large branches and sticks they could find. The boys also continuously fixed and rebuilt their shelter.

 

Together, they had found more food they could eat, from plants, trees and the ground. Brian had made spears out of sticks they found lying around the island and learned to fish with them. That meant that the boys had to learn to cook what they caught. Justin’s cooking skills proved highly useful.

 

Deciding it was far too hot each day to be wearing long jeans, both boys used Brian’s knife to cut their pants shorter. Brian admired Justin’s bubble butt as he slid his new shorts back on his body after he cut them. Damn, Brian thought, biting his lip. What an ass…

 

Unfortunately, their supplies had eventually run out. Justin’s sunscreen, bug spray and gum were all gone. “The lighter’s dead”, Brian announced once that too had run out. “We’re gonna have to learn to light a fire on our own. It took some time and practice, but eventually the boys did learn how to start a fire without the use of a lighter or matches. “Our boy scout training came into use after all”, Brian remarked once they managed to successfully light a fire, making Justin laugh. How I love hearing that laugh, the brunet thought.

 

Justin had been keeping count of the days they had to spend on the island on a small boulder nearby their shelter. Each night before sleeping, he drew a new line on the rock. It kept him grounded, reminding him that they had to keep going. That he had to live in the now as Brian had told him, so that they could survive. Brian and Justin became good friends over their first two and a half weeks on the island, sharing information about themselves and their lives, as well as making constant jokes to try and have fun. Despite everything, Justin could not deny that Brian was very fun to spend time with. He found himself hoping that they would continue to be friends long after they returned home. Both boys also checked each other out often, admiring each other’s bodies and faces. One thing was for sure; they were incredibly attracted to each other. The fact that they had gotten to know each other only amplified this. Whenever Brian caught Justin looking at him, the boy would turn bright red, which only made Brian think he was even cuter.

 

On one not particularly special night, Brian watched their fire die out. Justin was already asleep in their shelter, having gotten all tuckered out from the day. Yawning deeply, Brian decided it was time for him to get some sleep too. He lied down beside Justin, on his side. Just as he closed his eyes, Justin turned in his sleep and wrapped his arm around Brian, putting his head on the man’s chest. Brian opened his eyes in surprise. He looked down at Justin, seeing that he was still fast asleep. Oddly, Brian found the embrace comforting. He wrapped his arm around Justin’s body, pulling him a little closer to him. Satisfied, Brian closed his eyes and allowed himself to fall into a deep sleep, with Justin in his arms.     

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED…     

 

 

The Kinney residence, Pittsburgh

 

 

Loud snoring filled the living room in the Kinney house on a Thursday afternoon. Joan rolled her eyes as she glanced at her husband, who was fast asleep in a nearby arm chair. “Typical”, she muttered under her breath with contempt and got back to her ironing. The theme music to the four o’clock news sounded, grabbing the woman’s attention. A couple stories that Joan listened to without really paying attention were presented, until one very, very important story.

 

A picture of her son was displayed on the screen, along side a picture of a teenage boy. The woman gasped, and almost dropped her burning iron on the floor. Placing the item securely on the ironing board, Joan made her way to the couch, her eyes never leaving the screen. “The search and recovery effort for two young men from Pittsburgh who disappeared over two weeks ago off of the Trinidad Sea continues”, the news anchor said. “Justin Taylor and Brian Kinney were last seen on a party boat for the local celebration of ‘Carnivale’ on the night of…”

 

The sound of the news reporter’s voice drowned out as the reality set in for Joan. When she had been called about Brian going missing, she and her husband had not taken it seriously. They had thought it was just their boy being irresponsible as always. Deep down, however, Joanie felt that something wasn’t quite right. Why didn’t I listen to my gut?! She asked herself. Why did I let that man get into my head?!

 

Remembering her despicable husband’s presence, Joan rose to her feet and reached over to shake the man’s shoulder. “Jack”, she called, frantically. “Jack, wake up! It’s Brian!”

 

Jack groaned as he woke from his nap, and opened his eyes slowly. “Huh? What do you want?”

 

“Jack, it’s Brian!” Joan cried.

 

The man rolled his eyes as he sat up straighter in his chair. “What about him? What has the little shit done now? Finally come out of hiding?”

 

“No! We were wrong about that. Our boy, he’s…he’s really missing!” Joan told the man. She pointed at the television. “Look!”

 

Finally looking up at the T.V., Jack’s eyes widened. He watched the story with his wife, both with deep interest. “Well, I’ll be damned”, he said in surprise. “The little asshole really is missing after all.”

 

“And we acted like it was nothing!” exclaimed his worried wife. “God, I’m a terrible mother!”

 

Jack let out an amused laugh. “Well, you didn’t need this news story to make that evident”, he remarked. This earned him a glare from the woman standing beside his chair. “Oh, come on, woman! The boy is a damn menace! He was bound to get himself into real trouble sooner or later, we always knew it.”

 

“How can you say that about your own son?!” Joan demanded. “When he’s in danger. He could be dead!”

 

A look of worry flashed over Jack’s face for but a moment. It was fleeting, but it was there, and Joan had not missed it. No matter what the man said, she knew he cared just a little bit for their son. “If he is, there’s nothing in the world we can do about it, so why the hell go on shouting about it?!” he yelled as he got up and charged for his bedroom. Joan jumped when she heard the door slam closed, signalling that Jack had locked himself in the room. Brian’s mother sighed sadly and got back to her ironing.

 

Ten minutes later, mother Kinney was interrupted once again by the ringing of the phone. She went over to answer it, warily. She could only guess that whoever was on the other end of the phone was calling to ask about Brian. “Hello?” she answered hesitantly.

 

“Mom!” her daughter Claire’s voice said through the phone. “I just saw the news. Did you know that Brian was missing?” The tone of the woman’s voice suggested a genuine concern.

 

Joan sighed nervously and responded, “We…we did get a call from an officer a couple of weeks ago. Your father thought it was just Brian up to no good as usual and when we didn’t hear anything more…well, we just thought that…”

 

Claire interrupted her mother’s train of thought. “Wait, wait, wait. So you’re telling me that you knew my own brother was missing, and you didn’t say anything?! When the hell were you going to tell me, huh?”

 

“I…I don’t know what to say…we, just-uh…we didn’t take it seriously”, Joan admitted with shame. “I didn’t want to believe it was true.” 

 

“Well it is, mom. The news just said Brian has been missing at sea for three whole weeks!” Claire pointed out angrily. She had no time for her mother’s crap that day. “He could be dead, and you didn’t bother to tell me because you and the old man couldn’t care enough to take it seriously.” Claire heard her mother sniffling on the other end of the phone. “And now you’re probably drowning in self-pity. This is not about you, Joanie. Wake up!” After a beat of silence, Claire added more softly, “You should have told me”, and hung up.  

 

 

---

 

 

Trinidad airport

 

 

Jennifer failed to hold back her tears as she hugged her husband goodbye. It had been over two weeks, and the couple decided that one of them needed to return home to be with Molly. While both of them were determined to find their son, they realised that their daughter was afraid for Justin as well. She was lonely without her parents too. Realising that there was no chance Jennifer was going to give up until all hope was lost, which they knew would never happen, Craig had offered to go back to Pittsburgh. “I love you”, Jennifer told her husband.

 

Craig squeezed his wife to him, rubbing her back lovingly. “I love you too, Jen.” He turned his head and gave her a kiss on the temple.

 

“Tell Molly I love her, too”, she said, finally pulling back to look at her husband’s face. He wiped her tears away with his thumbs.

 

“I will. But she already knows”, he told her. Jennifer nodded and gave Craig an affectionate smile.

 

Not quite ready to part just yet, Jennifer held on to her husband’s hands a little longer. “Call me as soon as you get there.”

 

Craig nodded. “I will”, he affirmed. “Good luck, honey.”

 

“I’ll find our son”, Jennifer told the man with conviction. “I will bring him home. I promise you.”

 

“I know you will”, Craig responded. Just moments later, he was walking down to his gate.

 

Jennifer stood, watching after he husband for several moments until she remembered she had somewhere to be. Time to get back to business, she thought, thinking of how she had to meet with Michael and Debbie to go on another search. She turned and exited the airport, one goal in her mind; fulfilling her promise and finding her boy.   

 

 

---

 

 

The hotel, half an hour later.

 

 

Michael, Debbie and Ben sat in the lobby, waiting for Jennifer to get back so they could all make their way to the helicopter pad they were scheduled to meet at. Michael played with Ben’s fingers as they held hands. Ben looked over at Michael and spoke up, “Michael, I’m really, sorry, but I don’t think I can stay for much longer.”

 

“That’s okay”, Michael said, nodding. “You’ve already been here for me in ways I’m so grateful for. I understand you have to go home at some point.”

 

Ben leaned over and gave his boyfriend a kiss. “Thank you”, he whispered when he pulled back.

 

“What for?” Michael asked with a dreamy smile on his face.

 

“For being so understanding. I’ve never known anyone like you”, Ben said gently, making Michael blush.

 

The dark haired man leaned over and gave Ben another kiss. “Thank you for being here. For being you”, he said.

 

The pair shared a romantic moment that was broken by Debbie’s loud voice as she called out to Mrs. Taylor. “Well, we’re all here”, the woman announced. “Let’s get going boys!” With that, the four adults got into the car that was taking them to the helicopter pad.

 

Twenty minutes later, they were meeting with the officers that they were assisting that day. “Welcome”, the female officer greeted, reaching to shake all of their hands. The male officer with her followed suit afterwards. “As you all know, today we are going in a helicopter search over the sea. This is a rather large aircraft so it can fit not only all of us, but your Brian and Justin as well”, the female officer explained. Michael, Ben, Debbie and Jennifer all voiced their understandings and an hour later, they were all up in the air, in search of their lost boys.  

 

 

---

 

 

Meanwhile, on the island

 

 

It was late afternoon and Brian and Justin enjoyed a walk through the rainforest together. Both of them had voiced their boredom almost an hour earlier and decided to go explore a little more, despite the fact that neither boy really planned on finding anything new. Being in each other’s company was enough to get the enjoyment they wished for.

 

Along the way, Justin had found a rather large stick and picked it up. He began carrying it around with him on their walk. He used it to poke around at the ground as they walked. “You know what I miss most about being at home?” Justin said, beginning a comfortable conversation.

 

“What’s that?” Brian asked, looking over at his companion.

 

Justin pursed his lips as he thought. Brian couldn’t help but notice how cute that was. “I miss waking up late in a warm bed on a rainy day, drinking hot chocolate and reading books all day long.”

 

Brian laughed. “It’s not even winter and you’re thinking about hot chocolate?”

 

“Alright, what do you miss?” Justin asked through laughter of his own.

 

The brunet thought for a moment. “I miss hanging out with my friends”, he admitted. “Even the annoying ones.”

 

“What, you’re getting sick of me are you?” Justin joked, poking at Brian’s right side.

 

Brian laughed and lightly smacked Justin’s hand away. “Nah, you’re alright”, he responded, giving Justin a smirk, which was happily returned. “I definitely miss alcohol”, he added. “And, I will admit that I do miss chocolate.”

 

“I knew it!” exclaimed Justin with fake dramatic effect. “You’re a chocoholic, just like I always suspected!”

 

“You are such a dork, you know that”, laughed Brian. He really was having a great time doing nothing but goofing around with the blond.

 

Justin pretended to look offended, placing his hand dramatically on his chest. “Me? A dork? Why, I never!” The pair shared more joyful laughs together. “No, you know what I reeeeally miss?” asked Justin after a beat of comfortable silence. “Showering.”

 

“You can say that again”, Brian agreed with a longing groan. “Although, you have got to admit that the lagoon is really cool.”

 

“That, we can agree on, my friend”, Justin said, pointing his stick in Brian’s direction.

 

The boys continued to walk together, conversing lightly, enjoying each other’s company. Several minutes later, as they were nearing ‘their’ beach, Brian stopped and said, “I’ve gotta pee. You can walk ahead, if you want. I’m going to go behind that tree.”

 

As he began to walk behind the tree he was referring to, Justin called. “Its fine, I’ll wait here. We’re almost back and there’s nothing better to do anyway.” While he waited, Justin began poking around at the ground with his stick. A strange ‘thock’ sound was heard when he hit something particular. Furrowing his brows lightly and turning his head with curiosity, Justin used the stick the pull away the leaves that were over the area that the noise came from. The boy gasped and stepped back as the mystery object was uncovered; a decayed dead body! Even though it was disturbing, Justin could not tear his eyes away from the sight. It looked like it had been there for quite some time. The boy stood around for several seconds, not knowing how exactly he should be reacting. “Uh, Brian?” he finally called over to his friend. “I think you better come see this.”

 

“Sure”, Brian’s voice called back from his place behind the tree. He came back in to view a second later and walked over to stand next to Justin. He looked at him expectantly. “What?” Justin said nothing and pointed his stick to the ground. Brian followed Justin’s line of gaze and finally spotted the body. A couple seconds in pure uneasy silence prevailed, with Brian simply staring at the horrifying discovery. Suddenly, the man turned swiftly around and charged toward the beach.

 

Worried, Justin hurried to follow after his clearly distraught friend. “Brian”, he called with concern. But Brian gave him no response. Instead, he continued to pace quickly for the beach. Once they finally reached the beach, Brian put his hands on his head and paced around. “Brian”, Justin said again, looking at the man.

 

“Fucking fuck!” Brian yelled out, throwing his arms about. “Who are we kidding, huh? We’re never going to make it. That body was proof enough for us. We have only been deluding ourselves of the truth. We’re goners. There is no way we are going to survive here! Not for long, anyway!”

 

Justin watched as Brian ranted and raved crazily. He truly felt for his friend. Finding that body had been scary. And there was always the chance that they could die out there. But this was not the Brian that Justin had come to know. Usually, it was Justin freaking out over something crazy, and Brian would calm him down. The teenager knew that that was what he had to do in that moment. He had to calm his friend down. He stepped in front of the still pacing man and firmly put his hands on Brian’s upper arms. “Brian, listen to me!” he said. “I know this is fucked up, but you have got to snap out of it. We have already made it this far. And we are not that guy, okay? We’ve got some things that guy didn’t. We have people out there looking for us. We have real fight. And you know what else? We have each other.”

 

As he spoke, Justin looked Brian intensely in the eyes. He moved closer to Brian as his little pep-talk ended. Brian looked deeply into the boy’s eyes when he was finished and moved forward to kiss him. He placed his hands on Justin’s upper back and deepened the kiss. Both boys thought that nothing had ever felt or tasted sweeter. When Brian began to pull away, Justin gripped the man’s arms more firmly, and pulled him even closer to him. Brian responded instantly and parted the boy’s lips with his tongue, turning their kiss into a heated make-out session.

 

He backed them both towards their shelter and briefly broke their kiss to pull off Justin’s shirt, and then shake out of his unbuttoned one. Locking eyes for a millisecond, the boys fell into each other’s arms again and laid down in their shelter, Justin on top of Brian. Brian griped Justin’s hair as they made out before moving his arms down to wrap around the teenager’s neck. He then roamed his hands further and further down until he reached the destination he was searching for. Gripping Justin’s bubble butt in both of his hands, Brian squeezed it and grinded their hardening cocks together. This made Justin break off their kiss to moan loudly. Brian smiled and flipped them over so that he was the one on top. They shared a look of complete desire and Justin stared up at Brian in awe. The boys resumed their passionate kissing and Brian squeezed Justin’s bulge while kissing his soft neck. “Brian”, Justin gasped.

 

“Tell me what you want, Justin”, Brian murmured as he continued to palm Justin’s dick.

 

His breathing gradually turning into panting, Justin responded, “I…I want you to fuck me.” While Justin thought and spoke, Brian busied himself with kissing the boy’s neck and face all over. He looked up into Justin’s eyes to make sure that he was really sure about what was about to happen between them. Seeing desire and trust in Justin’s eyes, Brian found himself satisfied that he was okay with what was going on.

 

“Okay”, Brian said softly with a smile before delivering soft kisses to Justin’s lips, jaw, neck and chest. He rose to his knees and reached over to grab the condoms and tube of lube he’d discovered he had with him back when they were on the dinghy. “Looks like we really will be needing these after all”, he joked.

 

The blond lying underneath him gave Brian a light hearted hit on the arm and scoffed. “Brian!”

 

Brian laughed and kissed the boy again. Pulling back, he admitted, “I’ve never taken anyone’s virginity before.” Justin blushed, which Brian thought was incredibly cute. “But I promise I’ll be gentle. And I will absolutely make sure that it is really good for you”, he told the boy.

 

The look on Justin’s face signified that he completely believed Brian and his intentions. He mused, “So…in a way, it’ll be your first time too.”

 

Brian rolled his eyes playfully. “Don’t make me sick by getting all romantic on me, Sunshine”, he chided lightly. After sharing another smile, the boys resumed kissing happily. Brian made his way down Justin’s torso, kissing and licking the flesh he came across. He the sat up on his knees beside Justin and unbuttoned his shorts. Before doing anything else, Brian removed Justin’s shoes, then his own. He gently removed Justin’s shorts, looking the blond in the eyes as he moved. They shared the same want in their eyes. Brian caressed Justin’s torso caringly with his fingers, making Justin blush yet again. “Justin, before I go any further…you’re really sure about doing this now, aren’t you?”

 

“Yes”, was the simple reply. “Now, stop wasting time and ‘unwrap your present’”, he demanded playfully. The brunet was all too happy to oblige. He gently took off Justin’s briefs and admired what he saw. Justin was truly blond from head to toe, and he had a beautiful dick that was surprisingly big. Brian moved down to kiss Justin hungrily. “Hurry up and get naked”, Justin groaned.

 

Brian laughed deeply. “That has got to be one of my favourite sentences”, he commented, making Justin smile. He rose to his knees and slowly unbuttoned his shorts before pulling them off of his body, staring into Justin’s eyes all the while. Justin’s eyes widened when he saw Brian’s hard cock stand at full attention; he had not been wearing his underwear. “See something you like?” the brunet asked with a smirk as he watched Justin lick his lips.

 

“Very much”, Justin confirmed with a flirtatious tone. The man before him was beautiful.

 

“And there is very much of it”, Brian joked, making Justin laugh. He gifted Brian with his lovely Sunshine smile. Again, Brian lowered himself to lie on top of the blond and resumed kissing him. The boys grinded against each other as they devoured each other’s mouths. After a couple more minutes, Brian reached over to grab the small tube of lube and put some on his fingers. He slid downwards so that he got a complete view of Justin’s lower half. “Spread your legs for me, Justin”, he said huskily. Justin’s eyes darkened with lust and he complied, his legs slightly bent. “I’m going to prepare you first”, Brian told him. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

 

Justin nodded, smiling up at Brian with a fondness Brian had never seen anyone give him with a simple look before. “I’m sure”, he answered the brunet.

 

The slightly older man got to work, sliding one lubed finger into Justin’s opening. Justin hissed and arched his back from the odd painful burning feeling. “Okay?” Brian asked.

 

Again, Justin nodded. “I’m fine. It’s just different, is all. Keep going”, he told him. Brian obeyed and began to move his finger in and out of the blond, fingering him with expertise. After about a minute, Justin relaxed into the sensation and began to enjoy it. Satisfied that he was ready for more, Brian added a second finger, working it slowly to ease Justin into the new sensation he was experiencing. After a couple minutes, Brian added a third finger, touching Justin’s prostate as he probed. “Oh!” Justin gasp-moaned, his mouth open and eyes half closed with absolute pleasure.

 

“Feel good?” Brian asked, a smile on his face as he continued to move his fingers inside his soon-to-be lover.

 

Drooling, Justin nodded and squirmed around a bit. “Uh huh”, he responded. “Do it again.” Brian’s smile grew wider and be began to massage Justin’s prostate. Justin moaned with each movement of Brian’s fingers. Several minutes went passed as Brian carefully prepared his friend. Finally, Justin cleared his throat and said, “I’m ready. Fuck me, Brian”, looking into the beautiful man’s hazel eyes. Brian nodded and pulled his fingers out. He then reached over to grab a condom and took it out of the foiled package. Just before he was about to put it on himself, Justin grabbed Brian’s wrist. “I want to put it on you”, he told him. 

 

A look of surprise registered on Brian’s face that was quickly replaced by an impressed expression. “Alright”, he said, handing the condom to Justin. “Slip it on my dick.”

 

His face flushed, Justin rolled the condom over Brian’s ready cock. He and the man shared a smile and Brian put some more lube on his thick dick. He carefully lined himself up at Justin’s entrance while Justin placed his hands on Brian’s upper arms. Noticing the slightly worried look Justin wore, Brian assured him, “You’ll be okay. It’s only me, and you’re strong.” Justin gave him an appreciative smile and Brian entered the teenager, pulling his legs up, so that they were beside his hips.  

 

As Brian moved, Justin gripped his arms tightly. “Brian!” the blond gasped as the brunet pushed inside him.

 

Once Brian was completely inside of Justin, he paused and looked down at Justin’s face, which showed discomfort. “It’s alright”, Brian said gently. “You’re doing great already.”

 

Justin nodded, his eyes closed for a brief moment. “It hurts”, he grunted out. It really did. Having his asshole stretched out and open was unlike anything Justin had ever done before.  

 

“It won’t after a while”, Brian told him in reassurance. “Once you relax it will feel so good. I want to make you feel so good. So let go, Justin. Let me in.”  Justin told him to keep going, wincing as Brian slowly moved in and out of him. Being inside of Justin was so incredible! It felt like forever that Brian had had sex, and he knew that this was going to be so different to any other time he had done it. Deep down, Brian knew that he could not just ‘fuck’ the blond. He knew that he needed to show care for Justin, to make love to him if he wanted the teenager’s first time to be a wonderful experience. Brian moaned as he moved. “That’s it”, he said, feeling Justin physically relaxing. “You feel so good around me”, Brian told him. “Your ass is…” he didn’t get to finish the thought as Justin grabbed Brian’s head in his hands and pulled his face down to kiss him. Both boys moaned into the kissing while Brian continued to move. Gradually, Justin did what Brian asked of him and let go completely, replacing the powerful pain with immense pleasure. Noticing the change in Justin’s body and on his face, Brian smiled, feeling pleased. Brian decided to reward the blond by hitting his prostate. The pair shared a lust-glazed smile and moaned together. “Justin”, Brian moaned as he thrust into him.

 

Closing his eyes and bitting his lip with almost unbearable pleasure, Justin moaned, “Ohhh, yes Brian! Bri-uhhh!” He had his hands on Brian’s back and moved them down to the small of his back, then to his butt, pulling him in to him. The lovers furiously kissed each other as Brian increased the speed and intensity of his thrusts, angling his hips to hit Justin’s prostate every third thrust. He had set a nice rhythm that Justin loved. Both of the young men moaned, gasped, grunted, panted and screamed as the pace quickened. They continued on in this fashion until they both reached climax, Brian jerking Justin off. Riding out the waves of his orgasm was the best physical sensation Justin had ever had.

 

Finishing the wild orgasm, Brian felt his weight grow heavy and collapsed on top of Justin, who wrapped his arms around the brunet and held him to him. Justin stroked Brian’s back gently with his hands as he hugged the man to him. The pair lied together that way for almost a minute until Brian felt his cock softening. He leaned upwards and Justin loosened his hold on him so that Brian could pull out of him gently, holding onto the condom. Once he was out, Brian took the condom off and tied it up. He then tossed it aside and laid down next to Justin, facing him. He looked at the amazed expression on Justin’s face. “You okay?” Brian asked him, touching his shoulder.

 

“For a while I forgot where we were”, Justin said. He turned his head to smile at Brian. “We weren’t stranded on a deserted island. We were just Brian and Justin and that…felt so great.”

 

Feeling unexpectedly touched by the blond’s words, Brian leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss, cupping the boy’s face with his right hand. Brian rested his forehead against Justin’s for a second once they broke apart. He pulled slightly away to look into Justin’s eyes and they shared an affectionate and sleepy smile. Brian was incredibly pleased that Justin had enjoyed his first time. It was important to Brian that that was the case; he had to admit that he cared for the boy. They were friends, and he cared for his wellbeing. Knowing that he’d never had sex before, Brian had an uncharacteristic want to make it special for him. Justin rolled over to lie on his side, facing Brian and they wrapped their arms around each other, holding each other close. It was odd; Brian never cuddled, but here he was, snuggling with a blond teenage boy…and it felt really nice. Brian noticed himself feeling things deep in his gut that he had never felt before, but didn’t dare define, or even acknowledge.

 

Meanwhile, Justin let the warm feelings flood through his body and his heart. Being with Brian was amazing. Not only was he incredibly attracted to the man, but they had actually become genuine friends, enjoying spending time together. He hadn’t been expecting it, but Justin was glad that his first time was with Brian. He caressed Brian’s right arm gently, looking into his eyes. The lovers shared a few kisses before falling asleep in each other’s arms several minutes later.

 

 

TO BE CONTINUNED…                

              

 

Morning

 

 

Brian stretched his form out on the ground as he came back into consciousness. His eyes still closed, Brian rolled onto his side and reached across to the spot he expected to find Justin. He reached and reached, but…nothing. Brian opened his eyes and saw that there really was nothing there. Sitting up, Brian looked around him for his lover. Worry started to flood his system. “Justin?” he called out. No answer. Brian stood and called out again, “Justin?” He looked out onto the beach, only to find that the blond was not there. “Shit”, Brian muttered and started into the rainforest. Where has the little twat gone off to? He wondered, trying to convince himself that the boy was fine.

 

As Brian passed one particular tree, a fruit dropped in front of him and landed on the ground. “What the?” Brian said to himself, annoyed. He looked up as he spoke and spotted what he had been searching for. Justin was sitting on a thick branch up on the tree he had almost passed by. “Justin”, he called up to the teenager.

 

Justin looked down upon hearing his lover’s voice calling his name. Finding his gaze, Justin gave Brian his best Sunshine smile. “Brian”, he said warmly. “Good morning.”

 

Despite the fact that Brian wanted to be pissed off with the kid for running off without telling him, he could not help but smile back up at the blond. Relief rushed through every nerve ending of Brian’s body. Justin was alright. That meant that everything was okay. “How long have you been out here?” he asked.

 

“Oh, about…half an hour”, Justin replied, thinking for a brief moment.

 

Brian raised his brows, unimpressed. “And you didn’t think to wake me up and tell me where you were going?”

 

Another smile formed on Justin’s pale face. A smile of a different sort. “You missed me”, he said, rather than asked. Instead of protesting, Brian folded his arms and looked away. Justin’s smile grew wider. “Ohhh, you did”, he teased. “You missed me soooo much! You can’t bear to be away from me!”

 

“Shut up”, Brian laughed. “I just didn’t know where you were, is all.”

 

“Uh huh”, Justin said, not buying into his lover’s denial. Both boys smiled, enjoying their playful morning banter. Justin climbed down the tree and dropped down in front of Brian. “Hi”, he said and grabbed Brian’s face, pulling him in for a kiss.

 

The kiss began sweet and short, but became passionate when Brian wrapped his arms around the teenager, pulling him closer. The boys moaned into their kiss and pulled apart when the need for air became greater than their physical need for each other. “Hello to you too”, Brian said once he’d regained his breath.

 

Breathless, Justin remarked, “Now that is how you say good morning.” Brian smiled and looked up at another tree around them. He gave Justin a mischievous look. “What?” Justin asked, his arms still around his lover.

 

Mischievous look in place, Brian said, “I bet you can’t climb that tree.” He released Justin from his arms and pointed to the tree he had in mind.

 

Justin followed Brian’s pointed finger and looked up at the tree. He turned back to the brunet, a competitive smirk on his face. “Oh yeah? You wanna see me do it?”

 

“Well, you could try”, Brian said coyly. “How far do you really think you’ll be able to get?” he teased with a slight swaying.

 

Justin feigned offence at this ‘insinuation’. “Well I never!” Giving Brian a smirk, Justin started for the tree. “I’ll show you how far I can get”, he said and turned to begin climbing the tree. Brian smirked and watched the boy as he climbed, happy to be treated with a nice view of Justin’s bubble butt. Sensing eyes on him, Justin looked over his shoulder at Brian. “You watching my ass?”

 

“Just admiring the view”, Brian said, his eyes never leaving the glorious ass he had become acquainted with the previous night. Justin chuckled and shook his head before continuing to climb. Things all seemed to be going well until Justin lost his footing and slipped a couple meters up. He yelled out as he fell to the ground. “Justin!” Brian called out with concern, rushing over to aid his fallen lover.

 

 

*****

 

The Lagoon, several minutes later

 

 

“I’m so sorry”, Brian said as he dabbed Justin’s scraped knee with an alovera coated tree leaf. Justin was sitting on a boulder in the shallow water, while Brian stood in front of him, tending to the minor injuries the fall left him with.  

 

Justin shook his head. “It wasn’t your fault”, he reassured Brian.

 

As if not hearing Justin’s words, Brian continued to blame himself, “If I hadn’t of made that stupid dare to climb that tree-“

 

“Hey, hey” Justin interrupted with a gentle firmness. “It was not your fault. I probably would have continued climbing those trees anyway, and besides, I didn’t have to take you up on that dare.” He reached out and caressed Brian’s shoulder. “Try to calm down now. I’m okay.”

 

“I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you”, Brian admitted, not meeting his boy’s eyes.

 

Justin’s heart melted at hearing his lover’s out of character words. It made him believe that Brian really did care for him. After a few beats of silence, Justin wondered aloud, “How long do you think we can really survive out here? I mean, what if I had of broken my leg, or if one of us gets sick?”

 

“Hey, now who needs to calm down?” Brian said, caressing Justin’s upper leg. “Don’t you remember what you said to me yesterday?” he asked. “You told me that we would make it because we have each other. And a whole lot of other crap.”

 

The blond laughed, genuinely happy. “Leave it to you to make some weird remark.”

 

“As long as it gets you laughing”, Brian said back, smiling with his blond. His hand was still on Justin’s leg. “Seriously, though, take your own advice. Remember that we have people out there looking for us and you have me. We’ll be fine.”

 

Justin nodded and looked over at the waterfall over the lagoon. It was smaller than typical waterfalls, but it was just as beautiful. “You know, it’s pretty hot”, he told Brian. “Plus, I think we both kinda stink, so why don’t we take a dip?” he suggested, licking his lips for what he really had in mind.

 

Brian laughed and replied, “Speak for yourself on the stink factor.” Noticing an expectant look on Justin’s face, Brian added, “You’re right. It is super hot. And not just because I’ve got my shirt off. A dip sounds very inviting.”  After a brief shared laugh, Brian helped Justin off of the bolder and both boys removed their shorts. They started towards the water fall. Once underneath it, Brian and Justin washed each other tenderly, occasionally playfully tickling and splashing each other.

 

It was the perfect morning where Justin was concerned. He stood with his back to Brian, as the man tenderly washed his shoulders. He moved his hands lower and lower until he was cupping his ass. Justin gasped in pleasure when Brian gave it a squeeze. He turned his head back when he sensed Brian’s head lowering towards his head. They kissed, holding onto each other as best they could from the position they were in. Eventually, Justin turned in Brian’s arms and wrapped his own arms around Brian’s neck as they continued to make out. After a couple minutes of hotter than hot suck-face, Justin pulled his mouth away from Brian’s, feeling himself grow hard. “Do you have a…?”

 

“Oh yes I do”, Brian confirmed, already knowing what Justin had in mind. He pulled away from the teenager and hurried over to his shorts to collect the condom he had stashed in one of the pockets. Having found his prize, the brunet rushed back to his aroused lover triumphantly. Quickly, Justin tore the condom packet open, put it on Brian and enjoyed the man’s fingers inside him, preparing him considerately. He was still feeling tender from the night before, but he knew he wanted Brian there and then. He had only just lost his virginity not even 12 hours earlier and he already felt himself growing insatiable for the brunet he shared the island with. “Ready?” Brian asked.

 

Justin nodded, his eyes closed. “I’m ready,” he affirmed in a sultry voice. “Fuck me, Brian.” Brian was all too happy to oblige this request. Gently, Brian entered Justin from behind, in their standing position. “Ohhhhh”, Justin moaned once the man was all the way inside him. “Give it to me.”

 

Turned on beyond belief by Justin’s dirty words, Brian moved in and out of his lover, moaning softly with every gentle thrust. Brian knew that Justin would be sore from their previous night, so he decided to take it slow. He kissed Justin’s neck and shoulder as he fucked him, wanting to taste him somehow. Justin turned is head again so that they could kiss while they coupled. “Brian”, Justin moaned as Brian began to hit his sweet spot.

 

Brian closed his eyes and held Justin tighter as he gradually increased the speed of his thrusts. “Justin!” he moaned, feeling himself get close. “I’m almost there”, he told the blond, reaching around to grab his dick and stroke it in time with his movements.

 

“Uhhhh! Briaaaan!” Justin cried out, finding the release Brian sought to give him. He heard Brian make a sound that signified he was cumming as well as he rode out his own orgasm. “Oh yeah”, he breathed after he’d finished.

 

Brian rested his head on top of Justin’s for a moment before gently pulling out of him. Justin turned around instantly and pulled Brian in for another deep kiss that seemed to go on and on. Their tongues duelled for several minutes and they both gripped each other’s hair. After a while, they broke apart and shared a satisfied smile. “Good?” Brian asked as if he already knew the answer.

 

“That was way better than good”, Justin admitted, his cheeks darkening. Happy with this answer as well as himself for a ‘job well done’, Brian wore a big grin and pulled Justin to him. They met again for another sensual kiss, their arms wrapped around each other in a trusting embrace.        

 

 

     

---

 

 

St. James Academy, Pittsburgh

 

 

Several students stood by and watched the local news report that was being filmed out the front of their high school. There was a mixed air of excitement that a television station was present and of worry for the still missing Justin Taylor. Daphne and Hunter stood close to each other, full of concern. “It has been a month since the disappearance of Carnegie Mellon student, Brian Kinney, and St. James Academy student, Justin Taylor”, the female reporter said, making Justin’s friends gulp. “As hope for finding the pair alive has diminished, the Trinidad police have called off the search as of today.”

 

“That is crap”, Daphne huffed to Hunter, turning away from the report. Hunter followed her as they walked off toward the school field. “Hope has diminished? Just who the fuck have they been talking to? Obviously not the people that actually care about Justin!”   

 

Hunter practically had to start jogging to catch up with his fired up friend as she charged away from the news crew. “Would ya slow down, Daph!” Hunter called.

 

The teenage girl stopped and flung her head around at her friend, and angry look on her face. “What the heck for?! They don’t know shit, and I want to get away from them.”

 

“Well, the Trinidad police really are calling off the search”, Hunter pointed out. Daphne looked as if she were about to hit him after this and the boy immediately set to defuse ‘the bomb’ before it set off. “But remember, Justin’s mom is over there with that other guy’s friends looking for them”, he reminded her, holding his hands up almost apologetically for his previous statement. “If you know Jennifer Taylor, you know that she won’t give up until she gets what she’s after.”

 

Daphne nodded slowly. “Yeah. You’re right”, she agreed. “She’ll find him. For sure.”

 

“That’s the spirit!” Hunter said, wrapping an arm around the girl’s shoulders and giving her a friendly squeeze. He began walking the two of them toward their destination with a more steady speed. Though she would never admit, Daphne secretly loved the feeling of Hunter’s arm around him. “Justin will be a-okay”, he assured. “Now let’s get on to class.”   

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED…

 

Trinidad Airport

 

 

Ben stroked Michael’s hair as they held each other tightly. “I’m sorry I have to go”, the man whispered.

 

Sniffling, Michael pulled back from their embrace to look his boyfriend in the eyes. He shook his head. “Don’t be sorry. You have done so much and you barely even know Brian.”

 

“I was doing it for you”, Ben told the shorter man standing in front of him as he caressed his face.

 

Michael nodded again and responded, “I know. You’re like a knight in shining armour. I don’t know how I’m ever going to repay you for all you’ve done for me.”

 

The taller man pulled Michael into his arms again for another big hug. “Never give up hope, that’s what you can do”, Ben told him. “And make sure you come home as soon as you find Brian.” The two lovers held each other for a couple more minutes until it was announced over the loud speaker that Ben’s flight would board in 10 minutes. “I’m going to miss you so much until then.”

 

Slowly releasing his boyfriend from his arms, Michael said, “I miss you already, Ben.” The men met for a brief but loving kiss. “Call me as soon as you get back to Pittsburgh.”

 

“Definitely”, Ben agreed. “I’ll be calling you so often, you’ll be sick of the thought me.”

 

“Not possible”, Michael said with a smile. “Travel safe.”

 

Ben nodded and picked up his luggage as he turned to walk away from Michael, towards his gate. He turned to wave. “Speak to you soon”, he called. Michael couldn’t stop the tears.  

 

 

---

 

 

The docks

 

 

Debbie and Michael struggled to keep up with Jennifer as she hurried away from the boat they had just gotten off. The police had officially called off their searches for Brian and Justin, but these three certainly were not going to give up just yet. They had continued to search for their boys, paying for their own sea searches. Another unsuccessful day had Justin’s mother feeling especially distressed. “Jen!” Debbie called out to the woman. “Hold on, honey! Slow down!”

 

Without stopping, Jennifer called over her shoulder, “Not a chance! I don’t need to slow down!” The mother and son behind her shared a look and hurried to get next to the blonde.

 

“Sweetie, you can’t keep overexerting yourself like this”, Debbie told Jennifer.

 

Mrs. Taylor huffed out a breath and continued to charge on towards their car, not slowing down for a second. “There’s no time to stop, Deb!” she told the woman beside her. “Not while my son is still out there. I won’t slow down or stop until I’ve found him. Until he’s here, safe.”

 

“I know, honey”, Debbie told Justin’s mother. “But if you don’t let yourself slow down, even just a tad, you’re going to make yourself ill!”

 

Both Michael and Debbie were relieved when they finally reached the car, saving them from having to jog any longer. The three adults got in the car and were on their way back to their hotel. “As soon as we’re back, I’m making more search arrangements for the rest of the week”, the blonde told the pair. Before Michael or Debbie could say anything, Jennifer added, “We’ve been looking in the wrong places!” The woman got out the weather charts she had printed off and pointed at them. “The weather pattern information from the night the boys went missing suggests that they most likely were drifted west, not south. That’s why the police could never find them.”

 

“We know all of this, Jennifer”, Michael assured the worried mother. “And now we are looking west. Even if the police won’t or can’t help anymore, we will keep on searching and we will find them.”

 

“When you’re right, you’re right”, Debbie said, reaching over to ruffle her son’s hair as he squirmed.

 

“Mom!” the man complained.

 

This funny exchange actually got a laugh out of Jennifer. “There we are”, Debbie commented, pleased. “A smile!”

 

 

---

 

 

Over the next week

 

 

The trio flew out over the ocean in a helicopter once more over the week, but again did not succeed in finding their boys. Jennifer personally visited the American embassy twice for information and assistance, but each time was sent away with nothing more than a verbal assurance that everything that could possibly be done was being done. Jennifer did not believe that for a second; if it were true, they would surely have found her son and the Kinney boy already. The woman was determined, but she knew that she, Michael and Debbie did not have unlimited funds to pay for boats, helicopters or the hotel forever. This fact only made her all the more resolute to find her boy.

 

One afternoon, while Michael and the mothers handed out missing flyers to local people as well as other tourists in the streets of Trinidad, time dragged on. The flyers had Brian and Justin’s names and pictures on them, as well as contact details for Justin’s parents and all of Brian’s friends. People seemed more willing to take them on the first two days the team had been handing them out. The people who took the flyers had been kind and expressed their concern. The days beyond that, passers by openly voiced their objections to being bothered by being handed anything. “Sheesh, it’s just a flyer, ma’am”, Michael muttered after being verbally abused by one particular woman.

 

“Just ignore the assholes, honey”, his mother advised him from her place across the boardwalk. She walked over to her son, deciding to take a break from handing out the self-made flyers.

 

“Easier said than done”, Michael told his confident mother. “It is clearly not difficult for all of the people out here to ignore us.” One thing was for sure; anytime Michael came across anyone handing out flyers, he would take one without any complaints what-so-ever! He knew now what it was like to be the one handing things out and it was not a particularly pleasing or easy task.

 

Debbie put her arm around her boy’s shoulder. “I know, babe, I know”, she said with great understanding. “This is fricken exhausting work, standing out here for hours in the hot weather.”

 

Michael looked at his mother. “You look tired, Ma. Let’s go sit down for a while”, he said, guiding both of them towards a nearby bench. The mother and son sat down.

 

“That woman is so damn strong”, Debbie commented, referring to Mrs. Taylor. “She must be going mad with her boy missing. At only seventeen! It’s bad enough for us having to worry about Brian, but this woman is missing her teenage son! I couldn’t imagine what it would be like if you went missing!”

 

Michael held his mom as she got emotional. He knew it had been a long day, and after weeks of unsuccessful searching, their hopes were fading. “I’m right here, Ma”, he assured the redhead. “We’re fine. Both of us.”

 

*****

 

All three adults headed back to their hotel rooms soon after, Jennifer being the last to return. She had been yelled at all day by people who did not want to be bothered, as she approached people with the flyers and asked passers-by for any information on the boys. It was true that she was determined to find her son, but after spending so much time with Michael and Debbie, working together and helping each other, she also wanted to find Brian. If the boys really were together, it was likely that they had become friends. Jennifer could only hope that that was the truth; she wanted her son to be safe and not alone until they found him.

 

Once alone in her room, Jennifer called her husband to speak to him and Molly for a while before saying goodnight. Fearing the fact that they had not yet found Justin or Brian, the woman cried her heart out to the empty room. Oh Justin, she thought as she wept, Where are you?

 

*****

 

The following day, the trio sat under the shelter at the helicopter port that they were scheduled to go to for another over-the-sea search. They sat, waiting for the poor weather to improve as it poured down raining. It progressed into a full-blown storm as Jennifer and the Novotony’s sat together. A pilot who worked at the place approached the group and told them, “No plane or helicopter is going to take off for a couple days at least. The weather conditions are too dangerous. I’m sorry about that.”

 

Debbie nodded at the man. “It’s not your fault, son. Thank you.” The man gave the friendly woman a nod and returned to his office.      

 

Jennifer stared down at her lap for a few moments, trying not to break down. She dreaded being told that very thing, but knew it was inevitable. She felt a warm hand on her shoulder. “It’s not the end of the world”, Michael told her, sadness evident in his tone. “We can always go out in a chopper in a couple days.”

 

Mrs. Taylor wanted to agree with the young man so very much, but could not bring herself to. “Maybe it’s a sign”, she said after a disappointed sigh.

 

This surprised Michael but Debbie stood up. “Honey, maybe we should…go home now”, she gently suggested, speaking to both her son and Jennifer. “I’m not saying that the boys won’t be found or that we should give up completely, but…we have all tried the absolute best we could here.”

 

Sad silence passed within the group before Jennifer Taylor spoke up. “We can’t stay here forever”, she said regretfully in a quiet voice. She was not defeated, but she knew that she was not invincible. The mother could only hope that her son was invincible.

 

 

 

---

 

 

On the island

 

 

Thunder cracked in the air as rain poured down on the island. Brian watched the grey sky as he and Justin huddled close together in their shelter. It was actually a nice break from the scorching and humid heat that they had been subjected to over the past weeks they’d been stuck on the island.

 

Suddenly, Justin stood up, standing just outside of their shelter; it was not tall enough for either boy to stand under it. Brian looked up at him in question. Justin gave the man a smirk and stepped out into the cool rain. He began to jump around gleefully as Brian watched him. At first, Brian looked at the teenager as if he were mad, but as Justin continued to leap about and laugh with joy, Brian began to laugh along with him. “I love the rain!” Justin shouted into the air.

 

“I can tell”, Brian chuckled, still watching his lover have a blast in the weather. Cute little weirdo, he thought while he enjoyed the view.  

 

Justin took a couple steps back towards the shelter and held his hand out to Brian. “Come on!” he said, “Come join me!”

 

“What the hell”, Brian shrugged and got up to join the joyful blond. Justin took his hand and pulled him to stand further out on the beach so that they were in the rain completely rather than being partially sheltered by trees.

 

“Dance with me!” Justin requested as he himself began to dance.

 

Brian laughed while watching his lover move. “What would we dance to?” he asked.

 

Justin waggled his eyebrows enticingly at Brian and told him, “We’ll make our own music.” He reached his hands out to Brian as he moved his body to a beat he heard in his head.

 

Through a smirk, Brian told Justin, “There’s no music.”

 

But Justin did not let up. “Of course there is!” he exclaimed. “Can’t you hear it?” Brian gave him a look that told Justin that he thought he was crazy, and the teenager began to sing. “Let’s hear it for the boyyyy!”

 

Brian laughed loudly at his lover’s silliness. “You are such a freak”, he told him and stepped forward to put his hands on the blond’s hips. Justin put his arms on Brian’s shoulders and they begun to move. The pair danced together in the rain, soaking themselves while Justin sang the 80s classic. They spent several minutes dancing and laughing together on the beach. Eventually, the boys slowed down and Justin moved his arms around Brian’s neck and held him close. Brian rested his forehead on Justin’s. It was ridiculously romantic.

 

The brunet caressed Justin’s face with his left hand and moved his head back to look into the young man’s expressive blue eyes. Seeing a tender look on his lover’s face made a surge of something sweet swirl around his body. The pair shared a smile and Brian moved forth to kiss the boy. No one, not anyone had ever made Brian feel the way that Justin did. He always had incredible fun with him. And he felt so appreciated, so…well, cared for. These thoughts and feelings ran through Brian as he continued to kiss his lover in a way that was passionate, yet gentle. Deep, sensual kisses that made both boys weak at the knees.

 

It was Justin who made the first move suggesting towards something else. He moved one hand down to give Brian’s hard dick, which was strained in his shorts, a squeeze. Brian broke away from Justin’s mouth to let out a deep moan that made Justin smile. “Seems like you’re up for more”, he said in a husky tone.

 

Brian pulled back to look at Justin in surprise. It was true that Justin had played with dirty talk before when they’d had sex, but Brian still wondered where the shy guy he first spoke to on the party boat had gone. Shrugging his mild surprise off, Brian smirked at his young lover and gave him a saucy reply, “I’m up, alright.”

 

The blond laughed; a sound which filled Brian with joy. It was part of the reason he called him Sunshine. He leaned forward to kiss Justin hotly again before grabbing his plump butt with both hands. “Let’s go”, Brian said, accepting Justin’s offer for some afternoon delight. Justin nodded and the boys walked the few steps it took to reach their shelter, hand-in-hand. The first thing the boys did when they reached the shelter was pull off their drenched clothes and toss them aside. Brian then grabbed Justin’s shoulders and pushed him to lie down in the shelter. He stood upright, still feeling the rain hit his skin as he took a moment to drink in the sight of a quite literally wet, naked Justin Taylor. Licking his lips, the college student moved to lie on top of Justin, who held his arms out to him.

 

The lovers made out with fire as soon as they were in each others arms and by the time Brian pulled away to grab a condom from Justin’s satchel, they were both panting heavily. Brian quickly put the condom on himself and worked on opening Justin up comfortably. After several minutes, Justin couldn’t stand the torment anymore and asked Brian to take him hard, “Brian…please fuck me now. Fuck me hard!”

 

The erotic language elicited a groan from Brian and he happily obliged with Justin’s request. Brian turned Justin around to be on his hands and knees. He gripped Justin’s hips and alternated between holding him and caressing the skin up and down lightly. “I am going to fuck you so hard that you will see the universe.” Brian did take Justin hard, fucking him from behind with passion. He caressed the soft skin of Justin’s smooth back while he fucked him.

 

“Ohhhh! That’s it! Yessss!” Justin screamed out in ecstasy as his incredibly attentive lover fucked him just the way he wanted. The boy wondered how he had only just discovered sex now if it was this good. He quickly decided, however, that he was glad that Brian was his first. Even though it had hurt, it had been with out a doubt the best night of his young life. “Brian!” he moaned, interrupting his thoughts and bringing him back into the present of almost unbearable pleasure.

 

After several minutes of good, deep, hard sex, Brian took Justin’s cock in hand and began to stroke it. It was slow at first, but Brian increased the speed and intensity until it matched his thrusts into Justin’s ass. “Oh…Ohhhhh! Justin!” Brian moaned as his orgasm grew closer and closer. He leaned down to kiss Justin’s wet back. Thankfully Justin came a second after that, which prompted Brian’s powerful load off. The castaways enjoyed their orgasms together, before collapsing on top of one another to catch their breaths. A couple minutes passed before Brian moved to lie beside Justin, rather than directly on top of him. “Hey”, he said to a sated post-sex Justin.

 

Justin rolled over to be on his side so that he could look at his lover as they spoke to each other. “Hey”, he said back. “Thank you.”

 

Brian laughed and said, “No, no, no, no. Definitely thank you for that.”                 

 

“It was pretty good, wasn’t it”, Justin said, looking over at Brian expectantly.

 

“That it was”, Brian responded, agreeing with Justin. “Only, it was so much more than good. That…that was incredible”  

 

A smile grew on Justin’s face as he blushed. “I’m glad.”

 

Brian smiled back at Justin’s shy behaviour and moved his face closer to the teenager’s. He met Justin’s eyes before closing his and moving forward to kiss him again. The boys continued to kiss, enjoying the sound of the rain.

 

 

---

 

 

Pittsburgh, three days later

 

 

Jennifer Taylor swallowed a sob as she got out of her husband’s car and stepped onto their driveway. The trio in Trinidad had eventually decided to regretfully return home. Truths they could no longer ignore caught up with them. None of them had unlimited funds, the authorities were not keen on helping them anymore, and they had lives back home that they could not put on hold forever. So with heavy, yet still hope-filled hearts, they returned home.

 

Craig walked around his car to stand next to his wife. He gave her a comforting kiss on the cheek and got her bags out of the trunk before walking to their front door. That was when Jennifer spotted the flowers and signs at the end of their driveway. She walked over to the items and inspected them with her eyes only. They were signs for Justin, wishing his well and that he would come home safe. Oh God, I’ve failed him, the mother thought, tears springing to her eyes. The woman hurried inside her home as she began to cry.

 

 

*****

 

 

Michael sat on his couch with his head in his hands. His mother sat beside him, rubbing his back. “Its okay sweetie”, she told him soothingly. “We did all we could over there. That doesn’t mean we are giving up.”

 

Sniffling, Michael said, “But we failed! We didn’t bring him home. He’s still out there!”

 

“I know, honey. It’s a fucking mess. But there is absolutely no way I want you to give up hope”, Debbie told him as she continued to stroke her worried son’s back.

 

Michael sat up and reached for his phone. He dialled a number and waited for the person he had called to answer while his mother watched him. “It’s me…. I’m at home”, he said after a few moments. “Can you come over? I want to see you….yeah…do you still have my address…great, see you soon.”

 

“Who was that?” Debbie asked once Michael hung up.

 

“Ben”, Michael told her. “I need a hug from him.”

 

Debbie sat up straighter and joked, “I think you need more than just a hug from him, honey!”

 

Michael scrunched up his face. “Ma!” he complained, making Debbie laugh. She supposed she had just about overstayed her welcome.

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED…

 

The island

 

Brian and Justin sat together, eating some fruit they had collected earlier. They had been conversing all morning, learning more and more about each other. Both boys found themselves wanting to know everything about each other. Justin was finishing telling Brian a funny Christmas story from his childhood. “My dad freaked out like there was no tomorrow! It was the funniest thing I’ve ever witnessed, still to this day. Six years since then and nothing tops that!”

 

The boys laughed freely together, thoroughly enjoying themselves. “That’s insane”, Brian chuckled. “You and your sister sound like total brats.”

 

Through his laughter, Justin responded, “Hey, I think I’ve gotten a lot more tolerable since then!”

 

“Well…” Brian said cheekily.

 

“Hey!” Justin picked up Brian’s jacket and threw it at him, which Brian quickly dodged. The boys laughed together before Justin asked, “Alright, what about you? What did you get up to when you were a kid at Christmas?” Brian was silent for a moment, instantly making Justin uneasy. He did not like it when Brian tensed up, which always happened when he spoke a few words about his family. “Sorry, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to…” Justin told him.

 

“No, no, it’s fine”, Brian replied. He thought for a moment before speaking again. “My folks weren’t all that big on the Christmas cheer thing”, he admitted. Justin was surprised that Brian was actually talking about his family to him. “Good old Saint Joan, or as she would call herself, my mother, is religious as anything, but that never shined through when it came to family. She always made a Turkey, but no one got any presents and there were never any decorations. Joanie stood by while Jack, or as ‘mother’ would call him, my father, drunkenly beat the shit out of me. He always did when he got drunk. And on Christmas, he drank more than usual. I would make him mad so he’d leave my sister alone…”

 

Justin moved closer to Brian and put his hand on the brunet’s upper back. “That’s so awful Brian”, he said with care.

 

The brunet shrugged and said, “Christmas wasn’t always bad. After I met my pal Mikey, I would go to his mom’s house and have Christmas with them…well, when I could.”

 

“And that was nice?” Justin asked, intently interested in Brian’s story.

 

Brian nodded with a faint smile. “Debbie and Michael always made me feel like part of the family. They actually got me presents. The first time that happened, I was so shocked that I almost fell over. That first Christmas I had with them, I decided that they were going to be my family, not the assholes that brought me into the world.”

 

Stroking Brian’s back with his hand, Justin comforted Brian. “I’m sorry about your parents”, he said “You deserve to be so loved. I’m glad you have good friends.”

 

Not saying a word, Brian simply nodded. Justin’s words choked him up a little. The brunet enjoyed the feeling of Justin’s warm hand caressing and stroking his back.

 

 

---

 

 

Pittsburgh

 

 

A tentative knock broke Debbie out the trance she had gotten herself into. Blinking as the woman collected her thoughts and came back into reality, the woman walked to her front door. “Hello?” she sang as she opened it.

 

Standing on her porch was the one and only Claire Kinney, wearing a worried look on her face. “Mrs. Novotony?” she asked nervously.

 

“Well, if it isn’t Claire Kinney all grown up!” exclaimed Debbie. The boisterous woman moved aside and gestured towards the inside of her home. “Come on in, honey.” Hesitating for a moment, Claire gave Debbie a small grateful smile and walked into her house. Debbie closed the door and turned to the young woman as she stood in the front room, looking uncomfortable. “I haven’t seen you in years”, Debbie told her.

 

“Mrs. Novotony-“, Claire began.

 

The redhead interrupted, “Call me Debbie.”

 

Brian’s older sister nodded and said, “Okay…Debbie. I’m here because…because I…”

 

“I know why you’re here, honey”, Debbie told the woman gently. “You want to know about your brother, don’t you?”

 

“Yeah”, Claire affirmed. “My folks knew about it and didn’t think to tell me. I found out when it came on the damn news”, she confided.

 

 

Debbie shook her head and stopped herself from rolling her eyes. It hurt her heart, the way Brian’s parents treated him. Sure, he could be a little asshole, but he had a kind soul. One that had been bruised by his own mother and father. “I’m sorry about that”, the woman told Claire genuinely. “Your mom did call me a couple days ago asking about Brian.”

 

“What did you tell her?” Claire asked with rapt and concerned interest.

 

“Why don’t we go sit down and I’ll tell you everything you want to know”, Debbie suggested kindly.

 

Claire nodded, beginning to feel herself get emotional already. She regretted having ever been unkind or indifferent to her younger brother. As kids, they had been inseparable, but grew apart as they got older. The young Kinney woman decided that once her brother returned, as she was sure he would, they would reconcile and have a better relationship. She would be the older sister that Brian deserved.   

 

 

---

 

 

The island

 

 

The sun shone warm rays over the ocean as the two castaways swam together. Brian had spent some time teaching Justin how to fish with the spears they’d created. Even doing such a seemingly trivial task managed to be incredible fun as the boys worked together playfully. Eventually, after Justin had gotten the hang of what Brian was trying to teach him, they returned the spears to the shore and enjoyed a leisurely swim. The boys splashed at each other cheekily, laughing as they played and teased. Brian shouted out laughter when Justin began tickling him. They chased on another in the water, Brian trying his hardest to ignore how lame they looked acting like a couple of school girls. He turned and grabbed Justin, lifting him up.

 

Justin squealed in surprised delight when his lover lifted him up in his arms and the blond put his legs around the man’s hips. His arms were around the man’s neck. “Brian!” he half-heartedly complained at being manhandled. The older man responded with a contentedly happy smile, which Justin returned before leaning in to kiss the boy’s lips soundly. Pulling their heads back ever so slightly, the boys shared another smile before their lips met again for a series of light, sweet, fast little kisses. Justin let out a small chuckle and kissed his lover again, this time deepening the kiss by putting his tongue in Brian’s mouth.

 

Brian gave a low moan into the kiss as he accepted Justin’s gesture. He held the teenager up in his arms for a moment while they made out slowly in the ocean and afternoon sun. The brunet pulled back, breaking their kissing to proposition his lover. “I want you, Justin. I want you so much.”

 

“Then what the fuck are we still doing just standing here?” Justin asked against Brian’s lips.

 

“Fuck if I know”, Brian laughed. He lowered Justin to the ground, who planted his feet back on the sand under the water. Justin took Brian’s hand and pulled him out onto the shore, then towards their shelter. Once they’d reached it, Justin put his hands on Brian’s face and gave him another hot kiss. The boys fell onto the bed of leaves they’d made, still in each other’s arms. Soon, the boys were making out with a fiery passion whilst rubbing against each other. Somehow, Brian managed to produce one of his condoms and took time in opening up his enthusiastic lover. “I’m going to show you something”, he told the blond and moved down his body. He pushed Justin’s legs up so he could get a nice view of Justin’s entrance.

 

Justin watched his lover in fascination and was caught by surprise when the man licked his hole. “Ohhh!” he gasp-moaned at the new sensation. He lay back and enjoyed being eaten out by the more experienced man with a seemingly expert tongue. All the while, Brian held Justin’s bent legs up. “Shit that is good!” Justin moaned in appreciation. “Now, Brian!” Justin said after a couple of minutes. Brian all too gladly accommodated his companion and filled him with his sheathed dick carefully. “Uhhhh! Brian!”

 

The brunet smirked and pulled Justin’s legs tighter around his hips. He reached up and took Justin’s face in his hand, turning it to him so he could stare into the blue eyes he’d come to admire so dearly. The boys shared a look before Justin gripped Brian’s upper left arm with one hand, placing the other hand on his back. He gave the man inside him a nod and small smile, signalling Brian to move. Their love making began slow, but picked up speed as it went on. Each thrust was deep and powerful, giving both men great pleasure in their coupling. “Oh fuck! Ohh Justin!” Brian cried out as he moved in and out of the smoothest, tightest ass he’d ever indulged in.

 

“Brian! Yes!” Justin screamed as his lover fucked him skilfully and attentively. The blond dug his nails into Brian’s flesh, turning both men on even more. “Ohhh, fuck me!” Justin felt Brian’s hot breath in his face as he moaned and grunted, thrusting into the blond. Gripped auburn hair with his hands, Justin pulled Brian’s head down to kiss him passionately while they moved together. Tasting himself on Brian’s tongue, Justin held onto the man tightly. He began meeting his lover’s thrusts with his own movements and angled his hips in such a way that Brian’s dick almost hit his prostate.

 

Brian picked up on what Justin’s was asking for and fucked his blond, making sure he hit his prostate with just about every move. “Uhhhh”, Brian grunted loudly. His sounds were animalistic and wild with passion. Several minutes of deep, loud, zealous sex passed before Brian allowed Justin to reach his orgasm. The older of the pair made sure to hit the blond’s prostate hard on every move and took his cock into his hand, stroking it in time with himself. The beach was filled with the loud sounds the lovers made while they finally came together. Once Brian was all ‘cummed out’, he fell on top of his blond. A sated Justin gladly received Brian in his arms and held him, lying together for a short while. Eventually, Brian moved up onto his palms and Justin released him so he could get out of the teenager. After throwing away the soiled condom, Brian lay back down in their shelter, next to Justin. “Oh”, Brian breathed, looking at his lover shifting a little closer to him. “Shit.” Justin giggled and leaned in for a quick kiss.

 

A beat of silence passed while the boys regained their breaths. “So, what was your first time like?” Justin asked after about a minute.

 

A smile formed on Brian’s sweaty face at the question. “You wanna know?” Justin responded with a nod. “My first blowjob, giving and receiving was with my high school gym teacher. I was 14. It was hot.”

 

“Your gym teacher?” Justin asked in surprise with raised eyebrows. “At 14? What was he, a paedophile?”

 

Brian laughed at his blond’s reaction. “You know, I don’t like think about that because it’s technically true. What can I say? I was a young, dumb, horny virgin fag who saw my hot gym teacher all naked in the school showers. I just couldn’t help myself. And neither could he. The good thing is, we only fooled around about three times. Then that was it.”    

 

“Only blowjobs?” Justin asked for clarification.

 

“Only blowjobs”, Brian confirmed.

 

Justin put his hand on Brian’s shoulder. “You know that’s not what I meant. I want to know about your first time having sex.”

 

“I was 16 when I did that”, Brian told the teenager without hesitation. “Some guy from my school’s lacrosse team.”

 

“How was it?” the blond asked.

 

Brian shook his head, remembering the inevitable awkward night that was his first time. “A blur. It was over really quick for both of us, so we did it again. It was pretty awkward, actually. The guy had done it before, so I didn’t hurt him when I fucked him.” Again, Brian was surprised at how much he was willing to share with Justin without thought.

 

Justin chuckled and scooted in even closer to his lover; so close that he was almost on to of him. “What a glamorous story.” Brian rolled his eyes and nodded, thinking of the memory, but his young lover made him laugh while he did so. “But, that still isn’t what I meant.” The brunet gave Justin a questioning look. “I want to know about the first time you…you know…got fucked.”

 

Brian cleared his throat, feeling it get dry all of a sudden. He was a little embarrassed to admit this, but wanted to answer Justin’s question, desiring to be open with him still. “Well, actually I…I’ve never…been fucked”, he admitted.

 

“You haven’t?” Justin asked, raising his eyebrows again in surprise. Brian shook his head in reply. “I just thought…well, since you were so nice when you fucked me for the first time I thought that you knew what it felt like.”

 

“Nope”, Brian said, looking at his blond.

 

The boy looked thoughtful for a moment, before asking, “Is there a reason you never…?”

 

Feeling a slight blush colour his cheeks, Brian avoided eye contact before answering. He shrugged and said, “I decided I would only do it with someone I really trusted; more than anything. I never found someone like that.” The admission was embarrassing as it made Brian sound like some silly little teenage girl with romantic ideas. In his eyes, at least. That was why he had never told anyone that out loud. Not even Michael knew why Brian had never let anyone fuck him. He was a man who liked to be in complete control. The person he gave his control up to would have to be really something. Now, that did not seem impossible.

 

Justin moved his head down to give Brian a sweet peck on the lips. He pulled back to smile at him. He watched as a mischievous smile formed on Brian’s face. “What?” he asked.

 

“Tell me; what was your first time like?” Brian asked the boy.

 

He was granted a beautiful Sunshine smile as Justin laughed, shaking his head. “It was quite recent, actually”, he said with poise.

 

“Oh?” said Brian, playing along on the little game they had begun. 

 

Justin nodded and continued. “Mmm hmm. It was with this wonderful jerk.” Brian laughed and gave his blond a little smack on the butt, making Justin yelp in surprised glee. He laughed and went on, “I got sand in some really weird places.” He paused and Brian stroked his upper arm gently. “But it was wonderful. I’m really glad it was you Brian”, he confessed.

 

Pleased by this, Brian grabbed Justin’s face and gave him a brief, but tender kiss with just the right amount of tongue. He pulled back and said, “I am too.” He caressed the teenager’s face with his fingers and looked closely at him. “You have no beard”, he said with a slight smirk. “Just the slightest bit of stubble.”

 

The teenager smacked Brian’s hand away and poked his tongue out at him for teasing him. “Shut up, you!” he said back. “I’m young. And you’re not exactly Tom Hanks from Castaway, buddy boy. Your stubble isn’t quite a beard yet either”, he told the man next to him. Both boys burst out laughing at their silliness. “So…” Justin said after they’d stopped laughing. “Since I’m all so new to the world of sex, don’t you think I need some more practice?” Instead of answering with words, Brian pushed Justin onto his back and got on top of him right away. The boys shared a smile and spent the afternoon making love happily.

 

*****

 

Hours later, Brian was wandering around the rainforest out of boredom. Justin was resting in their shelter, so Brian decided to leave him be for a while. He walked along, lost in thought when a distant sound caught his attention. The young man stopped walking and listened purposefully. The sound grew closer and Brian knew it was what he thought it was. A helicopter! “Justin! Justin!” Brian called, running back to the beach.

 

When he reached it, Justin was already up, fishing around in his satchel for the flare gun Brian had saved from the dinghy back when they first arrived on the island. He grunted in frustration when he was unable to find it. The boy searched deeper in the bag for the flare. There was no way he was giving up if there was a chance for them to get off of the damn island. While searching through his bag, Justin noticed a few things missing from it, but did not have the time to wonder about them.  

 

“Hey!” Brian called out to the helicopter they saw in the distant sky. He jumped up and down on the beach and waved his arms while he yelled. “Now, Justin!” The helicopter got further and further away, and the boys could barely hear it from where it now was.

 

Justin’s face lit up in triumph when he found the flare. He grabbed the gun and ran out closer to the ocean, loading the gun as he moved. But by the time he got there, the helicopter; their saviour, was gone. It had disappeared from sight, missing the castaways. “Fuck! Fucking damn it!” he yelled.

 

Brian put his hands on his head as his heart pounded in his chest. “I can’t believe this”, he said to himself in disappointment. They had missed their chance; one that they’d been hoping for from day one. Who knew if they’d get another one. That was when he noticed Justin finishing loading up the flare gun. “What are you doing?” he asked. Ignoring his companion, Justin pointed the gun up to the sky. “Justin, no!” The boy fired a flare into the air, lighting up the afternoon sky. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Brian asked. “You just wasted a flare!”

 

“I’m getting the hell off of this stupid island!” Justin shouted, tears running down his flushed face. “I can’t stay here any longer! I can’t do it!” The boy began to get hysterical, shaking almost violently as he cried. He threw the gun to the ground and sand to his knees.

 

A concerned and equally upset Brian kneeled too and took Justin into his arms. “It’s alright”, he told the boy soothingly.

 

“It is not alright!” Justin protested through his sobs. He struggled in Brian’s embrace “Nothing is alright! We’re still here!”

 

Brian pulled Justin closer to him to stop him from thrashing about. “Shhh”, he soothed. “I know.” He stroked Justin’s hair with one hand and held him tightly with the other. Eventually, he got Justin to stop crying.

 

The boys sat on the shore together once Justin had calmed down enough to move. They had put the gun back in Justin’s satchel and returned to sit on the shore and call out for help. “Is anyone one out there?!” they shouted into the air, hoping and praying that someone, anyone would hear them. “Heeeeeyyyy!”

 

Justin sank back into himself and sighed deeply. “Its no use”, he said with a small voice. “No one can hear us. I don’t know if we’ll ever get out of here.”

 

“Hey, don’t talk like that”, Brian told Justin, turning to him in surprise. He did not like hearing his usually positive lover speak the way he was. “Remember what you said to me back when we found that body, okay? We have people out there looking for us, we have drive and we have each other”, the man told the younger one. “You’re the on that is supposed to keep faith for us. Please don’t lose it now.” Justin did not respond and Brian moved closer to him so he could put his arm around him.

 

Neither of them got any sleep that night.

 

TO BE CONTINUED…

 

 

The island

 

 

A couple days later, the boys collapsed in their shelter, in each other’s arms. Brian searched for a condom in Justin’s satchel with a free hand while he made out with Justin. He frowned, finding no luck. Justin looked up at Brian in question when he broke away from their kiss. “What is it?” he asked, stroking Brian’s right butt cheek with his hand.

 

Brian sat up and said, “I can’t find a condom.” He pulled Justin’s bag up to sit it on his lap and searched more thoroughly through it. Still, he did not find the treasure he was seeking. He frowned again and reached over to grab his pants to search the pockets. He then searched Justin’s, and then his jacket. All the while, Justin lay on his back, waiting. “Uh oh”, Brian muttered.

 

This time, Justin sat up, a frown on his face. “What ‘uh oh’?” he asked his lover, looking at him expectantly.

 

“I don’t how to say this, but…” Brian began. Justin braced himself. “We’ve run out of condoms.”

 

Justin blinked at Brian, waiting for him to laugh and tell him he was joking. When he didn’t, Justin grabbed his satchel himself. “We can’t be”, he said, searching through the bag.

 

“I already searched there. And our pockets”, Brian told the teenager. “They’re gone.”

 

Throwing the bag back to where it was before Brian picked it up, Justin asked, “How the hell did that happen?”

 

“We used ‘em all, Sunshine”, Brian answered. He couldn’t help but feel proud. There were plenty of condoms and they’d already used them all.

 

“But-but…it hasn’t even been that long! What has it been, like two weeks? A little more? We had sex for the first time just over two weeks ago and we already used all of those condoms you had?” Justin rambled in disbelief. “That’s insane!”

 

Brian moved closer to his confused lover, a smirk on his face. “We’re insatiable.” Sunshine smile in place, Justin pushed Brian onto his back and resumed kissing him. He began stroking Brian’s stiffened dick. Brian pulled away from the kissing. “Whoa, whoa, what are you doing?” he asked.

 

Justin furrowed his brow but smiled and responded, “What do you think?” He moved to kiss Brian again, but the man moved his head away. “What?”

 

“We can’t”, Brian told the horny young man.

 

“Why not? You just said we’re insatiable.” Justin pointed out.

 

The brunet gently pushed Justin up enough so that he could sit up. “You know why not. We don’t have any condoms anymore.”

 

Getting serious, Justin said, “So what?”

 

It was Brian’s turn to be serious now. “What do you mean ‘so what’? We can’t have sex if we’re out of condoms”, he told him, looking directly at him.

 

Justin sat back, looking offended. “So you won’t have sex with me”, he said rather than asked. Brian just looked at him and Justin got up with a huff. He found his shorts and put them on.

 

“Justin”, Brian said in an attempt to placate the boy. “Justin, come on.”

 

“No”, Justin bit back. “Just leave me alone.” With that, the blond stormed off into the rainforest.

 

The brunet couldn’t help but feel a little guilty for apparently causing his lover offence. That was another new feeling Justin had instilled in Brian. Usually, he never felt bad for how he made people feel. In fact, he usually didn’t care at all. But with Justin, Brian found himself changing a great deal. “Justin”, he called out again, but the blond walked off without turning back. Brian sighed and rose to his feet. He picked up his shorts and put them on, deciding to go after his passionate lover. He walked for a short while before finding the boy at the lagoon. He was sitting on a boulder, looking pensive. That and pissed off. Oh boy, Brian thought as he approached him. “Hey”, he said as gently as he could at that moment. He moved to sit next to Justin.

 

Not looking at him, Justin spoke up, “Just tell me…did we become lovers because you actually care about me, or was it just because we’re two young, horny queers alone on an island?”

 

Thinking for a moment about the monumental question Justin had asked him, Brian looked out at the lagoon. “Well, what about you?” he asked with soft curiosity. “What do you think about us?”

 

“I…for me, it has always been real between us. I…” the teenager began.

 

“You really care about me?” Brian offered, finishing Justin’s sentence. The blond smiled shyly and nodded, looking down at his hands that sat in his lap. Brian couldn’t stop the small smile that formed on his face and moved closer to the vulnerable young man sitting next to him. “It’s real for me too”, he confessed in a whisper. Brian’s heart pounded in his chest. He never said things like what he was about to say, but he knew it was right. Time to be honest, he thought, taking a deep breath to prepare himself. “It’s all very different and new for me. I’ve never…had anything like this before. I’ve never had a lover before. Not like this”, he confessed, while Justin listened intently. Taking another deep breath, Brian went on, “I’m what some might call a bit of a slut; ‘The young stud of Liberty Avenue’. I’ve been all about one-time tricking. You know, fuck ‘em and leave ‘em, as they say. I never wanted to stick around, or to have a relationship of any sort. And…that’s what we have.”

 

Justin slipped his hand into Brian’s and gave it a squeeze, encouraging him to go on. “With tricks, I just fucked them and that was it; never saw them again. I had never laid there with any of them, or ‘cuddled’.” Brian couldn’t help but shudder at the lesbionic word, making Justin laugh. “Not like with you. You and me…it’s always been totally honest and real. When I first noticed you at the hotel, I thought you were so beautiful. Not just hot…beautiful. And though we were pissed off at each other when we first fell into that dinghy, we had to accept that we had to work together to survive. And you became my friend. The first time I kissed you…it wasn’t because I was sex deprived, it was because I was in absolute awe of how incredible you are. We had just found that body and while I was freaking out, convinced that we’d never get out of here, you stayed calm. You told me we’d make it because we have each other. And you were completely right.” Justin gave Brian’s hand another squeeze.

 

“So I couldn’t help myself, I had to kiss you. And when you kept on kissing me and holding on tight, I was gone. I’m so damn attracted to you, you know? And it’s not just because of how unbelievably sexy you are with your lips and your eyes and hair, body and skin.” Justin blushed at Brian’s words. “You’re beautiful on the inside as well. You are fun, intelligent, brave and incredibly wise, especially for a 17 year old. Sometimes I forget how young you are. All of that is why…I’m crazy about you. Plus, you are really good at sex.” The boys shared a soft laugh at this comment. Then, Brian turned serious again. “But if all this between us was all about sex, don’t you think I wouldn’t care if the condoms were gone? That I’d just shrug my shoulders and fuck you anyway?” Justin did not say anything to this. “Listen, the reason I don’t want to fuck you raw is I want to protect you. Like I said, I’m a slut. I’d never forgive myself if I gave you something. You mean too much.” Brian fell silent, not knowing what else to say. He’d just made this massive speech that was completely out of character for him. He was uncertain of how Justin would react.

 

Beside him, Justin pulled his hand away, feeling as vulnerable as ever. “I still think it’ll be fine”, he said in a small voice. “If we…you know.”

 

Brian sighed and said, “Who knows what I could give to you.”

 

“Did you get tested before you got to Trinidad?” Justin asked him hopefully.

 

The brunet nodded. “I did”, he confirmed. “But I screwed some guy after that. Actually, a couple, I think.” Justin looked surprised. He knew that Brian had only been in Trinidad for a couple days when they were on the party boat. “I know, I work fast”, Brian said, reading Justin’s mind. “I told you; slut.”

 

Looking down, Justin hopped off of the boulder. “Thanks for being honest with me”, he told Brian genuinely, but with obvious disappointment in his voice. Brian understood that Justin being upset wasn’t just about the sex; it was about his worth to Brian. Now he knew, but it still stung to hear his past. Justin was young. And so very pure in comparison to Brian.

 

The boy walked back towards the beach. It had gotten dark while they spoke at the lagoon. He lay down in their shelter on his side and thought to himself. So he does care about me, he mused. Then why do I hurt?

 

Several minutes later, Brian returned to the beach. He watched Justin lying in their shelter for a few moments as the boy tried to find sleep. He took his usual spot, lying behind Justin. He scooted himself closer to Justin so that they were touching back to chest and put his arm around his lover’s torso. He gave the pale right shoulder a kiss. Justin lifted his hand and put it under Brian’s, lacing their fingers together, signifying that he forgave Brian for whatever was bothering him. He lifted their hands to his lips and gave Brian’s a kiss. Brian smiled and lifted his head to kiss Justin’s cheek, then the back of his head. Together like this, they slept.  

 

 

*****

 

 

The next morning

 

 

Justin awoke and turned in Brian’s warm arms. Brian was already awake and gave him a soft look. Feeling guilty for having stormed off the previous evening, Justin wanted to apologize. “I’m sorry for being a shit”, he said.

 

Brian chuckled and hugged the boy. “You’re not a shit”, he said through an amused voice.

 

“I am”, Justin said, nodding. “And I’m sorry. I understand why we can’t have sex. It’s okay.” Brian gave the boy a slight smile, pleased at this. He didn’t want any uncomfortable tension to be between them. “Even though it sucks.”

 

After a hearty laugh from Brian, he said, “You know, just because I can’t fuck you, doesn’t mean we can’t do other things…”

 

A mischievous look grew on Justin’s face and he pushed Brian onto his back. He got on top of the man and started kissing him enthusiastically. Brian wrapped his arms around his lover and kissed him back. Just as things seemed to be heating up, Justin felt something drop on his head. He broke his lips away from Brian’s. “What the?” Another thing fell next to them, then another.

 

The boys looked at the fallen items and saw that they were some of the things that had gone missing from Justin’s satchel. Both of them sat up and looked up to where these items fell from, spotting a small monkey in a tree above them, holding Justin’s empty tube of sunscreen. “What the fuck?” Brian laughed in utter amusement and amazement. Justin stood, soon followed by Brian and the monkey started to run away, running along different trees.

 

“Oh no you don’t”, said Justin, going after the cheeky animal. Brian walked along behind Justin, laughing all the while. “Here, little guy”, Justin called gently, searching for the monkey. It appeared on a long hanging branch, still holding Justin’s sunscreen tube. “So you’re the one who’s been taking my stuff, huh?” The monkey looked at Justin for a moment before throwing the tube at the boy’s head. “Ouch”, the blond complained as the thieving creature ran away.

 

He gave Brain a light whack on the arm; he had burst out laughing when the monkey threw the tube at Justin. “Come on, that was fucking hilarious!” Brian said in his defence.

 

“It’s definitely the most random thing that’s ever happened in my life”, Justin said. He couldn’t resist joining Brian in some laughter. He glanced at the small boulder nearby their shelter that he had marked to keep track of how many days they’d been on the island.

 

“What?” asked Brian, noticing his blond staring at something in silence.

 

Snapping out of his trance, Justin looked at Brian and shrugged, “Oh, nothing...it’s just…it’s my birthday tomorrow.”

 

“How do you know?”

 

Justin pointed to the boulder with the marks on it. “I’ve been counting the days since we got here, so I know the date. And tomorrow’s my merry birthday.”

 

“18 right?” Brian double checked. Justin nodded. He noticed the boy looked a little sad, probably because he wasn’t going to be able to celebrate this significant birthday with his family and friends. Brian couldn’t really relate, because birthdays had never been big in his life, but he understood nonetheless. “We’ll have a big party”, he told the boy. Justin smirked, creasing his brow. “Yeah. A big ass, shit hot party. We can invite the monkey.”

 

Hearing this, Justin burst into laughter. Truly, he was touched that Brian said they would celebrate his birthday, even if he was only joking. It was as if he knew that Justin was really missing home because of it and wanted to help. “Sounds like fun”, Justin agreed through his giggles.

 

“Parties with Brian Kinney are always fun”, Brian said back.

 

Justin gave Brian a Sunshine smile and responded, “I’m sure they are.”

 

 

---

 

 

The next morning

 

 

Soft, warm kisses along his neck woke Justin from his slumber. “Mmm”, he murmured at the pleasant sensation and stretched his body out as much as he could with Brian behind him. He opened his eyes and turned his head towards Brian. “Morning.”

 

“Morning Sunshine”, Brian said back, lips still on the boy’s neck. He gave the soft skin one more kiss and moved to sit up. Justin turned his body so that he was lying on his back. This was when Brian presented Justin with a birthday breakfast; he had picked him some bananas early so that he could give them to him when he woke up. “Your breakfast”, he said, handing the bananas to the boy.

 

A shining smile formed on Justin’s face and he sat up. “Thanks Brian”, he said with a genuine touched feeling. It was such a simple gesture, but so incredibly sweet and considerate. Nothing like what he would have expected from Brian even just a couple days ago. He had not known Brian off of this island, but he could tell that this was out of character for Brian. That made his gift seem all the more thoughtful. He accepted the fruit and leaned over to give Brian a kiss.

 

The boys sat together for a short while, eating their breakfast and comfortably conversing. Minutes later, Brian stood outside of their shelter and gestured for Justin to come with him. “Come on”, he invited. Smile in place, Justin took Brian’s hands and went with him to wherever he wanted to take him. They stopped and Justin saw what Brian had wanted to show him; he had written ‘Happy Birthday’ in the sand.

 

As if the fruit wasn’t enough, this gesture surprised Justin to the core. He launched himself into Brian’s arms, who caught him with surprise. “Thank you! It’s so sweet. You didn’t have to do anything. Thank you!” he blabbered, wrapping his arms tightly around Brian.

 

“Woah, it’s not as if I gave you a freakin’ Porsche”, Brian said, clearly feeling slightly self conscious about doing something so openly kind for someone.

 

Justin pulled back, unable to stop smiling. “This is better than a stupid Porsche”, he said, looking into Brian’s eyes. They held their gaze for a moment before Justin broke it when he said, “Come on, the ocean’s calling to us this morning!” He ran off towards the sea, Brian following happily.

 

 

*****

 

 

Hours later

 

 

Justin lay back in the boy’s shelter, enjoying the lengthy and expert blowjob Brian was giving him. The man’s mouth and tongue were pure magic. He took his time in making sure Justin got the utmost pleasure, stroking the birthday boy’s thigh with one hand and fondling his balls with the other. Justin moaned softly, and let out long sighs all the while. It was the most sensual thing he’d ever experienced. “Mmmm. It feels so good”, he breathed, threading some of Brian’s hair in his fingers. “Oh yeah.” Pleased to hear Justin’s enjoyment, Brian decided to bring Justin to the point of pure bliss and moved his lips faster over the hot organ in his mouth.  He placed both his hands on either side of Justin’s lower body. “Uh”, Justin moaned, nearing the brink. Brian doubled his efforts. “Uhhhh!” Justin’s hips bucked up as he emptied the entire contents of his balls, which Brian contentedly lapped up.

 

After a moment, Brian released Justin’s cock from his mouth and looked up at the pleasured blond from his position. Justin gave him a smile, panting slightly. Brian returned the smile and moved up Justin’s body to kiss him deeply. “I take it by the sounds you were making that you liked your present”, Brian said once the kiss ended.

 

Laughing, Justin replied, “Oh, I liked it alright.” He secured his arms around Brian’s neck. “You are really good at that. You’re like, a god.”

 

Brian chuckled at this and said, “Well, I have been told I’m good, but I’ve never been called a god before. ‘Brian Kinney the god of sex’. Hmm, has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

 

Justin laughed loudly and pulled Brian’s head down to continue to kiss him. He broke the kiss when breathing became a necessity and said seductively, “And now it’s your turn.”

 

“You don’t have to”, Brian told his lover. “That was just for you.”

 

“I’m the birthday boy, which means I get to do whatever I want today. And I want to suck you off”, Justin said, pushing Brian onto his back.

 

“I really do wonder where the hell the shy, stuttering kid I met back on that boat went”, Brian commented, smirking.

 

Getting on top of Brian, Justin answered, “He lost his virginity.” Brian laughed at this and Justin began to move down, kissing his way down Brian’s body. Eventually, he found himself face to face with Brian’s hard dick. This would not be the first time he gave Brian a blowjob; the man had taught him how the week earlier. Still, he couldn’t help feel a little nervous. He really wanted to please Brian, the way he had pleasured him. All or nothing, he thought and began. Brian let out appreciative ‘mmms’ and moans as Justin used his hands, tongue and mouth to pleasure him. He drew the act out in the same way Brian had, setting a slow pace in the beginning.

 

Minutes later, Brian was cumming with a loud, “Oh yeeaaahhh!” Justin kissed back up Brian’s body a the man caught his breath after the mind-blowing orgasm he’d just had. “You are a little firecracker, you know that?” Brian said to his lover once they were face to face again.

 

“So you liked it?” asked Justin, who was already feeling rather proud of himself. Brian told him that he more than liked it, making Justin blush. “What can I say? I’m a fast learner”, he said. The boys enjoyed making out for several minutes. All things considered, Brian was giving Justin a really good birthday. He felt incredibly appreciated and taken care of that day. Yet, throughout the day, he found his mind wondering to the fact that he was unable to celebrate this day with his friends and family…  

 

 

---

 

 

The Taylor home, Pittsburgh

 

 

Justin’s family sat around their dinning room table in sad silence as they waited for their guests to arrive. They had invited Daphne, Hunter, Debbie and Michael to come over for Justin’s birthday. Jennifer knew that her son’s friends were worried and feeling guilty about their friend and she herself wanted her new friends to be there. It had been a hard day; her boy had turned 18. He was now an adult. But instead of being there with his family to celebrate, as he should, he was still missing. It hurt the hearts of Justin’s parents and sister to bear that realisation.

 

Although he had been lost at sea, Jennifer Taylor simply refused to accept that he was dead. Craig’s resolve in this was not quite as strong as that of his wife, but he could not help but carry the hope that his son was alive. Molly knew her big brother was out there still, alive and well. She often voiced this, as if she knew it as fact. The girl could only hope that her brother, wherever he was, was having a good birthday.

 

The doorbell rang and Jennifer rose to answer it, greeting Daphne and Hunter inside. “Evening Mrs. Taylor”, Hunter said politely.

 

“Hello Mrs. Taylor”, Daphne said after.

 

Jennifer forced a smile, wanting to be hospitable as always. “Come on inside”, she told the kids. “Thank you for being here.”

 

“Well, we figured that Justin would want an 18th birthday party, so we’re throwing one. And there is no chance we’d miss it”, Daphne said, holding up a bag of balloons and another of streamers. The five people in the house had fun blowing up the balloons Daphne had brought over and decorating the house with streamers.

 

Craig was a rather serious man and surprised himself by allowing himself to be silly and fun. The family was happy to see this side of the man. “Wonderful”, the man said once they’d finished decorating the house.

 

Another ring of the doorbell pulled Jennifer away to the door. “Jen, sweetie!” exclaimed a friendly Debbie. She reached over and gave the woman a one-armed hug as she held food in her other hand. She offered the plat of food to Jennifer once they pulled away from the hug.

 

“Oh, Debbie, you didn’t have to do that”, Jennifer said, touched.

 

“Nonsense”, Debbie said back and walked inside the house.

 

Her son and his boyfriend walked in behind her. “Hey, Jen”, Michael greeted, giving her a quick hug. Jennifer returned the hug and greeting and exchanged hello’s with Ben before leading them into the dining room, where most of the decorations had been placed.

 

All the people in the house exchanged greetings and Debbie and Jennifer plated up food for everyone. Hunter had put Justin’s favourite CD on and danced about, making everyone laugh. A couple hours later, a cake was shared in Justin’s honour. “Evening everyone”, Jennifer said after getting the attention of all her guests and family. “I want to take the time to thank all of you for being here today. It means a lot for us all to be together since Justin can’t be here with us on his special day.” Molly reached over and grabbed her mother’s hand as the woman’s voice weakened. “I also want to thank all of you for all your help and for…for not giving up.” The mother could no longer stop her tears, inspiring some misty eyes from others in the house. “Justin, honey”, she said, looking up. “Wherever you are; happy birthday.”

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED…     

 

Michael’s apartment, Pittsburgh

 

 

“Michael, it is not your fault”, Debbie assured her guilt-ridden son.

 

The pacing man shook his head. “It is”, he said back. “I gave up.” He sat down on his old sofa, next to Ben.

 

“That’s not true”, Ben said gently, taking Michael’s hand.

 

“Yes, yes it is!” Michael argued. “We left. We just left him there”, he said guiltily. “We left him there when we could have done more. We gave up. I gave up on him. How could I do that to him? He’s still out there, I know he is.”

 

Hearing enough, Debbie stood and marched over to her son. She took his chin in her hand and forced him to look at her. “Michael Novotny, you listen to me. We did all we could over there. No, we didn’t find Brian, but that doesn’t mean that we ‘gave up on him’. There was no way we could stay there any longer than we did. We’re both completely broke now. That is how much we put into searching for him”, she told the dark haired man. “Returning home does not mean that we gave up. Jennifer Taylor has not given up since she found out her son was missing.” Michael nodded, taking in what his mother was saying to him. She continued, “Now you listen to me, and you listen good; we did all that we possibly could do. Don’t you ever discredit yourself.”

 

Tears forming in his brown eyes, Michael nodded again. “Alright”, he agreed.

 

“Good.” Debbie leaned down and gave her son a big kiss on the cheek, leaving a lipstick mark there. She wiped it off. “Brian is lucky to have you as his friend.”

 

“She’s right, baby”, Emmett piped up from his spot leaning on the kitchen counter. “You are the best friend any of us could ever have hoped for.”

 

Michael gave his friend and roommate a grateful and touched smile at his kind words. “Thanks, Em.” Ben gave his boyfriend’s hand another squeeze. “I guess we’ll just have to sit tight.”

 

 

---

 

 

Meanwhile, on the island

 

 

A rustling in the distance picked up in the air. Seconds later, a noise that sounded like an animal was heard, coming from somewhere in the rainforest. Brian frowned and heard the noise again. Justin had expressed worries about hearing sounds coming from the rainforest since they first arrived on the island. Originally, he thought he heard a creature at night, but started telling Brian recently that it was probably only the wind. That was when Brian started hearing what Justin had been hearing. It was definitely not just the wind. “That’s it”, he said when he heard the sound yet again. He stood up and grabbed Justin’s satchel to get something out of it.

 

“What are you doing?” Justin asked, looking up at his fed up lover.

 

Brian grabbed his Swiss army knife out of Justin’s bag and headed for the rain forest. “I’m going to shut whatever that thing is up”, he said over his shoulder.

 

Instantly grappled with concern, Justin rose to his feet. “Brian, wait. It could be dangerous. Just leave it”, he called. Brian ignored him and disappeared into the rainforest. Justin sighed and put on his shoes before going after Brian. “Brian, just leave it alone”, Justin said, walking behind the brunet. “Come on, let’s go back to the beach, okay?”

 

“Shut up, will you?!” demanded Brian, continuing to charge on.

 

Both boys gasped when they saw what the source of the noise was; a giant, very angry looking wild boar! Unfortunately, the animal was looking right at them. “Shit”, Brian cursed, starting to run. The boar chased after him, surprising Justin by being faster than he’d thought it would be.

 

Justin’s thoughts quickly shifted back to the possibility of Brian being hurt by this aggressive creature. “Brian!” he called out worriedly, his voice ragged. The boy sprinted off behind the boar and Brian.

 

Brian’s heart raced as he ran away from the animal. He had been determined to deal with whatever animal had been annoying them, but actually seeing it instilled fear in him. At least it isn’t a jaguar or something, he thought as he ran. Remembering he was holding a knife after momentarily wondering what the fuck he was going to do, Brian realised that he was going to have to kill the boar before it killed him. He ran faster and faster, mentally preparing himself. The biggest thing he’d ever killed up until this point had been a spider and he was against animal cruelty, but the man knew he had no other choice. He gripped the knife and jumped over a tree log on the ground that sat in front of a slight ditch.

 

Justin saw Brian go down after going over the log and thought the worst as the boar went over, letting out a hideous roar-grunt. “Brian!” he cried in horror and fear, stopping still for a moment. Shaking off his shock after a couple of seconds, Justin ran over to the log and looked over, frightened about what he might see. If anything happened to Brian, he knew it would be the death of him. They needed each other here. One could not survive without the other. This was not a Tom Hanks movie, after all. Justin saw the boar on the ground and Brian next to it. Brian looked up at Justin, holding his knife. Justin had never felt more relieved in his life. Brian was alive! “Oh my God”, he breathed, reaching out to help Brian up out of the ditch and back over the log.

 

Brian was dirty with sweat, dirt, leaves and blood. “I have never needed a bath in my life more than I do right now”, he said, puffing and panting. Justin couldn’t help but smile; he was so incredibly glad Brian was alright. He took Brian’s hand and led him to the lagoon.

 

The boys stripped and waded over to the waterfall in the lagoon. The first thing Brian did was dunk his head. The cool water had never felt so refreshing to him. “Oh yeah”, he sighed pleasantly.

 

“Come here”, Justin said gently. He spent the next several minutes tenderly washing Brian’s body with his warm, soft hands. He scooped water up and washed Brian with it, clearing away all the dirt, sweat, leaves and blood off of the man’s shoulders, arms, chest, stomach, face and back. Brian had never felt such an intense closeness for anyone than with Justin in this moment. He felt something deep and powerful in his gut and in his heart, but didn’t dare put a name to it.

 

Brian gently grabbed Justin’s face with both of his hands and they locked eyes. Justin showed Brian his relief that he was unharmed with his sparkling blue eyes, making it impossible for Brian to resist him any longer. He brought Justin’s face towards his and began kissing him. The kissing was slow, deep and passionate. It became more heated and the boys pressed their bodies against each other, feeling their twin erections between them. Brian brought his hands down to Justin’s butt and lifted him up. Justin put his legs around his lover’s hips as they continued to make out. After about a minute, Brian put a finger inside Justin. He broke away from Brian’s mouth and gasp-moaned upon feeling this sensation. He enjoyed Brian moving his finger inside him and the man added a second one after another minute. Not long after that, he added a third finger, massaging Justin’s prostate. “Ohh”, Justin moaned softly.

 

A couple minutes went passed and Brian removed his fingers from his lover’s hole, positioning his unsheathed cock there instead. He and Justin locked eyes again, holding an intense stare. After holding their still stare for some seconds, Brian gripped Justin’s body and pushed himself inside him. “Uhhhhh”, both boys moaned deeply together at the feeling of Brian entering Justin for the first time in a week. Justin was glad that Brian had spent several minutes preparing him as he knew it would have hurt a great deal more than it did. Understanding Justin’s initial discomfort, Brian moved slowly, getting him used to the stretched open sensation. Being inside someone raw was a completely different feeling to what Brian was used to, with such an interesting texture and heat. Eventually, Justin’s pain completely disappeared and the boys tenderly and carefully made love in the lagoon.

 

An hour later, the boys lied in each other’s arms in their shelter. “What made you change your mind?” Justin asked Brian, looking up at him from his place on the brunet’s chest.

 

Brian looked down at his lover and answered, “You.”

 

“But I didn’t-”, a confused Justin began.

 

“I know you didn’t do anything to entice me. I just can’t stay away”, Brian interrupted, admitting something big to Justin.

 

The teenager blushed and leaned up to kiss Brian. He frowned, noticing the pensive look on his lover’s face after their kiss ended. “You feel guilty about breaking your ‘no fucking anyone without a condom’ rule, don’t you?”

 

Brian nodded, not looking at Justin. “Yeah, how could I not? I still could have given you something…”

 

Justin propped himself up on his elbow. “Hey, everything will be fine, okay? You know it will”, he assured. Brian did not answer and Justin put his hand on the man’s chest. “Do you trust me?” he asked.

 

This made Brian turn his head to look at Justin. “Yeah, I trust you.”

 

Justin smiled and said, “And I trust you. That’s how I know everything will be okay.”

 

Brian held Justin’s gaze. His face became thoughtful for a moment and Justin could tell he’d gotten an idea. “Justin”, he began. “I trust you more than anything.” Justin looked at Brian in question before realising what Brian was suggesting. ‘I decided I would only do it with someone I really trusted; more than anything.’  That’s what Brian said when Justin asked him why he’d never bottomed for anyone. Is he asking me to fuck him? Justin wondered.

 

“Are you…are you sure?” Justin asked, wanting to be certain of what Brian was asking him to do.

 

Brian took in a breath and nodded. “Do it”, he said.

 

Justin gave him a smile and reached over for his satchel to grab the tube of lube. Even though they had run out of condoms, they’d managed to retain the lube, although it certainly would not last forever either. He moved down Brian’s body, giving his torso a few kisses here and there as he got lower and lower. “Lift up your legs”, Justin said gently. Brian actually blushed and lifted his bent legs. Justin decided not to comment on the glorious sight of a blushing Brian Kinney and instead focused on what he aimed to do. Getting a good view of his target, Justin gave Brian a rim job, making him gasp and moan softly. Brian guided Justin some of the way, but the younger man quickly got the hang of it. After several minutes of rimming, which Justin decided he loved doing to Brian, he put some lube on his fingers and used them to open Brian up. Justin took his time easing Brian into the sensation, until he began enjoying it.

 

“Justin, do it now”, Brian said softly about four minutes later. Justin thought he’d heard a hint of shyness in Brian’s voice, but he knew he must’ve imagined it.

 

He moved up and gave Brian a kiss. Applying some more lube onto his raw cock, Justin lined himself up. Rimming Brian had been enough to get him hard. “Let me know when you’re reading for me to move, okay?” Justin requested. Brian nodded, signalling that he understood and gripped Justin’s upper arms. Taking in a breath and his heart pounding, Justin pushed himself inside of Brian’s un-breached ass. Brian let out a cry of pain which Justin could see on his face. “It hurts, I’m sorry”, Justin said.

 

Brian shook his head, his eyes closed. “It’s fine. I’ll be fine, just…give me a second.” Justin watched Brian’s face as he waited for him to be ready. It wasn’t long before Brian said, “Okay…go ahead.”

 

Justin pushed himself all the way inside of Brian’s warm, tight ass, admiring the out-of-this-world feeling it gave him. He gave Brian more time to adjust and only moved when the man told him to. His first time had been so wonderful and he wanted to give Brian the same experience. It would be his way of thanking him for that night. He moved slowly and gently, watching Brian’s face closely, checking to see that he was alright. Minutes passed and Brian pulled Justin’s head down for a kiss. When he pulled back he let out an appreciative moan. Justin smiled, happy that Brian was finally enjoying himself. This was when Justin let himself moan out loud. He had been holding his vocality in while Brian was adjusting out of courtesy. But now, he was free to voice out all his pleasure. “Ohh, Brian you feel so good. It feels so good”, he moaned as he moved. Brian responded back with a pleasured moan of his own.

 

“Fuck”, Brian moaned. “Fuck, Justin. Just like that!” Neither man had expected their usual positions to be switched around at all when they had first become lovers, but as it was happening, both of them were glad. Brian was finally able to understand the pleasure that he had been giving to men for years. Justin shifted his hips and was able to reach Brian’s prostate. The first time he hit this spot, Brian almost shrieked. It was the best physical sensation he’d ever experienced. Not that he planned to become a regular bottom, but he could see himself asking Justin to fuck him many more times. Several more thrusts and Justin took Brian’s cock in his hand to jerk him in time with his movements. Soon, they were both cumming like they never had before, Justin deep inside Brian’s ass.

 

Once he was done, Justin collapsed on top of a very satisfied Brian and stayed there while they both caught their breaths. Justin turned his head and kissed Brian intensely. He gently pulled out of Brian and laid back down on him, cum still on their bellies. The lovers shared a smile and Brian ran his fingers through Justin’s blond hair. “That was fucken great”, Brian said.

 

This made Justin smile and blush. “It was. So great”, he agreed. Brian pulled Justin’s head down to his again and made out with him. Justin too, had never felt so close to anyone than he did with Brian that night.

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED…

 

 

 

-Pittsburgh

 

 

 

 

 

While Brian and Justin were stranded on their island, life continued on back home in America. School life at St. James Academy continued as normal. Kids still had classes, got homework, tests, assignments and detentions if they messed around. People talked and gossiped about Justin’s disappearance often, many believing that he was dead. Some were cruel and joked about it, saying that they’d seen his ghost. Both Daphne and Hunter had earned themselves detentions on more than one occasion for ‘losing their cool’ when their fellow students were cruel about Justin. The friends still clung to the hope that their friend was alive and that he was with Brian. From what they’d been told, if Justin was with Brian, he’d have a much higher chance of still being alive. Despite all their hope and friendly support they got off each other, both teenagers missed their friend immensely. They missed his nerdy facts, his PSAs, his nagging, his jokes. There truly was no friend like Justin Taylor.

 

 

 

One thing that had changed was that Molly Taylor was no longer invisible at her school. People treated her entirely differently and not in a way that she liked. Teachers looked at her with pity when they spoke to her, the other kids all stared at her in the hallway and the cafeteria. She felt like she was in a fish tank at the aquarium.  

 

 

 

Classes at The University of Pittsburgh carried on as usual as well. People sometimes spoke about Brian’s disappearance, but it was no where near as big a topic as Justin was at his school, as college students didn’t care as much and it had so many more students. All of Brian’s friends had gotten closer together, being able to bond in missing him. They missed his humour, his discreet acts of kindness and thoughtfulness, his truthfulness, and even how he could be an uptight jerk at times. Meanwhile, Michael’s relationship grew with Ben, as did Emmett’s with Ted.

 

 

 

Brian’s family looked out for information on him, but his parents never made a real move to try to actually do something. Claire, on the other hand, kept in regular contact with Debbie and Michael.

 

 

 

Jennifer still refused to believe that her son was dead, despite some people trying to convince her that he was. She was constantly on her phone, computer or television, looking at Trinidad news and weather patterns for anything that might help decipher where her boy was. Craig supported her every step of the way, never question her obsessive behaviour.

 

 

 

One particular evening, Michael had gotten drunk while he and the gang were all at his mother’s for dinner. “Here’s to Brian”, Michael said, toasting his umpteenth beer to the ceiling. “Who will probably never get to drink alcohol again.”

 

 

 

“Michael”, Lindsay chided, instantly catching on to what Michael was implying.

 

 

 

“Oh, have I offended poor little Lindsay’s sensibilities?” Michael mocked drunkenly. “We should all just face it that Brian is gone forever. We’re never gonna see him again.”

 

 

 

Debbie snatched the beer out of Michael’s hand and gave him a smack on the back of the head.

 

 

 

“Ouch, Ma!” Michael complained, reaching for the spot she hit.

 

 

 

“Oh, did I hurt you, darling?” Debbie said in a too-nice of a tone. “I was trying to knock some sense into you, so idiot!”

 

 

 

“What for?” Michael asked, plopping down onto his seat at the dinner table. He hiccuped and burped.

 

 

 

The red haired woman set a glass of water in front of her son. “Don’t you dare give up hope, you hear me”, she said to him. “You have always been so strong and you shouldn’t change now. Right now, you need to be stronger than ever. For everyone. You aren’t the person that’s allowed to lose it.”

 

 

 

Michael sipped the water that had been place in front of him, feeling ashamed and embarrassed of his actions that night. He was disappointed in himself. He knew he shouldn’t be thinking or speaking the way he was. He was just so worried for his friend, and Michael + worry + over thinking + alcohol = douche bag. “Sorry”, he said. “I’m sorry guys. I’m an idiot. I dunno what I’m on about.”

 

 

 

“Its fine, sweetie”, Mel said to her friend kindly. “We all know how stressed you’ve been. We know you don’t mean it.”

 

 

 

“I think it is about time to get you home and tucked in bed”, Emmett said, getting up with his car keys in hand.

 

 

 

“That’s a good idea”, Debbie said. Moving to help her drunken son up from his seat.

 

 

 

With some effort; Michael was very, very drunk, Debbie managed to get the man out of the chair and in the hallway. “Thanks mom, you’re the best. You know that? You’re the best”, Michael rambled.

 

 

 

This made his uncle Vic laugh. “You’re damn right I’m the best”, Debbie said back to her wobbling boy.

 

 

 

“Buh-bye everybody!” Michael called to all his friends, waving enthusiastically. “I’ll miss you guys! See you soon!”

 

 

 

“Okay, let’s get you out of here”, Emmett said, grabbing Michael’s shoulders and pushing him out the front door. “Thanks, Deb. I can take it from here”, he told his hostess. All the while, the dark haired man waved at his friends and proclaimed his love for them, which amused everyone. After some shuffling around, Emmett managed to get his friend in his car and home safely.

 

 

 

“He’s worked so hard”, Vic said once his nephew had gone. “It seems he’s overworked himself. He spends just about every waking minute worrying about Brian or trying to figure out a way to find him and bring him home.”

 

 

 

Melanie nodded in agreement. “He never stops. He’s always doing something.” 

 

 

 

“Brian’s family might not care all that much, but one thing’s for sure and that is; no cares more than Michael. He’s a true friend to that boy”, Vic continued.

 

 

 

“What can I say”, Debbie spoke up, her hands in the air expressively. “I raised him right. And I did my best with Brian.”

 

 

 

This made all of the people in the room laugh. They spent the rest of the night sharing their funniest and fondest stories of Brian until it was time for everyone to return home.

 

 

 

 

 

*****

 

 

 

Michael and Emmett’s apartment

 

 

 

 

 

“Honey, you’re gonna have to help me out here”, Emmett said to his friend as he fiddled about. He was trying to undress Michael so he could put him to bed properly but drunk-Michael was not making it easy for him.

 

 

 

Michael tried as hard as he could to stop fidgeting and lifted his arms above his head to allow Emmett to take off his shirt. As soon as it was off, Michael snatched the shirt from Emmett’s hands and threw it on the floor of his bedroom. Emmett looked at him in question, but Michael just laughed cheekily so that his friend would be suspicious. It was oh so much fun to trick Emmett. “Emmett, has anyone ever told you that you are the absolute best. The person in the world!”

 

 

 

Emmett could not help but laugh, half in true amusement, and half in frustration at his friend’s difficult behaviour as a drunk. “I might have been told that once or twice.”

 

 

 

Michael surprised Emmett by grabbing his face and giving him a big kiss. “That’s for you. Because you’re the best.”

 

 

 

“Alright, honey”, Emmett said, chuckling. “Time for bed, now.” He pulled back Michael’s duvet and sheets and pushed the man’s legs so that he’d put them under the covers. Thankfully, Michael did so without any fuss. Much unlike how he’d carried on in the car earlier. Emmett tucked his friend in and said, “There we go! All nice and cosy! Nighty-night.”

 

 

 

The Novotony boy spoke up just as Emmett started leaving his room. “Emmett, do you think Brian will come home?” he asked. Emmett stopped walking and turned to look at his vulnerable friend. “Cause I’d really miss him if he didn’t.”

 

 

 

Emmett’s heart melted a little at Michael’s childlike behaviour. “I would too”, he admitted. Michael held Emmett’s gaze, still hoping for an answer to his question. “Yeah, sweetie”, Emmett told him. “Brian’s always telling us he’s invincible. I think he just might be.”

 

 

 

That seemed to make Michael happy enough and he settled back into his bed. “Goodnight, Em”, he said, closing his eyes. Emmett returned the sentiment and switched off Michael’s light as he left his room.

 

 

 

After he’d closed Michael’s door, Emmett grabbed his phone. It was late, but he felt like talking to Ted. Michael’s words had struck something in Emmett. He really did miss having Brian around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The island

 

 

 

 

 

Over the next several weeks spent on the island, the boys continued to grow closer and closer as they survived. Together they repaired and rebuilt their ever faltering shelter. One day, the roof of it collapsed on top of the boys while they were mid-fuck. Needless to say, neither of the boys were happy when that had happened. They improved their fishing and cooking skills, using their self-made spears and open fire. Brian joked that he felt like a true boy scout. Justin continued keeping count of each day on the island while he and Brian somehow managed to have as much fun as they could. Mostly by lots and lots of love-making. Doing it raw made them feel even closer to each other. Justin’s tree climbing skills got better and better with each passing day, so much so that he taught Brian how to climb and together they picked fruit from great heights. Each evening they watched the sun set as the day turned into night.

 

 

 

One afternoon, the hundredth day on the island, the boys chuckled and teased each other while they played about in the lagoon. Justin splashed water in Brian’s face and squealed when the brunet took the teenager in his arms and dunked him under water. “Brian!” he complained through his laughter after they surfaced. Brian smirked and kissed Justin tenderly. Both boys wrapped their arms around each other as they had a passionate make out session.

 

 

 

As always, the kissing progressed into hot sex in the lagoon. Justin moaned into Brian’s mouth while they kissed. “Ohhh Brian!” He wrapped his legs tighter around Brian’s waist and moved with the man as they fucked from their standing up position. “Brian, it’s so good!”

 

 

 

“Yesssss!” Brian moaned in response to Justin’s sexy talk. “Your tight ass feels so good!” Several minutes of pure bliss went past before the boys reached climax. When they were done, Justin unwrapped his legs from Brian’s torso and his lover helped lower him to the lagoon floor. “Oh how I love lazy Wednesday afternoons”, Brian said.

 

 

 

“When they are packed with great sex like that, so do I”, Justin agreed with a smile. Brian gave him a smile back and the two lovers made their way over to where they had left their clothes. They dried off as best as they could and began dressing. “You know, I don’t think I ever properly thanked you”, Justin said after a moment.

 

 

 

Brian stopped putting his shirt on to look at his lover. “For what?” he asked with genuine curiosity.

 

 

 

“For saving me”, Justin replied. Brian’s expression told Justin that he needed more answers than that. “Back when we were on that dinghy and I almost fell off. You saved me and I want to thank you.”

 

 

 

“You did thank me for that”, Brian pointed out, putting his shirt on his shoulders.

 

 

 

Justin nodded. “Sure, but I didn’t thank you properly”, he told the brunet. Before Brian could asked him what he meant, Justin grabbed the man’s face and planted a big kiss on him, tongue and all. Brian responded enthusiastically and only broke away when the need for air became more immediate than their need for each other.

 

 

 

“That is about the best ‘thank you’ I’ve ever gotten”, Brian said, catching his breath.

 

 

 

Justin smiled and said, “I also want to thank you just for being there. I would have died here without you.”

 

 

 

Brian spoke up, “Then I’ve got to thank you too.” It was Justin’s turn to look at him in question. “Without you, I wouldn’t of had anything to keep me going for this long”, he confessed. “I would have given up.”

 

 

 

The boys shared a tender look that was broken by a familiar sound in the distance. It was getting closer and closer. This was the sound of a helicopter! “Oh my God”, Justin said, taking off towards the beach, Brian running along behind him at top speed.

 

 

 

“Go Sunshine, go”, Brian called as they ran like their lives depended on it. Because their lives really did depend on it this time. They reached the beach in record time and Justin dove for his satchel while Brian stood on the beach waving his arms about and calling up to the helicopter that was in sight now. It looked like a tourist helicopter. Justin ran out onto the beach next to Brian, loading the flare gun. “Fire away, Sunshine”, Brian said with excitement in his voice. This was it; their ticket out of here. Justin pointed the gun to the sky and fired, sending a flare into the sky where the helicopter could see it. “Heeeeeeeyyyyy!” Brian and Justin shouted as they jumped and waved to the helicopter above them. “Over here!”

 

 

 

The aircraft got closer and closer and the boys were live with excitement. “Oh my God!” Justin said again, feeling the wind from the helicopter as it began to land on the beach. It was far enough away from him and Brian so that they were not in any danger. The craft stopped, having landed safely and the castaways bolted towards it.

 

 

 

A chocolate skinned man stepped out of the helicopter as the boys approached. “You two fellas alright?” the man asked. He had an Australian accent and a booming voice.

 

 

 

“Holy heck, Sir”, Justin puffed once he and Brian reached the man. “You found us!”

 

 

 

“Our names are Brian Kinney and Justin Taylor, and we’ve been marooned here for 100 days”, Brian told the curious and stunned man, who would forever be their saviour.

 

 

 

A look of recognition registered on the man’s face. “Brian Kinney and Justin Taylor, eh? You’re the kids that got lost off of that party boat, aren’t ya?” he asked.

 

 

 

“That’s us”, Brian confirmed, smiling. A beaming Justin took his hand.

 

 

 

The man smiled at both boys and said, “Well bloody hell, let’s get you two home then. You can call me Tim.” He stuck his hand out and each boy shook it gratefully.

 

 

 

Brian and Justin dashed off to their shelter to collect their shoes, jackets and Justin’s satchel after telling Tim they needed a minute. The whole time, the boys were laughing with excitement and euphoria. Neither man could quite believe it; they were saved! Brian reached over to give his lover a quick kiss. Having collected their things, the lovers shared a smile and ran back to the helicopter where Tim was waiting for them. Once they reached the craft, they noticed two people already sitting in it. “This is Elle and Brae”, Tim told them. “I was taking them on an over the sea tour. None of us expected to find what we did!” The two girls sitting in the helicopter gave the boys friendly smiles and exchanged greetings. Tim helped the two of them into the craft, climbed in himself and told them the safety protocols. “I sure am glad there’s enough room in here”, he commented once he’d finished. Justin laughed in relief.

 

 

 

Minutes later, Tim turned the helicopter on, closed the door and lifted them off of the ground. Brian grabbed Justin’s hand and gave it a squeeze, interlacing their fingers. Both boys looked out the window of the aircraft as it lifted higher and higher away from the island. “Bye bye”, Justin whispered to the place that had been their home and their prison for the last hundred days. He looked over at Brian and they shared a look of fondness. They knew that it was time to get back to the real world…

 

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED…

 

 

 

Port Of Spain* Police headquarters, Trinidad

 

 

 

 

 

Hours later, Tim had landed the helicopter on the Trinidad mainland and contacted the local authorities. The former castaways gave the man all their thanks, exchanging information. The Trinidad police arrived and took Brian and Justin down to the main station where they were questioned and identified as the missing Americans from the party boat. Sitting in the station, Brian and Justin told police how they got separated from the main boat, washed up on an island only to discover that it was deserted, and had to find fruit and spear fish to survive. They recounted finding the blue lagoon that both of them would miss and learning to build a fire on their own. The boys had then been told that Justin’s mother and two of Brian’s friends had been working none stop with the police for a while after they went missing.

 

 

 

The officers who spoke to them were amazed that these young men had managed to survive for so long in such a hostile and remote landscape. Before that day, the island Brian and Justin had been living on was undiscovered.

 

 

 

“Your story is amazing”, one officer, whose name was Gabriel, commented. He was one of the officers who had been working alongside Jennifer, Debbie and Michael when the police search and investigation had been going on. “That you were able to survive like that…out there for so long. And that you were found.”

 

 

 

Justin nodded, feeling overwhelmed by all that had happened to them that day. “You’re telling me! I’m still expecting to wake up back on that island!”

 

 

 

Gabriel shook his head with a smile on his face. “This is not a dream, Justin Taylor”, he told him kindly. “You really are safe now.”  Brian took Justin’s hand and gave it a squeeze. They shared yet another relieved smile.

 

 

 

Another officer, Fernanda, spoke up, “I’m not surprised Tim Bangarrie was the one to find them. That kooky old guy has been accidentally discovered several islands, rocks and creatures for years!” This made everyone in the room laugh.

 

 

 

The head officer, Diego Sanchez entered the room, making all look to him expectantly. “A flight for 12pm tomorrow has been booked for you gentlemen to get back home”, he told the boys. Brian squeezed his blond’s hand again at this news. “Arrangements have been made for you to stay at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad hotel for the night. We made sure that you will both be provided with some clothes, toiletries and meals while you are there. This is it hombres**; you’re going home.”

 

 

 

“Thanks officer Sanchez”, Brian said to the man. He and Justin then relayed their thanks to the other two officers in the room.

 

 

 

Diego pointed at Gabriel with his pen. “Now. Your job is to make the calls to their families.”

 

 

 

Gabriel stood and started out the door before Brian stopped him. “Wait a second”, he called. The young officer walked back in the room and asked if Brian was alright. “Don’t bother calling my folks”, he said. He grabbed a nearby pen and paper and scribbled down Debbie’s home phone number, holding it out to Gabriel when he was done. “Call this instead.”

 

 

 

“Are you sure? Your mother and father must be pretty worried about you”, Gabriel offered. He took the paper nonetheless.

 

 

 

Brian nodded. “You said my friends Debbie and Michael were here looking for me. You didn’t mention anything about those people who call themselves my mother and father. If they want to know how I am, they can find out on their own.”

 

 

 

With that Gabriel dashed out of the rooms to make the surely exciting phone calls. Justin took his hand out of Brian’s and put his arm around him. “You are the strongest person I’ve ever known”, he told him supportively.

 

 

 

Brian gave him a small smile and put his arm around Justin’s shoulders as well. “By what we’ve been hearing, I’d say the strongest person you know is your mom.”  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Taylor home, Pittsburgh

 

 

 

 

 

“Holy shit!” gasped Molly Taylor. Hearing the news of her brother being found almost made her drop the phone.

 

 

 

The friendly voice on the other side of the phone stifled a laugh and asked the girl, “This isn’t Mrs. Taylor, is it?”

 

 

 

 

 

Molly cleared her throat guiltily. “No. I lied because I wanted to know what you were going to say.”

 

 

 

“Alright, I get it”, Gabriel said. “Now, don’t you think your mom would like to hear the good news herself?”

 

 

 

“Yeah”, Molly said excitedly. “Yeah she would. Hey mom!” the girl called up the stairs. “There’s a phone call for you. You’ll want to hear this!”

 

 

 

A moment later, Jennifer Taylor walked down the stairs and took the phone from her giddy daughter. She eyed the girl suspiciously and smiled at her cheeky face. “Hello, this is Jennifer Taylor.”

 

 

 

“Mrs. Taylor, This is Gabriel Pettas from the Port Of Spain Police in Trinidad.”, the voice on the other side said.

 

 

 

 

 

Upon hearing this, Jennifer immediately straightened up. She gripped the phone chord with her free hand nervously. “Y-yes?”

 

 

 

“Well, Mrs. Taylor, looks like we have some really good news for you”, Gabriel told the woman, who was bracing herself. “Your son has been found. He’s here, alive and well.”

 

 

 

The mother completely froze, unable to move or speak. Oh My, she thought. Justin! I knew it! Oh!

 

 

 

Meanwhile, Molly watched her mother with concern at her frozen state. “Uh…mom? Mom? Are you okay?” Jennifer could not answer as she was too busy passing out. The world went dark and she hit the floor like a ton of bricks out of complete and utter shock. And overwhelming joy. “Mom!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Debbie’s house, across town

 

 

 

 

 

The old style wall phone rang loudly in the Novotony home, interrupting an intense mock poker game between Debbie, Vic, Michael, Rodney and Ben. “I’ll get it!” Michael said, standing up.

 

 

 

“Only because you know you’re losing big time, mister!” his uncle Vic teased.

 

 

 

Michael poked his tongue out at the playful man and dashed to answer the phone. “Yello?” he answered with zest. He was feeling quite cheerful that day, which was unusual for the past 4 months.

 

 

 

“Is this Debbie Novotony’s home?” a friendly voice asked.

 

 

 

“Why yes it is”, Michael answered cheerily, making his family laugh. “May I ask who’s calling on this fine day?”

 

 

 

“This is officer Gabriel Pettas from the Port Of Spain police department in Trinidad”, the voice said back.

 

 

 

This made Michael sober up immediately, snapping him right out of his playful mood. “Trinidad Police?” he repeated. Hearing this made everyone at the table perk up to listen in as much as they could to the suddenly very important phone conversation. “Wait, Officer Pettas? That officer Pettas? Is this about Brian Kinney?”

 

 

 

“As a matter of fact, it is”, Officer Pettas replied. “This is Michael Novotony, yes?”

 

 

 

 

 

Michael nodded fervently. Then remembering that the officer could not see him, he said, “Yes. This is Michael, yeah.”

 

 

 

“Well, Michael I have some news I think you are going to like”, Gabriel told the nervous man. “Long story short; a tourist helicopter was flying out over some islands earlier today and miracle of miracles, found your friend Brian.”

 

 

 

For a moment, Michael could not speak. His heart pounded in his chest. “Is…Is he alright?” he asked tentatively, not wanting to get his hopes up. It would crush him if he got some hope of seeing his friend again, only to find out it was a false alarm.

 

 

 

 

 

“He is”, the officer replied. “We have one Brian Kinney and one Justin Taylor here safe and sound.”

 

 

 

 

 

Michael thought he was going to faint from excitement, but he did not. “Oh my…Holy Shit! Oh my God! That’s incredible!” Michael celebrated. He heard the officer chuckle on the other end of the line. “Guys, they found Brian!” he told his eagerly waiting company. Each of them cheered. Debbie began to cry. “Wait, wait”, Michael said, registering something else Gabriel had told him. “Did you say Justin Taylor as well?” Gabriel confirmed to him that he did say that. “He really was with him! Jennifer’s gonna be so happy!” He turned back to his family and boyfriend. “They found Justin too!” More cheers were had by the men, and more happy tears by Debbie. Ben got out his phone to text Hunter the news. “Oh, officer Pettas, you were right. This news made my whole week!”   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad hotel, Trinidad

 

 

 

 

 

Brian and Justin had been shown their room several minutes earlier. Originally, Officer Sanchez offered to book them individual rooms, but the boys declined, opting to stay together. They knew that things were bound to change once they got back to the real world. They were no longer alone on their island. So while they still could, the boys wished to remain inseparable.

 

 

 

In their room, the boys found duffel bags with fresh clothes in them, and all the toiletries they could need. Sensing what the other was thinking, both Justin and Brian headed straight for the bathroom. The first thing either of them did was wash their faces with the water from the sink. “Oh, that is good!” Brian observed appreciatively. They used the razors they found in the bags to shave their faces. Justin enjoyed playing with Brian’s smooth, clean shaven face.

 

 

 

After digging around the bags for a short while, Justin triumphantly found tooth brushes and toothpaste and for the first time in months, the boys could brush their teeth. On the islands, they had washed their mouths out with water, but it was not the same. Minty-freshness had never tasted for felt so good. Brian grabbed Justin’s face and planted a minty kiss on him, making both of them moan. Taking a quick glance at the shower, the boys shared a smile and hopped in. They took their time leisurely washing themselves and each other, with actual soap and shampoo! Indulging in this luxury together turned both boys on and they jumped each other after Brian had washed out all his shampoo. Together they enjoyed their first fuck off of the island in the small, but nice hotel shower. It was a slow, sensual round of love making. Brian held tightly onto Justin’s hips even after they’d both climaxed. The lovers stepped out of the shower and joked about while they dried themselves.

 

 

 

Justin walked back into the bedroom, closely followed by Brian. The blond eyed the bed, then looked back at Brian mischievously. “We’ve never fucked in a bed before”, he said enticingly. Brian smirked and stepped forward, intent on pouncing on his lover.

 

 

 

The moment was interrupted by loud knock at the door. It was like getting ice thrown at both boy’s backs…or rather; their balls. “Excuse me, Mr. Kinney? Mr. Taylor?” a friendly voice said through the door. It was a hotel worker, Jose, who’d greeted them earlier. “I have been instructed the call you both down to dinner. It will be waiting for you in the main hall”, he told them.

 

 

 

Brian sighed and lowered his head down to Justin’s shoulder, chuckling. Justin gave the man a sympathetic pat on the back through a smirk. “Thanks Jose. We’ll be right down”, Justin called back.

 

 

 

They heard the man walk away and Brian looked at Justin. “You know, we can always skip dinner”, Brian suggested.

 

 

 

“We’ll have plenty of time to have sex”, Justin assured his lover. He turned and grabbed the new clothes they’d been given. “But they went to the trouble of making sure we got fed. It would be rude to say no.”

 

 

 

Damn your WASPish manners, Brian thought, shaking his head in disappointment. He took the clothes he’d been given and began dressing alongside Justin.

 

 

 

“Besides, you know you have been craving a good stake”, Justin added, trying to get Brian to be enthusiastic.

 

 

 

Brian could not deny this. He’s right, the smart little fucker, he thought. “I can’t wait to never eat fish or bananas ever again”, Brian joked. Justin laughed and the pair of them, now dressed in fresh, clean clothing, headed down to enjoy their first proper dinner in months.

 

 

 

 

 

*****

 

 

 

 

 

Hours later, back in the hotel room

 

 

 

 

 

Brian lay naked in bed, waiting for Justin to return from the bathroom. The materials of the bedding felt so good after having spent so much time sleeping on leaves on the sand. The bathroom door opened and Justin stepped out. He switched off the light and walked over to the other side of the bed Brian watched as the boy self-consciously lifted the blankets and hopped in the far side of the bed. It was clear that he felt awkward and not quite sure what to do. The boys had never slept in a bed together, plus their relationship didn’t seem as certain as it had on the island. Justin was not sure if Brian wanted to touch him, so he stayed still and looked over at the man.

 

 

 

Chuckling, Brian held his arms out to the boy and said, “What the hell are we doing? Get over here.” Justin smiled and scooted over until he was in Brian’s safe arms. They kissed each other gently, then passionately. Brian laid on his back and pulled Justin on top of him while they heatedly kissed. “Justin…” Brian puffed between kisses. “I’m going to fuck you all night long. So I want you to fuck me first.”

 

 

 

Justin looked at Brian tenderly and reached into the drawer in the bedside table to get some moisturiser cream that was inside. They didn’t have any lube left and weren’t supplied with any, so they had to make do. He took his time carefully opening Brian up until the man told him he was ready. Brian got onto his knees and Justin held on to his hips. The blond entered his lover and began moving in and out of him slowly. “Uhhh”, Brian moaned, gripping the sheets. Justin moaned with his lover and began to piston in and out of him faster and harder when Brian ordered him to. Justin kissed Brian’s back and neck as he made love to him. Sensing that the man was close several minutes later, Justin took Brian’s cock into his hand and pumped it as he doubled his efforts. “Fuck Justin!” Brian cried. With that, he sprayed cum all over the sheets. Brian’s post-cum whimper was all it took to bring Justin over the edge and he orgasmed inside his lover. Justin collapsed on Brian after finishing, lying together in a sticky, messy heap. A few moments later, Justin pulled out and rolled off of Brian, allowing him to turn over. They shared a smile and Brian grabbed a cloth from the bedside table. He used it to wipe some mess off of the bed and himself.  

 

 

 

“Was it…?” Justin asked tentatively.

 

 

 

“It was great”, Brian assured his lover, running a hand through his dark, sweaty hair. This made Justin give Brian one of his Sunshine smiles; he loved pleasing Brian. He leaned down and resumed kissing the man. Once again it started out gentle, but Brian wrapped his arms tightly around the blond and rolled them over quickly so that he was on top. Justin started giggling into their kisses and Brian moved his head to deliver sweet, wet kisses to the boy’s neck. He smiled while he did this as it made Justin laugh at the ticklish sensations he was causing. Justin wrapped his legs around Brian’s body and flipped them over again. “Getting cocky now?” Brian asked in a teasing voice.

 

 

 

Justin smiled and placed his lips so close to Brian’s ear that they were touching. “I want to ride you”, he whispered, the sensation making Brian shiver with pleasure. He smiled and Justin gave Brian a few kisses to the neck before looking into his eyes.

 

 

 

“You are so fucking sexy”, Brian told him, making the boy blush despite his smile. “Go ahead.” Brian opened Justin up from their position with the moisturiser. Minutes later, Justin smacked Brian’s hand away, making him pull his fingers out. Justin grabbed Brian’s unsheathed dick and positioned it at his entrance. The boys locked eyes as Brian caressed Justin’s thighs and the blond slowly impaled himself on his lover’s cock. “Shiiiit”, Brian hissed appreciatively.

 

 

 

Justin threw his head back in pleasure and closed his eyes for a moment. “Ohhhhh!” he moaned loudly. It was almost painful for it to feel that good. The blond grabbed Brian’s hands with both of his and interlaced their fingers. Once he had given himself an anchor, Justin rolled his hips. “Ohh Brian!”

 

 

 

“That’s it, Sunshine”, Brian said in a drawn out sigh. “Hooooh yeah.” Justin alternated between rolling his hips and moving his body up and down. Every movement drove both men crazy and Brian thrust upwards. Several minutes of this agonizing pleasure went by until Brian could no longer contain himself. He grabbed Justin’s hips with both hands and used his core to sit up, making Justin gasp in surprise. He pushed the blond onto his back, going with him, as he was still deep inside the young man. Now on top of Justin, Brian thrust in and out of the hot, wet canal rigorously. “Uhhhhhh!”

 

 

 

The younger man wrapped his arms and legs around Brian and held him close as they continued their furious love making. “Ohhhh Brian! Shit! Ohh!” Justin tried to grab his dick, but Brian took it into his hand before he could reach it. The intensity of the sex continued to increase, reaching its crescendo when both Brian and Justin climaxed together. Justin clutched Brian’s hair in his hands as he rode out his orgasm.

 

 

 

Brian collapsed on top of his lover in exhaustion. “Fuck, that was hot”, he breathed. Justin chuckled and caressed Brian’s sweaty back. It wasn’t long before they fell asleep, Brian still buried deep inside of Justin.

 

 

 

 

 

*****

 

 

 

Many hours later, at Pittsburgh International Airport

 

 

 

 

 

Justin grabbed Brian’s hand and held it as they walked through the airport terminal. They had been woken up the next day and put on a plane back to Pittsburgh. Both boys were nervous to see their family and friends again after all this time.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, nearby the nearest exit, The Taylors, Kinneys, both boy’s friends and several news reporters stood waiting for the former castaways. One reporter said into her news team’s camera, “After spending one hundred days on a formerly undiscovered island in the Caribbean Sea, Americans Brian Kinney and Justin Taylor are about to arrive home. Their loved ones are here, eagerly awaiting their return.”

 

 

 

As the boys rounded the corner, Daphne pointed and announced, “I see them!”

 

 

 

People started waving and cheering as the boys approached. Justin waved back at his loved ones as Brian smiled at his. They released each other’s hands to go to the people who had gathered to greet them. Justin went straight into his crying mother’s arms, hugging her tightly. “My baby”, she said as she stroked her son’s hair with one hand. “You’re safe.”

 

 

 

Brian, on the other hand, walked up to his loved ones, unable to stop himself from smiling. Debbie was the first person to pull him into a bear hug. She gave him a series of big kisses on his cheek, leaving lipstick all over him. “Oh, honey! You’re back!” she said.

 

 

 

“I’m back, Deb”, Brian said, reluctantly pulling away from her embrace.

 

 

 

He looked next to his surrogate mother and saw his best friend. Debbie let go of Brian’s hands as the boys smiled at each other. They launched themselves into each other’s arms, laughing gleefully. “I knew you’d come back!” Michael told him.

 

 

 

“I heard all you did for me”, Brian said. He pulled back to look at his friend. “Thanks, Mikey.”

 

 

 

“Of course”, Michael said back. They shared another smile before Brian had more hugs and greetings with the rest of his friends.

 

 

 

 

 

After he’d hugged each of them, he saw his older sister standing by awkwardly. She looked unsure, but emotional. Brian looked at her, surprised that she was there. Unable to stand there doing nothing anymore, Claire ran over to her brother and he opened his arms for her. The siblings hugged in reunion. “I thought I’d never see you again”, Claire told him. “But here you are. Back home, safe.” They pulled back and Claire gave Brian a kiss on the cheek. Touched, Brian smiled at her. It had been such a long time since he’d received loving treatment from his sister. It was nice.

 

 

 

Claire looked behind her, making Justin follow her gaze. It was then that he saw his mother standing there, alone and awkward. She locked eyes with her son, who was involuntarily and unexpectedly feeling quite emotional at seeing all his friends again. Brian pulled away from Claire and walked over to Joan. “What are you doing here?” he asked her in a quiet voice.

 

 

 

“I…I worried about you”, the woman told him. “I had to see you.”

 

 

 

Brian shook his head. “You never tried to look for me”, he said. “I know you didn’t. Debbie Novotony acted more like my mother than you.” The man’s eyes teared up as he spoke. He felt rejected and betrayed by his parent’s apparent lack of concern for him.

 

 

 

Joan looked at the floor in shame. “I’m sorry. But I’m here now.” Brian stared into his mother’s eyes for several seconds. He was still hurt and angry, but he couldn’t help it. He was so overwhelmed, he gave his mother a hug. The man felt a little sceptical about why his mother was there. Did she want to change their relationship? Brian wasn’t sure if that was possible, but he let Justin’s kindness influence his behaviour in that moment.

 

 

 

They held each other for a few moments before stepping away from each other. “And the old man is…?”

 

 

 

“He couldn’t make it”, Joan told her son, giving him an apologetic look.

 

 

 

Brian nodded and felt Michael put his arm around his shoulders in comfort. He looked over and gave his friend an appreciative smile.

 

 

 

Several meters away, Justin reunited with his friends and family. After his emotional mother, he got big hugs from his father and sister, then his grandparents. Many of his aunts, uncles and cousins had come to welcome him home as well. Unable to hold in his emotions, Justin began to cry as he was greeted by everyone. An already crying Daphne flew into Justin’s arms and they held each other tight. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” Hunter was next to give the boy a hug and ‘welcome home’ sentiments.

 

 

 

Reporters stuck microphones in both boys’ faces, asking them questions about how they felt about returning home. Neither boy wanted to speak to the media and declined answering any questions. They glanced over at each other, not looking forward to being separated. A moment later, Brian was being led outside in one direction, while Justin was being led out in another. After months of being alone together, Brian and Justin were going to be apart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later, at the Taylor’s home

 

 

 

 

 

Justin happily ate dinner with his family. The cooking of his mother and grandmother had never tasted so good. Daphne and Hunter tagged along as well. “Justin, I can’t even begin to tell you how glad we all are that you are safe”, Craig Taylor told his son as they sat at their outdoor dining table. “We missed you so much. Your mother worked so hard to try and bring you home.”

 

 

 

Nodding, Justin replied, “I know.” The boy looked at his mom and gave her a loving smile which she returned. “The Trinidad police told me. I’m proud of you, mom.”

 

 

 

“I’m proud of you, Justin”, Jennifer said back to her boy. “You survived all that time on that island.”

 

 

 

Justin smiled, thinking of his lover. He missed being in his presence already. “I never would have made it if it wasn’t for Brian. He saved my life more than once.”

 

 

 

“Then I’m eternally grateful to him”, Jennifer said. “I’ve heard a lot about him”, she revealed. Justin raised his eyebrows with interest. “I worked really hard with his friends Debbie and Michael Novotony. They were so worried for him. We’re good friends now.”

 

 

 

“That’s great”, Justin said genuinely. If his mother was friends with Brian’s friends that meant he would always be connected to the man. He couldn’t help but wonder what he was doing right at that moment…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Debbie Novotony’s home

 

 

 

 

 

Debbie had invited the whole gang over for a big family dinner. Joan decided not to tag along, which did not surprise Brian. She did, however, invite him over for dinner whenever he wanted to come. Brian still had yet to decide whether or not he’d take her up on that offer.

 

 

 

“Brian, it is so nice to have you home”, Lindsay told her friend.

 

 

 

“Thanks, Lindz”, Brian responded. “It’s good to be back.”

 

 

 

“I can imagine”, Vic said. “It must have been tough out there.”

 

 

 

Brian nodded. “It was”, he confirmed. Thinking of his blond lover, he added, “But it would have been a whole lot harder if Justin wasn’t there.”

 

 

 

“You guys must’ve gotten pretty close on that island, huh?” Michael suggested. He was quite amused that the boy Brian had been checking out back at the hotel was the very same boy he’d been marooned with. “All that time alone…”

 

 

 

Brian smirked. “I know what you’re getting at”, he said to his friend. “I’m not saying anything.”

 

 

 

Michael threw his hands up innocently. “Okay”, he said in forfeit. “I won’t pry.”

 

 

 

“Mikey never stopped”, Debbie said, coming back into the room. She placed drinks in front of everyone at the table. “Neither did Justin’s mother. That woman is amazing.

 

 

 

“So I’ve heard”, Brian said, taking a sip of his drink. “I also heard about you, Deb. You worked hard with them.”

 

 

 

Debbie gave the man a warm smile and sat down at her usual spot. “I wasn’t gonna give up on you that easily.”

 

 

 

The gang enjoyed a great dinner and night together. Hours later, Brian said good night to everyone and Emmett drove them and Michael back to their apartment. It felt strange walking into his home after being away from it for months. Brian took a moment to simply breathe in. He decided he needed some time alone…or rather, some time with his lover. Even if it was just for a moment, Brian knew he didn’t want to go to sleep that night without seeing his blond. “I’m gonna go for a drive”, Brian told his roommates. “I just want to see the town again.”

 

 

 

“Alrighty”, said Emmett. He and Michael shared a look, not believing their friend. They let him go without another word.

 

 

 

Brian got in his beloved jeep and patted the dash bord in greeting. He was so glad to be back with his car. The boys had exchanged addresses on the plane. Putting the piece of paper Justin had scribbled on, on the dash bord, Brian drove off towards the boy’s house. He arrived 15 minutes later. The man got out of his jeep, locked it and walked around to the side of the house. He spotted a light on in an upstairs room. Brian figured and hoped that it was Justin’s bedroom. Putting the skills Justin had taught him on the island to use, Brian climbed u a tree that was immediately next to the window and stood on the ledge that was there. Luckily, it was big enough that Brian could stand on it relatively safely. He peered in and saw Justin. Silently cheering, Brian knocked on the window. 

 

 

 

He chuckled quietly as he watched the boy jump at the knock. Justin turned around and smiled upon seeing his lover. Brian couldn’t help but return the smile. The boy walked over to his window and opened it so they could talk. “Hey”, Justin greeted happily. “What are you doing here?”

 

 

 

“I wanted to come see how you were doing back home”, Brian told him, tracing lazy circles on the boy’s hand with his index finger. “Settled in okay?”

 

 

 

“It has definitely been crazy”, Justin said. He grabbed Brian’s hand with his and held it. “I think it might take a little while to get used to being home.”

 

 

 

Brian nodded, watching their hands as each boy played with each other’s fingers. “I think so, too.”

 

 

 

“But I’ll be okay, I suppose”, Justin added. Brian looked up and met his eyes. He leaned in and gave the blond a deep, slow kiss that lasted several seconds. They rested their foreheads together once their lips had reluctantly parted. “I should go back downstairs”, Justin told Brian regrettably. “There are people waiting for me.”

 

 

 

Moving back, Brian nodded again. He still held Justin’s and in his. “Mikey and Emmett would probably queen out if I’m gone for too long”, he said.

 

 

 

Justin smirked in amusement. “Promise me we'll still see each other now that we're back”, he requested.

 

 

 

Brian gave Justin’s warm hand a squeeze. “I promise”, he whispered in a heartfelt tone. “You go on, now.”

 

 

 

“Oh, my dad wants to throw a party”, Justin told him before he left. “Within the next couple of days. You should come.”

 

 

 

“I wouldn’t miss it”, Brian told him, caressing the boy’s hand with his thumb. “It aint a part without me.”

 

 

 

Justin laughed and shook his head. “So you’ve told me. Goodnight, Brian.”

 

 

 

“Goodnight Sunshine.” Sharing one last soft smile, Justin let go of his lover’s hand and closed his window. He gave the man a wave before disappearing out his door. Brian sighed and climbed down from the house. He walked back to his jeep with one thing replaying in his mind. ‘Promise me we’ll still see each other now that we’re back’. Brian never made promises he didn’t think he could keep. So that was why he was determined to keep the one he’d made to Justin.

 

 

 

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED…

 

 

 

 

 

*The Port of Spain is the capital city of Trinidad

 

 

 

**Hombres means ‘men’ in Spanish, although the main language in Trinidad is English.

 

 

The Taylor family home, 2 days later

 

 

Over the next couple of days, the boys took the time to settle in back at home. They both had haircuts, looking as sleek as ever. After having medical checks, as well as being tested for any sexually transmitted infections, both Brian and Justin were in the clear. Justin had been right; it was fine for the two of them to have been having sex raw. This was a great relief to Brian, who had been worrying about it.

 

It was a Thursday afternoon and all of Justin’s family and friends, as well as Brian and some of his friends had gathered in the Taylor’s backyard for an official ‘welcome home’ party for the boys. Craig had arranged the whole thing and spent much of the afternoon barbequing. A couple of hours into the party, Craig stopped everyone to make an important toast. “Excuse me everyone!” he called, tapping a glass lightly with a knife to grab his guests’ attention. “I would like to thank everyone for coming. It is about time we make a toast to Justin, my son, and to Brian.” He held his glass in the air, encouraging everyone to do the same. “To Brian and Justin. Welcome home.” All the people present repeated, “To Brian and Justin”, and took a drink from their glasses before Craig held his glass up again. “I would also like to make a toast to my wife, Jennifer, and Brian’s friends Debbie and Michael Novotony. They worked so hard to bring these boys home. To Jennifer, Debbie and Michael.” Again, everyone raised their glasses and joined in on the toast. Jennifer leaned over and gave her husband a kiss on the cheek.

 

The boys had both officially met each other’s friends at the barbeque. Emmett instantly adored Justin, while Daphne had the same reaction to Brian. Both Michael and Justin were quite excited to meet each other, as they had heard so much about one another over the last 3 months. It was as if they already knew each other.

 

Justin and Brian, in the meantime, hadn’t spent much time speaking to each other that afternoon, as Justin’s friends had him occupied. In fact, Brian and Justin had barely spoken at all since arriving home. The teenagers hadn’t seen the boy since the dinner a couple days earlier and were busy bombarding him with questions, as well as catching up him on all that had been going on in his absence. Brian sat on the other side of the yard, watching Justin with longing. “Missing him already?” a young voice asked. Brian turned his head to see a younger girl version of Justin smiling at him.

 

“You’re the famous Molly Taylor”, Brian said, turning his body so that he could talk to her properly. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

 

Molly rolled her eyes. “I’m sure my brother made me sound like a brat.”

 

Brian laughed and responded, “In some of his stories, but he missed you.”

 

The girl smiled, glancing over at her big brother as he laughed with his friends. “Yeah. I missed him too”, she confessed. She looked back at Brian and saw the look of yearning on his handsome face as he watched her brother. She grinned knowingly. “He and his friends are pretty joined at the hip”, she told Brian, making him look at her again. “But he won’t forget about you anytime soon. I can tell he’s just as crazy about you as you are about him.”

 

Brian gave the girl an impressed look at the fact that she’d been able to figure out the nature of his relationship with Justin. She was right; Brian was crazy about his blond. He only hoped she was right about Justin not forgetting about him.

 

An hour later, Justin had a private moment with Daphne as Hunter had left to go to work. They sat in the corner of the yard, gossiping like a pair of queens. “So”, Daphne began, raising one eyebrow suggestively. “You and Brian were alone on that island for all that time. Don’t tell me nothing happened between you two while you were there.” A shy smile formed on Justin’s lips. Daphne’s eyes went wide as she smiled. “Oh my God, something did happen! You guys totally got together!”

 

“Yeah”, Justin admitted, looking down at his hands. Daphne was the first person Justin had told about his and Brian’s relationship. “We started out as friends, but eventually we got together”, he revealed while his friend listened intently. “I gave him my virginity…”

 

Daphne scooted in a little closer to her friend. “So how was it?”

 

Justin blushed and thought back to that wonderful first night he’d shared with Brian. He remembered how tender Brian was. “It was amazing”, he said, not looking at the girl next to him. “Brian is…he’s amazing. I adore him, Daph.”

 

A giggle escaped the teenage girl’s mouth and she gave her friend a pat on the shoulder. “My wittle Justin is all grown up!”

 

“Shut up”, Justin laughed, his face turning an even deeper shade of red.

 

“Hang on”, Daphne said, making Justin snap his head up.

 

“What?” he asked, curious and concerned.

 

Daphne swallowed the last of her cherry soda and said, “Brian’s nowhere to be seen. Wasn’t he standing over there?”

 

Justin followed Daphne’s pointed hand and noticed that his lover was in fact nowhere to be seen. Frowning, Justin got up and walked over to his sister. “Hey, have you seen Brian?” he asked the girl.

 

Molly nodded and told the boy, “Yeah, he left about 20 minutes ago. I guess he was bored or something.”

 

The girl watched as her brother’s face fell in disappointment. “Oh”, he mumbled.

 

“Sorry”, Molly said, reaching up to give the boy a hug. “I thought he was going to say goodbye. If had of known he didn’t, I would have stopped him.”

 

Justin ruffled the girl’s hair and she squirmed away from him. “That’s okay, Mol. Thanks.”

 

“What for?” The blond girl smoothed down her hair with her hands.

 

“For being on my side for once”, he cracked, smirking at his sister. She poked her tongue out at him, a gesture he returned. Justin walked back to a concerned Daphne and told her, “He left. I was ignoring him the whole time and he left. I’m such a jerk!”

 

Daphne took her dramatic friend’s hand. “You are a lot of things, but a jerk isn’t one of them.”

 

Justin gave the girl an appreciative, yet sad smile. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I am a jerk. Brian probably had the worst time. I invited him and didn’t even talk to him.”

 

“It’ll be fine”, Daphne assured the boy, still clutching his hand. “If you guys adore each other, he’ll forget all about today. You’ll see.”   

 

Not knowing what else to say, Justin gave in and nodded. He wasn’t sure if he believed his friend, but he allowed himself to hope.

 

 

 

Over the next couple of weeks

 

As the boys discovered; life goes on. Justin had decided to return to school the Monday after they’d been rescued and was welcomed. Being a highly intelligent and organized young man, he was able to get back into the routine of school fairly easily. He began taking after school and weekend classes to catch up on all he’d missed while he had been on the island. The boy impressed his teachers with how eager he was to catch up by the time graduation came around. Since returning home, Justin had also become more popular than ever. People were always talking to him, asking him questions and treating him like a hero. It was odd to Justin as he had never really been all that popular, but he could not deny that he liked the extra attention from his classmates.

 

Similarly, Brian went back to his college classes the Monday after they returned home. People stared at him more often than they had, and more people tried to talk to him, but it wasn’t a major difference to how things were prior to the island. Students at his college were very busy, rather mature and quite self involved, meaning that not too many of them cared all that much about Brian’s story. This suited Brian just fine; as long as he had his friends, he didn’t need anyone else. The biggest difference in treatment he received was from his professors. Either they were harder on him, or easier on him. Either way, each professor was quite interested in what happened to Brian. He was welcomed back to work quite easily as well. Just a few short weeks after the boys had been rescued; their lives had predominantly returned back to normal.

 

One thing that bothered both boys immensely was the fact that they had had no time for each other. Justin saw Brian once after the party at his house and then not at all. They had begun speaking a few times a day, which became less and less frequent until it ceased all together. The boys did not see or speak to each other. The truth was; both Brian and Justin were too afraid to reach out to the other for fear of being ignored or rejected. Both of them missed each other in immeasurable amounts and found it a shame that things could not be the way they were on the island.

 

Brian had also not returned to tricking since coming home. He contemplated it after starting to get sick of having to resort only to pleasuring himself, and even tried to trick. But the man could not bring himself to even kiss a man after he’d picked him up, let alone fuck him. There was no one he wanted more than Justin. No one had made him feel more excited, cared for, gentle or insatiable than the little blond devil. The boy gave him the best sex he’d ever experienced, making him certain that he’d never desired or been satisfied by anyone more than Justin. It seemed odd to Brian. He had formerly been The Stud Of Liberty Avenue, despite only being 21, a title that Brandon had predominantly filled in Brian’s absence. The thing that was the most odd about that was that it didn’t really bother Brian all that much. He didn’t feel like he was losing anything significant. Previously, he never would have thought that he’d be able to be monogamous, but the last three months proved otherwise. He had spent those months only fucking Justin, whom he knew could keep up with his sexual appetite and stamina. This was why he found himself not wanting anyone else. They had done it raw. Brian let Justin fuck him; the first man Brian had ever let do that. And Brian was sure that he wanted Justin to be the only man to ever do that.

 

The man’s lack of tricking did not go unnoticed by his friends. They questioned him about it, but he declined talking about it, denying that anything was wrong. His friends assumed that it had something to do with Justin and were surprised to come to the secret conclusion that he was in love with the boy. Each friend was excited by this prospect; Brian only ever talked about how he didn’t believe in love or relationships, but it appeared that that was changing. They only hoped that their friend would be courageous enough to act on it.

 

 

Justin’s bedroom

 

A soft, but sure knock made Justin look up from his sketch pad. The boy was incredibly grateful to be back with his art materials after having spent all that time away from it all. He had been painting and drawing like crazy ever since the first day he got back home. Many of these artworks were of Brian and their island. He was in the middle of sketching a close up of Brian’s beautiful face, which he missed like crazy. “Come in”, he said, closing the sketch book.

 

The door opened to reveal his younger sister and she stepped in the room. “Hi”, she greeted, going over to sit next to her brother on his bed.

 

“Hey, Mol”, he greeted back in a friendly tone. Things had been a lot better between the two of them since Justin’s return. Before he went off to Trinidad on the school trip, he and his sister had been fighting non-stop. All was forgiven and forgotten now, and their relationship was better than ever. Molly spent several seconds just staring at the boy. “What?” he asked, feeling his face begin to flush.

 

Molly shook her head. “I just missed you is all”, she explained. “I’m real glad you’re back.”

 

Justin smiled, touched at the sentiment. “I missed you too, sis”, he told her, reaching over to ruffle her hair. This of course made her smooth her hair down with her hands the way she always did when her brother messed it up. “It’s good to be back. It really is.” He meant it.

 

“But there’s something about that that’s not quite right”, Molly said mysteriously. She spoke as if she knew all, making her brother frown at her in question. “ Or should I say someone.”

 

Justin looked away from the girl and quickly said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.

 

“Oh, come on. You don’t think I’m that much of a door mat, do you? I know what’s going on”, she told her brother, who knew exactly what she meant. “”You miss Brian.”

 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Mol”, Justin said dismissively. He made a move to get up.

 

The girl grabbed her brother’s arm and stopped him from walking away as he intended. “Just admit it. Why would that be so bad?”

 

Justin stopped struggling against the girl and looked at her. “Okay…” he said, giving in. Looks like he was going to have to officially come out to his sister. “I miss him like hell. He’s the only thing on my mind and I wish he was around all the time”, Justin admitted.

 

With a big smile, Molly said, “See, that wasn’t so hard.” She noticed her brother’s blush and added, “Jus, I’ve kinda known you were into boys for a while now. Well, actually for as long as I can remember. It’s okay.”

 

Justin reached for his younger sister’s hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze. He smiled at her in appreciation. “Thanks…I suppose”, he laughed. “Gosh, was I really that obvious about it?”

 

“You screamed as much as I did at the Justin Timberlake concert. And you had posters of Jesse McCartney in your room instead of hot girls. And I always caught you looking at Chris Hobbs’ butt at his games”, the girl said.

 

Laughing, Justin said, “Okay, okay, I get it. I was obvious.” He was thoughtful for a moment. “Do you think mom and dad know?”

 

Molly shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe they do.” Again, Justin looked thoughtful, pondering something. “But the point is; you miss your boyfriend.”

 

“He’s not…well, we never really made it official between us”, Justin confessed. “We sorta just…got together and rolled with it.”

 

“Be honest, Jus”, Molly urged. “Do you want him to be your boyfriend?”

 

Justin nodded, his eyes pointing downwards. He was beginning to feel emotional and didn’t want to cry. He felt that crying about it might mean that it was really over between Brian and him, and Justin couldn’t stand that thought.

 

“Then why don’t you talk to him?” The girl beside him asked. She was looking deeply at her brother, as if studying him.

 

For a thirteen year old, Molly was quite the wise little one, Justin mused to himself. “Because…” he began, feeling his throat tighten up a little. He swallowed, trying to relax his throat. “Because I’m afraid that if I reach out to him now that he’ll want nothing to do with me. That he won’t want to know me anymore.” Failing at his task, Justin felt tears begin to fall.

 

Molly nodded slowly, as if she had been expecting this answer. “Justin, any fool can tell that Brian is desperately in love with you”, she stated.

 

“You-You think so?” Justin asked with a vulnerability that touched his sister’s heart. He sniffed and looked up at the girl.

 

Molly reached over to rub her brother’s shoulder soothingly in reassurance. “Of course. Have you seen the way he looks at you? He looks at you like you are the only thing on this entire fricken’ planet!”

 

This made Justin chuckle. He wiped at his eyes. “That’s what he is to me.”

 

“So talk to him”, Molly urged again. “Prom is coming up. You have a date?” Justin shook his head and Molly continued, “Invite Brian.”

 

“What if he doesn’t show?” Justin asked, genuinely afraid of that possibility.

 

“You’ll never know if you don’t try, will you?” Molly pointed out.

 

Justin looked at the girl for a couple of thoughtful seconds before moving to get his laptop. Molly smiled triumphantly. Justin turned his laptop on and opened up his email, glad that he and Brian had exchanged details back on the plane. He attached the official prom invite to a new email addressed to Brian and wrote a simple, ‘I’ll be waiting.’ Hesitating for a brief moment, Justin froze. This prompted Molly to quickly reach over and press send. “Hey”, Justin protested half-heartedly.

 

“Where would you be without me?” Molly said cheekily with a shrug.

 

Justin laughed and shook his head at his sister’s antics and looked back at his screen. He stared at the ‘sent’ message on the screen as his heart raced inside his chest. He was excited, but utterly scared out of his mind at the same time. If Brian didn’t show up, it would break his heart. But if he did show up, Justin would be the happiest man on earth. They would be reunited. Justin only hoped that Brian would at least consider the invitation…

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED…         

 

Debbie’s home

 

“Gotcha!” Melanie cheered as she pulled the poker chips towards her. “Once again, I am the champion!”

 

Emmett smacked himself in the head with his left hand. “That’s 3 times you’ve won already!” he exclaimed.

 

“I told you she was good”, Ted said, taking a sip of his beer. He had happily chosen not to partake in the rounds of poker his new friends were playing as he already knew they’d all get their butts whooped by Melanie. He learned that the hard way.

 

Michael shook his head with a chuckle and said, “I’m just glad we weren’t playing with real cash, or we’d all be broke.”

 

“I thought that’s why we didn’t play with real money”, Ben spoke up. “Because we’re all broke.”

 

The friends all shared a laugh together and began packing up their last game. Emmett looked at Brian and noticed an odd look on his face. It was one that he’d worn for quite a while now; since he got back. It looked as if he was somewhere else. “You’ve been awfully quiet tonight”, Emmett said to the man, getting his attention. “You’re usually the first to complain when Mel beats us at card games. Somethin’ on your mind?”

 

Brian took a moment to shake himself out of his thoughts and re-enter the real world. He casually took a gulp of his beer and responded, “Not really, no.”

 

Michael and Emmett shared a knowing look and not-so-subtlety inched closer to their roommate. “So…” Michael began, as if he knew exactly what was coming next. Brian looked at his ridiculous friends, his current situation making him feel like he was a contestant on some crazy reality show like ‘Total Drama’*. “You never really talk much about your time on that island”, Michael continued. Brian took another drink form his beer, realising where his friend was going with this. “Why don’t you tell us about it…What was it like?”

 

Smirking, Brian asked, “You guys don’t make it easy for a man to avoid everything, do you?”

 

“Why? You got something to avoid?” asked Melanie, deeply invested in the conversation.

 

Still smirking, Brian took another casual sip from his beer. He was practicing looking suave. “The island was crazy”, he said, ignoring Melanie’s question. All of his friends leaned in even closer to hear what the former castaway had to say. “We had to learn to build a fire and find fruit and make spears so we could fish with them. And we then had to actually learn how to fish and cook it. We also had to climb and build our own shelter, which was a total bitch. The damn thing kept on falling down.” Brian couldn’t help but smile at the memory, remembering a specific afternoon when their shelter had collapsed, making Justin laugh wildly. He continued, “We found this awesome lagoon…oh, and I was chased by a wild boar.”

 

“What?! A boar?” Exclaimed Lindsay, as if she were watching an ‘Indiana Jones’ movie.

 

“That’s right”, Brian confirmed with a cool nod.

 

“So what happened? How’d you get away from it?” Ted asked Brian, just as wrapped in the story as everyone else was.

 

If Brian was being honest, he was actually enjoying the current attention he was receiving from his friends. Perhaps it was because he was drunk, or maybe he really did crave attention like normal people, but it was quite satisfying keeping everyone on the edges of their seats that evening. “I led it into a ditch and stabbed it with my Swiss army knife.”

 

His eyes wide, Ben asked, “You killed it?”

 

Brian shrugged. “It wasn’t nice, but it was gonna be me or it. I chose me.”

 

“Woah”, several voices said together, getting lost amongst each other so that Brian couldn’t tell who was actually speaking.

 

“It must have been really awful”, Vic said from his place at the table. He was busy sorting through a deck of cards while he listened to Brian’s recount of his time on the island.

 

The brunet looked over at him and said, “Actually, it wasn’t.” This surprised everyone in the room, peaking their interests even more. “For all the shit that happened, it wasn’t horrible.” He was thoughtful for a moment before adding, “Thanks to Justin, it was actually kind of nice.”

 

‘Bingo’, Michael mouthed at Emmett, who gave him a wink. “So, this Justin, huh?” Emmett began, glad to be picking up on the subject of the blond. “He’s a sweet boy. How’s he been?”

 

Brian looked away and shook his head. “I wouldn’t know.”

 

“Oh?” Emmett feigned surprise and leaned in, his head in his left hand. “Do tell.”

 

“Well, we haven’t spoken in a while”, Brian admitted, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.

 

“Really?” asked Emmett, pretending to be surprised. He put his right hand over his heart as he spoke. “And why would that be?”

 

Staring down at his drink, Brian said, “We’re back home now. He’s got his won life and I’ve got mine.” He picked at the beer label with his thumbs.

 

Lindsay reached across the table to grab some corn chips and fed a couple to Mel, making the boys around them roll their eyes. “There’s no reason you can’t be a part of each other’s”, she pointed out, referring to Brian’s previous comment.

 

“Who says I want to be?” Brian mumbled, knowing very well tat he was talking shit.

 

“Please, you’re whole face lights up every time Justin comes up in conversation”, Lindsay pointed out again, not taking any of Brian’s crap.

 

Brian huffed and finished off his beer. “What happened to, ‘Don’t you dare think about fucking him. Teenagers are nothing but trouble’?” He mimicked his friends from when he’d first spotted Justin at the hotel.

 

“That was back when we thought he was sixteen”, Lindsay said. Brian thought she sounded like a seller on an infomercial. “Now we know he’s 18 and about to graduate from high school. And, you both spent over three months together alone on that island. You went through something life changing together.”

 

Everyone around the table all nodded in agreement, while Brian said nothing. The truth was; he wanted nothing more than to be part of Justin’s life. He just wasn’t sure that that’s what Justin wanted. Noticing his suddenly pensive expression, Debbie placed her hand on Brian’s shoulder. “Come with me”, she urged gently when Brian looked back at her. Not hesitating for a second, Brian stood and followed Debbie into the hallway. He was glad to get away from the conversation at the dinner/poker table. “Now, why don’t you tell me what’s going on?” Debbie said once they’d gotten to the hallway.

 

Folding his arms, Brian said back, “I don’t know what you mean, Debora.”

 

Debbie gave Brian her ‘Don’t give me any bullshit’ look, only it was softer than usual. “Honey, you can’t fool me. I know my boys. And I can tell when one of my boys is going thought something. You miss Justin, don’t you?”

 

“So what if I do?” Brian tossed, looking away again. “What does that prove? Or change? What does it do at all?”

 

“Brian, I know you’re in love with him”, she said, as if ignoring Brian’s sarcastic comments. Brian rolled his eyes the way he did when he didn’t want to face something. “Be honest. You love him, don’t you?” Instead of answering with words, Brian confirmed Debbie’s question with his behaviour. He nervously huffed out a breath and shifted his feet a while his eyes darted around the room. “I thought so”, Debbie said kindly, but seriously. “Then go and tell him. Don’t give up on him”, she urged. The red head leaned in and gave Brian a big, lipstick smearing kiss on the cheek. Brian pulled a face as she did it and wiped the lipstick off of the spot after she’s released him. Debbie gave his right shoulder a quick rub and turned to return to the kitchen.

 

Standing still for a moment, Brian felt his heart do all kinds of crazy things he wasn’t used to. It warmed, it flipped. The way it always did when he was with Justin. Maybe, just maybe, Lindsay and Debbie were right. Brian sighed and returned to his place at the table, where his friends were playing the card game ‘bullshit’**. “Brian, I dealt you some cards”, Melanie said once he’d sat down.

 

“Thanks”, he said and picked up the cards.

 

The friends spoke causally while they enjoyed playing the game. “What was Hunter doing at your place earlier, anyway?” Michael asked his boyfriend. “He answered the phone when I called.”

 

“Oh, he was there to borrow a suit”, Ben said, looking up from his cards. “His prom is coming up this Friday.”

 

“Fun!” exclaimed Emmett. “I remember my prom like it was yesterday. Oh to be young!”

 

Brian piped up upon hearing Ben’s words. He had seen Justin’s email the previous night, but had been too nervous to open it. The man was afraid of what it might say. The subject line said ‘Prom’, so he was guessing it had something to do with Justin’s prom. Brian had figured it was an invitation, but was unsure of what he would do if it was. Did Justin really want him there? Was he really game enough to spend a night in a room full of teenagers? He pulled out his phone and opened up the email app. Hovering over Justin’s email with his thumb for a moment, Brian clicked on it, opening it at last. As he’d expected, it was an invitation to Justin’s prom, along with the message, ‘I’ll be waiting.’ Brian stared at it, his heart beating faster than usual. His gut felt all funny.

 

Leaning over slightly, Michael saw the email and the invite. He leaned even closer to Brian and whispered, “You should go. Be romantic.”  Brian smirked at his friend over how ridiculous that sounded because it was in the context of Brian. However, it was advice that Brian thought he should probably take. 

 

 

St. James Academy’s Senior prom, Friday

 

Justin had been having fun so far with his friends at the prom. They’d danced and laughed enough to last them a lifetime, but the night wasn’t over yet. He was standing at the snacks table with Hunter, munching on a snickers bar. Both Hunter and Daphne had teased Justin for all the snacks he’d eaten that night. He responded with a ‘what did you expect?’. One thing was for sure; Justin looooved food. But for once, food wasn’t the thing occupying his mind at that moment, despite the fact that he’d just polished off another chocolate bar. He was busy watching his friend as Hunter watched Daphne dance with another guy. He was fuming with jealousy as the girl danced with the hip hop dancer, Chaz.

 

“I have no idea what she could possibly see in him”, Hunter huffed, his arms crossed.

 

“Not at all”, Justin said sarcastically, with the intention of stirring his friend up. “He’s popular, talented, cute, friendly, smooth.”

 

Hunter shot Justin a quick glare before looking back at the dancing pair. “Alright, so maybe he is cool. You know, for an artsy type. No offence.”

 

“None taken”, Justin said with a laugh.

 

“But I can be smooth. In fact, I’ll bet I’m the smoothest guy here”, Hunter said, rubbing hands together as if he were getting ready for some kind of challenge.

 

Justin chuckled and put a hand on his friend’s back. “Dude”, he said, using Hunter’s usual euphemism. “Man up and go for it.” Hunter looked back at Justin with a hint of nervousness. Justin gave him an encouraging smile and nod, which prompted Hunter to square up and approach his crush. Justin watched the whole thing unfold.

 

Hunter tapped Chaz on the back, making the gut turn to him. “What’s up, brah?” Chaz greeted. He really was friendly.

 

“Sorry, but could I step in?” Hunter asked, not prepared or willing to take no for an answer.

 

“Sure, my man”, Chaz responded. He danced away from the two friends who remained.

 

Daphne looked after Chaz as he disappeared into the crowd, then back at Hunter. “What are you doing?” she asked with fake anger. Hunter opted not to answer with words, as he was only prepared to do one thing. Cupping the girl’s face in his hands, Hunter gave Daphne the kiss he’d wanted to give her for years. Daphne was surprised for a millisecond, but got into the kiss right away.

 

A huge smile on his face, Justin approached his embracing friends. The couple parted their lips and looked dreamily into each other’s eyes. “Wow”, Hunter said with a smile.

 

“Wow”, Daphne agreed, starry eyed.

 

“About time”, Justin said, bringing their attention back to the dance. The pair both laughed and blushed at this comment. Daphne’s favourite song, ‘She will be loved’ by Maroon 5 began to play and her face lit up. “You two go dance”, Justin said, already backing away.

 

Hunter took Daphne’s hand in his and asked, “May I have this dance?” It was the corniest, but sweetest thing Daphne and Justin had ever heard the boy say.

 

“Of course”, Daphne giggled, nodding her head enthusiastically. Justin had never seen either of his friends look so happy as they danced. It was very sweet to watch. Justin couldn’t help but wonder about Brian. Had he gotten the email? Was he coming at all? Not knowing filled Justin with uncertainty.

 

After the song had ended, Hunter and Daphne grabbed Justin, noticing he looked glum. They pulled him out onto the dance floor where they could share more fun together. Justin was grateful to have such amazing friends. After another song, Daphne stopped dancing and looked towards something. Hunter followed her gaze and smiled. “What?” Justin asked, curious as to what his friends were seeing. Hunter grabbed Justin’s shoulders and turned him towards the entrance. There he was; a very handsome looking Brian Kinney all dolled up in a black suit. Justin felt like his heart stopped as soon as he saw his lover.  

 

Meanwhile, Brian was freaking out. Is this even the right prom? He asked himself for the billionth time, and for the billionth time, assured himself that it was. He had studied the invitation Justin had sent him like a book all week, memorising every detail. He almost backed out of going several times, even when he was sitting in his jeep in the car park. But, alas, the man convinced himself to show up as he’s promised himself. His friends made sure to tease him a little before he left his apartment, but all was in jest. In truth, his friends were happy for him, despite the fact that going to a high school prom seemed dorky. So, Brian got all suited up and headed off to the prom. Now here he was, standing inside the prom as a Spice Girls song played, looking around for his beau. The moment he spotted him would be a moment Brian would surely remember for life. In a sea of lame dresses and tuxes, there he was; his Justin Taylor. The boy was beautiful in his fancy suit. His hair was slicked over to one side, making him look like a young James Bond. Brian thought he looked absolutely gorgeous, especially with the way he was looking at him.

 

Suddenly gaining confidence, Brian strode over to him. “Hey”, he said once he reached the boy.

 

“Hey”, Justin said back with a blinding smile.

 

“You two look great”, Brian told Hunter and Daphne, noticing them for the first time. All he had been able to focus on was Justin, but he figured he should acknowledge his lover’s friends while they were there.

 

“Thanks”, Hunter said, licking his hand and smoothing over his hair coolly. This made everyone laugh.

 

Daphne spoke up. “So do you.”

 

Brian held his arms out and looked up and down himself as best he could. “I clean up pretty nice, don’t I?”

 

“Yeah”, Justin said dreamily. Brian met his eyes again and gave him a soft smile. “I wasn’t sure you’d come”, Justin said after a beat of silence.

 

Brian shrugged coolly, but his smile betrayed the act. “I never miss a party”, he said.

 

“Oh, I know”, Justin responded, remembering when Brian suggested that they throw a birthday party for him back on the island. He could see on Brian’s face that he was thinking of the same thing.

 

Breaking the moment, Brian took Justin’s hand in his as the classic song ‘Save the Last Dance For Me’ by The Drifters started to play. “You wanna dance?” he asked the blond.

 

Justin’s smile grew even wider and he gave the man a nod. “There’s actual music this time”, he said, remembering when they danced in the rain. Brian took Justin out onto the middle of the dance floor. Noticing who they were, the students there cleared the way for the boys. Everyone knew who Brian Kinney was due to the whole school’s fascination with the missing persons case. The boys essentially had the floor to themselves and began to dance together, throwing in some pretty fancy moves where Brian was concerned. It was obvious that Justin had some training in partner dancing. Brian supposed it was during his WASP, country club upbringing. The boys held each other close as they dances, twirling, spinning, dipping. All the while, they both sported twin smiles. As the song came to an end, Brian lifted Justin off his feet and spun him around, making the blond laugh. Once Justin’s feet were back on the ground, Brian leaned in and gave him the kiss of a lifetime.

 

A few voices called out, “Homos!”, but the majority of the room cheered the boys on as they shared their big kiss. The former castaways were practically famous; that was why many of the people there were supportive of their relationship.

 

Eventually, the kiss ended and the boys pressed their foreheads together. They both smiled and Justin whispered, “I love you.”

 

Brian‘s heart and gut felt all funny again. He pulled away from Justin so that he could look at him. Still holding his hands, Brian began to pull him towards the exit. “Come with me”, he said.

 

As he passed his friends, Justin gave Daphne and Hunter a big smile. The new couple gave their friend a thumbs up as he left. Daphne blew Justin a kiss right before he stepped out of the door.

 

Reaching the car park a few minutes later, Brian and Justin goofed around as they made their way to Brian’s vehicle. They danced clumsily together and sang the song they had just listened to. Making it to Brian’s Jeep, they slowed their movements to a stop. “That was amazing!” Justin laughed.

 

Brian could not wipe the smile off his face. “We gave them all a prom they’ll never forget”, he said proudly.

 

“It was the best night of my life”, Justin told Brian honestly. Brian grabbed Justin’s collar and smoothly spun him around. He then gently, but surely pushed him up against the side of his Jeep.

 

Looking into his lover’s eyes, Brian said, “Even if it was ridiculously romantic.” Justin smiled and Brian leaned in closer to him. They made eye contact before closing their eyes to enjoy another knee-weakening kiss. Brian pulled back after the kiss had ended and looked very closely at his lover. Justin gave him a loving smile. His heart pounding, Brian requested, “Tell me again.”

 

Justin knew exactly what Brian meant when he asked. He smiled as he looked into his man’s gorgeous eyes and said, “I love you, Brian.”

 

Giving Justin a smile of his own, Brian hesitated for a brief second. Seeing the love and trust in Justin’s blue eyes made Brian absolutely sure that he needed to speak the words he never thought he’d say. “I love you too, Sunshine”, he said back. It wasn’t as hard as he thought it’d be. Justin’s smile grew even wider, if that was even possible. The look of utter joy was replaced by one of love and want. Justin wrapped his arms around Brian’s neck and he pulled the man closer to him so he could kiss him. Kissing Justin had never felt so good; they were back in each other’s arms and everything was right again. After they were done making out against Brian’s car, he asked the boy, “Come back to my place?”

 

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else”, Justin said in acceptance.

 

With that, both boys promptly got themselves into Brian’s car and all buckled up. “Are your folks expecting you home at some point?” Brian asked his lover.

 

Thankfully, Justin shook his head. “Not on prom night. They expect me to be out with Daphne and Hunter all night.”

 

“Good”, Brian said as he pulled out of his parking spot. “Because I plan to keep you up all night.”

 

TO BE CONTINUED…

 

 

Brian’s Jeep

 

 

 

Despite being in a seatbelt, as Brian had insisted that his lover wear it, Justin sat close to Brian, touching his right arm, face and hair the whole car trip. Justin didn’t know how Brian could expect him to be able to keep his hands off him, because the fact was; he could not. He had to be touching him somewhere constantly. After minutes spent in pleasant silence, he finally spoke up, “I’m sorry for breaking our promise. For being a twat and not speaking to you.”

 

 

 

A slight smirk appeared on Brian’s face upon hearing this. “You finally admit that you’re a twat”, he teased. Justin retaliated by giving a few strands of Brian’s hair a painful tug and pinch. “Ouch! Okay, okay, I take it back!” Justin chuckled and let go of his lover’s hair. He caressed the spot on Brian’s head he just attacked. “Happy?” Brian asked with a hint of sarcasm.

 

 

 

Justin gave the man a big Sunshine smile and all was forgiven where Brian was concerned. “I am so much more than happy right now”, Justin responded back to him.

 

 

 

This made Brian smile as he kept his eyes on the road. “I’m…” he began. Even after all this time, Brian still hated to apologize. It sounded so pathetic to him, but he knew that it was the adult thing to do. “I’m sorry too”, he finally managed to say, enjoying Justin’s hands on him. “I stopped talking to you as well.”

 

 

 

“Why did you?” Justin asked curiously.

 

 

 

“You seemed to be getting back to your life”, Brian explained simply. “I didn’t want to interfere.”

 

 

 

Justin snickered at that. “You interfering is a good thing, believe me”, he told Brian honestly.

 

 

 

“So why did you stop speaking to me?” Brian asked, genuinely inclined to get the answer out of his blond.

 

 

 

Justin looked down, feeling shy about answering this question. “Well I…I didn’t know what to say. I guess…I just thought that if I tried to talk to you, you might…might not…I was scared that you might not want anything to do with me…” he sputtered nervously, with a rather soft and quiet voice.

 

 

 

Brian was silent for a beat and Justin worried about what his reaction might be. Then Brian said, “That has got to be the craziest thought you’ve ever had.” Justin chuckled, glad that Brian wasn’t upset or mad at him for their time apart. “I get where you’re coming from, I suppose, but…I could never not want you in my life.”

 

 

 

The blond shifted determinedly in his seat. “Well then. Let’s make a new promise.”

 

 

 

“You are so lame”, Brian laughed.

 

 

 

“But you love it”, Justin pointed out, poking his tongue out at his boyfriend. Boyfriend, he thought dreamily. Neither of them had actually said it, but it was clear to both boys that they were together.  

 

 

 

“You’re lucky”, Brian joked in response.

 

 

 

Justin smiled, his cheeks colouring a little. “Yeah, I am.” He said in a small voice.

 

 

 

Brian kept his eyes on the road, but smiled in response. It was corny and disgustingly lesbionic, but Brian was too happy to care. “What was that new promise you were gonna make?” Brian asked him after a couple of beats of silence.

 

 

 

Snapping out of his ‘love trance’, Justin sat up straighter. “Oh yeah”, he said, preparing to tell Brian something big. “I propose that we make a promise to always be a team. To stay together. And to not be pussies if we have something we need to say.”

 

 

 

The last comment gave Brian a little chuckle, before he remembered to assess the other things Justin had said. “I think we can arrange that”, Brian said incredibly formally.

 

 

 

Sitting up even taller, Justin cleared his throat and straightened up his bowtie. “Alright. Now. I, Justin Taylor, do so solemnly swear to stay with Brian Kinney, that we will stick together, have lots of great sex, and not be pussies.” Justin paused for a moment to decide if he was done with his declaration. With a nod, he gestured to Brian. “Now you.”

 

 

 

Brian chuckled and shook his head at the ridiculousness of it all, but decided to play along with the fun. “I, Brian Kinney, solemnly swear to stay with Justin Taylor, to not be a little lesbian, to fuck Justin all night every night, when possible, and to…just be together.” Like Justin, Brian paused to decide if he was done with speaking. Deciding that he was, Brian asked, “How’d I do?”

 

 

 

“Perfectly”, Justin replied, obviously pleased.

 

 

 

Minutes later, the boys arrived at Brian’s apartment. He parked, got out and led Justin up to his shared home with Michael and Emmett, hoping that they were out or asleep already. Once he’d opened his door, Justin pushed him in and attacked his mouth. Brian fumbled for the light switch, eventually reaching it. He wrapped his arms around his lover as they made out and pushed him to the wall beside the front door. It was rough, but non-harmful. The lovers continued to make out and grope each other, moaning and grunting as they did. Somehow they managed to close the door at some point.

 

 

 

Their hot suck face session was interrupted by a quite loud, “Oh!” Startled, the boys parted their lips and turned to see Michael and Emmett in the living room. Michael was holding a large purple dildo out, while Emmett was holding a red fluffy lamp. “It’s you guys”, Emmett said, relieved. He appeared to be catching his breath. Emmett was wearing purple pajama pants with cartoon owls on them, that Brian was sure were girl pajamas, and had a gold eye-mask resting just above his forehead. Beside him, Michael was wearing a Captain Astro onesie.   

 

 

 

“What the hell are you holding?” Brian asked both of his roommates, turning around completely to face them.

 

 

 

Michael and Emmett looked at the items in their hands. Michael shrugged and explained, “When we heard the noise, we thought someone might have broken in.”

 

 

 

An amused smirk grew on Brian’s face as Justin laughed behind him. The blond moved to stand beside his boyfriend. Brian asked, “So you armed yourselves with a dildo and a furry lamp? That would’ve really scared away the bad guys.”

 

 

 

“This dildo is giant”, Michael pointed out, holding it up. “It could probably do some damage. You know, if you poked a bad guy in the eye or something.” Each man looked at the sex toy for a couple of seconds before taking on the ridiculousness of what Michael had just said. All of them burst into side splitting laughter. “Okay…Maybe I didn’t really think that through, but I was half asleep”, the man said once they’d calmed down.

 

 

 

“So, I’m guessing prom was a big success”, Emmett said, realising what Justin being there meant. Both boys nodded with smiles on their faces. “You both look fabulous”, the queen commented.

 

 

 

Justin gave a small bow. “I try”, he joked.

 

 

 

Brian chuckled and poked at his boyfriend’s side, making him squirm. “My bedroom is the first door to the left down that hallway”, he told the blond, pointing.

 

 

 

“Okay”, Justin said seductively as he pulled away from Brian. “It was nice to see you guys”, he said to Brian’s friends.

 

 

 

“You too, honey”, Emmett responded.

 

 

 

Michael gave the boy a wave and said, “I imagine we’ll be seeing a lot more of you, now.”

 

 

 

Justin crossed his fingers of both hands and raised them to his chest. “Here’s hoping.” With that, he disappeared into Brian’s room.

 

 

 

Now that the three roommates were left alone, Emmett and Michael set down the items they had been holding and stepped closer to their friend. “Mister Romantic, huh?” Michael said, giving his friend a poke. “Knight in shining armour going to the ball to rescue your prince.”  Brian smirked again and gave his friend a light, non-harmful whack on the arm.

 

 

 

“He is just so gorgeous”, Emmett said expressively. “You wanna eat him all up. I suppose that’s what you plan to do tonight.”

 

 

 

Brian smiled and said, “I plan to keep him up all night.”

 

 

 

Emmett chuckled and pulled away, inching back to his bedroom. “And on that note; goodnight. Enjoy your evening.”

 

 

 

“Have fun, Brian”, Michael said genuinely.

 

 

 

Brian gave both of his friends a nod before dashing off to his bedroom. “Apologies in advance for any noise”, he called out just as he reached his door.

 

 

 

Michael switched off the main light, using his phone as a light so he could see where he was going in the dark. He began hobbling off to his bedroom and met Emmett halfway. “You know, I’m happy for him”, Michael said.

 

 

 

“Oh, so am I”, Emmett agreed with a yawn. “I have never seen him that happy.”

 

 

 

“I think this is going to be a really good thing”, Michael said before the boys parted ways and went into their own separate bedrooms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brian’s bedroom

 

 

 

Justin kicked his shoes off as soon as he entered Brian’s room. He was excited to get to see where his lover slept and kept his personal things. Once there, he took the time to look around in fascination, thinking that the room smelled nice. It was probably because it smelled like Brian. He found an old yearbook of Brian’s from when he was fourteen years old. Justin giggled at the pictures of a young Michael and Brian. He put the book down when he heard Brian call something out to his friends, sounding close. The door opened and Justin turned to see Brian looking at him hungrily. Justin gave the man a smile as he moved to close the distance between them.

 

 

 

Before touching, Brian toed off his shoes and kicked them out of the way. He reached up and removed Justin’s tux jacket, letting it drop to the floor. He then undid Justin’s bowtie, keeping his eyes on Justin when it slid to the floor as well. As he began to unbutton Justin’s shirt, Justin reached up to unbutton his at the same time after sliding off Brian’s jacket. Working together like this allowed them to get undressed a lot faster, although Brian was in no rush that night. He pushed Justin’s shirt off his shoulders once it was completely undone, and Justin did the same with his. Pausing to look at his boy for a brief moment, Brian stepped even closer to Justin. He began working at Justin’s belt and fly, managing to pull the boy’s pants off in a matter of seconds. Justin stepped out of his pants and Brian led him to the bed, taking his hand.

 

 

 

Justin lied back on Brian’s bed and smiled up at his lover as he admired the sight. Giving the boy a smile, Brian got on top of him and gave him a kiss. When he was done, he sat up on his knees and reached down to pull Justin’s socks off and toss them to the floor. He then took his own socks off and Justin reached up to undo the man’s belt. Justin removed the belt and unzipped Brian’s pants, prompting the man to shift around so that he could remove the clothing item. Brian tossed his pants to the floor and leaned back down on top of a smiling Justin. The blond laced his fingers in Brian’s hair and pulled his head down for a long, tongue filled kiss. Both boys made appreciative “mmm” sounds during the kiss. Justin caressed Brian’s cheek after the kiss ended, keeping their faces close together as they looked into each other’s eyes. “Make love to me, Brian”, Justin whispered.

 

 

 

Brian rested his forehead on Justin’s for a couple of seconds before moving to pull off both Justin’s and his underwear. He reached over to the draw closest to his bedside and pulled out some lube. He put it down on the bed and sat up on his knees once again. “Turn over”, he gently said. Justin complied and Brian ran his hands over the smooth back and buttocks tenderly. He shifted down so he could kiss each of Justin’s plump butt cheeks. He then grabbed either side of Justin’s ass and lifted it up slightly, making Justin breath heavily. “I’ve missed you”, Brian whispered, pressing another kiss to the top of Justin’s crack. This made the boy squirm. “And I’ve missed your out-of-this-world ass.” With that, Brian’s tongue dove out and went to town on Justin’s entrance. He gave the younger man the rim job of his life, enjoying the pleasured sounds that came out of Justin’s mouth.

 

 

 

All the while, Justin squirmed, gasped, panted and moaned, digging his fingers into the mattress. After several minutes of this almost torturous pleasure, Justin moaned, “Brian, please!” Brian had gotten lost in Justin’s glorious butt and the blond’s words brought him back into the room.

 

 

 

He shifted up a little and tapped Justin’s ass. “Flip back”, he said. Justin rolled over to lie on his back, looking up at his lover. Satisfied, Brian put some lube on his fingers and inserted one inside the young man on his bed.

 

 

 

Justin arched his back and said, “Brian, I want you now!”      

 

 

 

“You haven’t had anything up your ass in over two weeks”, Brian reminded the impatient blond. He added in a second finger and began massaging the boy’s prostate. Seeing Justin’s erect dick begin to leak made Brian lick his lips. “I need to prepare you properly.” Justin could not complain, as anything Brian did to him was incredibly pleasurable. Brian added in a third finger after a little while and decided the boy was ready a minute later. “Okay”, he said, sitting back on his heels once again as he pulled his fingers out. “Do you want me to use a condom, or-“ Brian began.

 

 

 

He was promptly cut off by Justin. “No. We’ve been fucking for the past couple of months without protection”, Justin reminded him. “We’re both clean. I haven’t been with anyone but you. We don’t need any barriers between us.” Brian gave Justin a meaningful look and spread a generous amount of lube onto his hard cock. He lined himself up at Justin’s opening and looked into his eyes. Justin gave him a nod and he pushed all the way inside the tightest ass he’d ever experienced. “Ohhhhh, that’s it”, Justin moaned. He wrapped his legs around Brian’s waist and his arms around the man’s back.  

 

 

 

Brian started moving and set a steady pace, rocking in and out of the hot space. “Uhhhhhh Justin”, he sighed. Justin wrapped his limbs even tighter around Brian’s body as they moved together. Brian spent a couple minutes kissing, biting and licking Justin’s neck while the boy purred. He eventually lifted his head to stare into Justin’s expressive blue eyes. Brian gave the boy a tender and honest look and whispered, “You are so fucking beautiful.” It was one of the most romantic things Justin had ever heard and he happily showed this by pulling Brian’s head down to make out with him. They kissed deeply while they had passionate sex.

 

 

 

“More”, Justin breathed into Brian’s ear, breaking his lips away. “Give me more, Brian.” The brunet was all too happy to comply and he immediately deepened his thrusts, making sure to hit his lover’s prostate. He moved faster, Justin snapping his hips to meet the thrusts. The intensity increased until both men were hurled over the edge. Their screams echoed off the walls as they enjoyed their orgasms together. Justin realised that he came without either of them touching his dick once.  

 

 

 

Once they were done, Brian collapsed on top of a sated Justin. “Oh fuck”, Brian breathed out, still panting from his climax. Justin’s legs fell to sit beside Brian’s body and he tightened his arms around the man, hugging him to him. He smoothed his hands over Brian’s sweaty back. “Feels nice”, Brian murmured with his eyes closed. The lovers laid together contentedly for a couple of minutes before Brian decided that he should pull out of Justin. He shifted a little and Justin released him so he could gently pull out of the comfy space he had just enjoyed being in. Brian reached into his draw to get some wet wipes and a hand towel. He spent about a minute carefully cleaning both his and Justin’s bodies, tossing the materials to the floor once he was done. He would clean it all up later. Satisfied, Brian moved back to lay with Justin. The younger man turned to be on his side and scooted even closer to his man so he could rest his head on Brian’s shoulder. Brian wrapped his arms around the cosy young man. Justin sighed in complete contentment. “You alright?’ Brian asked him.

 

 

 

Justin lifted his head and smiled at his lover. “I’m amazing.”

 

 

 

“Yeah…you are”, Brian said quietly, not meeting Justin’s eyes. He felt unusual about making romantic sentiments. Justin put a hand on Brian’s face and gave him a brief, yet sweet kiss. He looked at Brian’s face for a moment before beginning to shift down his body. “What are you doing?” Brian asked him.

 

 

 

Justin looked up at him with a cheeky gleam in his eyes. “You said you planned on keeping me up all night”, he said, delivering a few kisses to Brian’s lower belly, just above his pubic area. “I’m getting us started.” Brian smiled at his lover and Justin took Brian’s entire length into his mouth.

 

 

 

“Ohhh”, Brian sighed appreciatively. It was the beginning of what was going to be a long, hard night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Debbie’s backyard, one week later

 

 

 

It was Brian’s 22nd birthday. His 21st had been celebrated with a humongous party where just about every person he knew got all kinds of drunk until early in the morning. That was why he didn’t feel the need for a massive party this year, but Justin had convinced him to have some sort of celebration. Debbie, of course, had offered her backyard as the perfect location for a nice barbeque. Brian’s friends, along with Justin’s parents and sister had all been invited. Though he hadn’t asked for anything, each guest had gotten Brian a great gift. He felt very appreciated that day. Justin being with him was the true icing on the cake. They planned on making their relationship public. So far, only Emmett, Michael and Justin’s friends knew about them. But Justin had assured Brian that he was ready to come out to his parents. No better time than to do it that day.

 

 

 

“Honey, I am so proud of you”, Debbie told Justin, rubbing his back. “Graduating with honours and you missed out on months of school. Amazing!” In true Debbie fashion, the woman had adopted Justin as another surrogate son. She and Jennifer were now best friends, so it was only natural.

 

 

 

Justin smiled and the woman gave his cheek a big kiss, leaving a smear of red lipstick on him. “Thanks Deb”, he laughed, wiping his face.

 

 

 

“That’s my son”, Jennifer spoke up proudly, lifting her champagne class into the air. “The best of the best.”

 

 

 

Molly cleared her throat loudly. “And what do you call me, huh?” The Taylor family all shared a good-natured laugh together. Things were good.

 

 

 

After everyone had eaten, Justin and Brian met eyes and gave each other a nod in signal. They both stood and Brian tapped his glass with a butter knife to get everyone’s attention. “Excuse me. Excuse me everybody.” All of the guests turned to look at the birthday boy. “I have an announcement to make.”

 

 

 

Justin joined Brian, standing in the middle of the yard. “Actually, we both have an announcement”, he said. All were quiet, eagerly waiting for the big declaration. The boys gave each other one more look, Brian taking Justin’s had to give him strength. This was something that did not go unnoticed. His heart pounding, Justin took a deep breath and said, “We’re together.”

 

 

 

Silence remained for a couple of seconds before everyone let out a cheer. “Woohoo!” several voiced exclaimed. “I knew it! I knew it!” Debbie cheered. “Oh, I’m so happy for you two.” The red head gave both the boys a big hug.

 

 

 

Their other friends gave their pleased sentiments and hugs until Justin spotted his parents standing behind the last person he’d just hugged. Everyone fell silent again in anticipation of the boy’s parent’s reactions. “Oh honey, I am so happy for you”, cried Jennifer, pulling her boy into a hug. Justin was surprised, but happily returned the hug.

 

 

 

“You…you are?” asked the boy. He pulled out of the hug to look at his mother. She nodded and wiped away a few stray tears. Justin supposed his mother had had quite a bit to drink. “So you’re okay that I’m gay?”

 

 

 

“Son, we knew all along”, Craig said, pulling his son into a brief but loving hug of their own. He pulled back to look at his boy.

 

 

 

“You did?” Justin asked.

 

 

 

Craig and Jennifer shared a look before turning back to their son and nodding in response. “We’ve suspected it for years. And with you having been stuck on that island with Brian for all that time, and the way you spoke about him…well, it wasn’t hard to guess what had gone on between the pair of you.”

 

 

 

“You’re not…mad?” Justin asked a little nervously. “I mean, you’re not ashamed?”

 

 

 

The parents’ expressions transformed into something even softer and more loving than before. “I had a hard time trying to accept it”, Craig admitted. “Back when we still only suspected that you were gay. I think you were about 15. But your mother helped me through it all. It isn’t what I’ve been used to all my life, but you are my son and I love you as you are.” Justin felt tears spring to his eyes, feeling incredibly touched by his father’s words. He had thought the man to be a homophobe before now, but he was gratefully seeing that he was wrong.

 

 

 

“I kind of always knew”, Justin’s mother spoke up. “Especially when you hit puberty. It worried me a little at first, but I knew that that was who you were. Your father and I decided to wait until you were ready to come out to us yourself. So we didn’t say anything.”

 

 

 

“Son, I’m sorry if I ever made you think that I wouldn’t be supportive of you if you told me the truth”, Craig said genuinely.

 

 

 

Justin shook his head and put a hand of each of his parent’s shoulders. “No, no. I was just scared. You guys are the best. You really are.”

 

 

 

Brian couldn’t help but be extremely happy for his lover. He knew how scared the boy had been to come out to his folks, and seeing that all was well made the day even better. He was surprised when Jennifer Taylor pulled him into a big bear hug that almost rivalled Debbie’s famous hugs. Almost. “Oh! Welcome to the family!” the emotional woman said. Brian hugged the woman back, amused at her apparent tipsiness. Craig gave him a handshake and pat of the shoulder with a smile to accompany it all.

 

 

 

“Who wants cake?” Vic called, coming outside carrying a marvellous cake that he had spent all day making. The man got a little crazy in the kitchen. Everyone watched as he set the cake down on n outdoor table near him.   

 

 

 

“Oh, I certainly do!” exclaimed Emmett.

 

 

 

“Count me in!” added Ted, moving closer to Emmett.

 

 

 

The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent enjoying a delicious cake, more food, great stories and good company. Brian had never felt luckier; he had amazing friends and the most incredible lover by his side. Life couldn’t be better…

 

 

 

 

 

 

One year later, on The Late Late show with James Corden*

 

 

“Our next guests are two very brave young men”, James Corden told his audience after having returned from a commercial break. “Speaking publicly for their first time about their experiences as castaways on a deserted island, please welcome Brian Kinney and Justin Taylor!”

 

 

 

The live audience clapped and some groovy music played as Brian and Justin walked on the stage of the talk show, hand-in-hand. Both boys waved at the audience in greeting to them. They looked dashing, having been all gussied up to appear on television. Brian thought the whole thing was a little ridiculous, but Justin was as excited as a puppy getting a new chew toy. The host stood to shake the boys’ hands and the boys sat on the couch across from him. “Welcome, welcome”, the friendly man greeted. “How are you feeling tonight?”  

 

 

 

“Great”, Justin said with a bright smile that Brian admired.

 

 

 

“I’m feeling just fine”, the brunet said coolly.

 

 

 

“Excellent!” exclaimed the host. “Now, this is the first time either of you have spoken to any media about what the two of you experienced, despite multiple interview offers. Tell us; why was now the right time?”

 

 

 

Justin and Brian shared a look and Brian gestured for his partner to speak. “Getting back into the real world was crazy enough”, Justin said with a charisma that many admired in him. “We didn’t want our lives to be turned into a freak show. Especially not after everything that had happened.” Brian laced his fingers with Justin’s again as he spoke. “But, we wrote a book together, which is just about to be released, and decided that now was the time to talk!”

 

 

 

The audience clapped at this, which Brian could not understand. He did not enjoy talk shows in the slightest and had only agreed to do this to make his lover happy. “That’s right”, James Corden said, referring to Justin’s last comment. “You’ve written a joint memoir together all about your experiences on the island, called ‘A Paradise Of Our Own.’ It’s going to be released tomorrow, and people are already talking about it. What made you decide to write this?”

 

 

 

Justin nudged Brian, signalling that it was his turn to answer a question. Trying not to roll his eyes, Brian said, “Everything that happened on that island was too fantastical not to share. The book was Justin’s idea, but he convinced me to be a part of it.”

 

 

 

James nodded in that ‘talk show host’ manner to display interest. Whether it was real or not, Brian did not know. “It’s a good thing he did”, the man joked, making his audience laugh. Again, Brian was unsure as to whether or not it was genuine. Meanwhile, Justin was having the time of his life. “So.” The host leaned in closer to the boys. “100 days alone on an undiscovered, deserted island in the Caribbean. Some pretty eventful things must’ve happened. Otherwise you wouldn’t of had anything to write about.” The audience laughed yet again. Brian was trying so very hard not to roll his eyes. “Can you give us a little sneak peak on what happened out there?”

 

 

 

Justin sat up straighter and began to talk about some of their experiences. “We searched almost the entire right half of the island before we actually realised that it was deserted.”

 

 

 

“That must have been a scary conclusion to of come to”, the host commented.

 

 

 

The blond nodded and continued. “It was exhausting and scary and pretty much everything you’d imagine.”

 

 

 

“Obviously you both made it out alive. So, how did you manage to buckle up and get through it?”

 

 

 

“Well, we had to learn to adapt”, Brian spoke up, surprising Justin, though he hid it. He’d assumed that he’d have to force Brian to say anything at all. “We built ourselves a shelter with what we could find, learned how to fish and gather, and made sure to be as careful as possible. All that boy scout training really came in handy.” This time, the audience laughed at Brian’s joke. Even though the training had been of use. Brian felt as though the mindless crowd were now his bitches.

 

 

 

With a laugh of his own, James responded, “I’m sure it would of.” He gave the boys a knowing look before speaking again. “One hundred days is a long time. And you two spent all that time alone, having to rely on only each other to survive. You had to become a team.”

 

 

 

Justin smiled and said, “Yeah, early on we realised that we were going to have to work together.”

 

 

 

“And then a romance began…” the host said, encouraging the boys to elaborate on his own words with his tone.

 

 

 

Sharing a soft laugh together, the boys locked eyes and squeezed each other’s joined hands. “You could say that”, Brian said.

 

 

 

“We fell in love”, Justin added, giving the television personality the answer he really wanted.

 

 

 

The crowd shared a collective ‘aw’, almost making Brian gag, while Justin blushed. “Here you are an entire year later, and you’re still together. Now that’s a love story for the ages.” Brian bumped Justin’s shoulder with his, not-so-secretly agreeing with the man’s statement. “Would you say that being marooned for over three months was all worth it, then?”

 

 

 

“It was the best thing that ever happened to me”, Brian answered with utmost certainty.

 

 

 

Beside him, Justin’s smile grew bigger and his blush redder. “Me too. It changed my life. I wouldn’t give that up for the world.”

 

 

 

“Wonderful!” exclaimed Corden, his hands in the air after the audience made another ‘aw’ that made Brian think they may be a cult. “When we come back, we’ll hear more about the boys’ time on the island”, he said to the camera.

 

 

 

The program was sent to a commercial break and the pair had some time to themselves while the host was getting his makeup retouched. “I thought you weren’t going to say anything embarrassing”, Justin teased.

 

 

 

“Sunshine, with the socks you’re wearing, we’ve past the point of embarrassing”, Brian joked, maing Justin laugh.

 

 

 

“Hey!” he mock-protested. “I didn’t pick them out!”

 

 

 

Brian pulled the boy to him and gave him an affectionate kiss to the forehead. They shared a loving smile that made Brian certain that they were going to be together forever. Justin felt the same feeling fill his being, loving the warmth it gave him.

 

 

 

As Brian sat with his partner, he knew that everything was right in his life. Even if he had to appear on an insufferable talk show program. He couldn’t wait for it to be over, because when they were done, Brian had a surprise for Justin. They had been living together for 8 months with Brian’s friends in their apartment. But today, Brian was going to ask the blond to get a place of their own together. He knew the boy would say yes; they had had an amazing year together full of chaos, boundary issues with their roommates and lots of love. Brian had never been so happy in his young life. He was living a life he never thought he ever would. That was why he was determined to make Justin just as happy as he made him everyday for the rest of their lives…never mind how lesbionic that sounded!

 

 

THE END!