The next day started out as any other day.  The alarm went off, Brian got up and Justin covered his head with the pillow.  Brian rolled his eyes, but didn't push Justin to get up with him, remembering their planned night out tonight.  He thought he was really turning into a lesbian when he realized that he was looking forward to a night at Woody's and some alone time with his partner.  After showering, he got dressed, grabbed his usual Guava juice and drove into town.  He stopped at the diner and ate breakfast with Ted and Emmett and then made his way to Kinnetik.

He'd worked a little later than normal last night trying to ensure that he'd be able to leave on time today and meet Justin at Woody's. He planned on changing at the loft while Justin would drive into town and meet him after Jennifer arrived to relieve Chloe.  They hated having two cars in the city, but this was resolved by their plan to leave Brian's car.  Justin would drive Brian into town the next day as he had an early meeting in the city with a client who wanted a commission. Chloe had agreed to come in early so she could watch Colin.  The amount of discussion needed to coordinate this little outing had been more than he would have anticipated and again he had a larger appreciation of what their future might look like with two professional parents who both had high powered jobs.  There were now four people who had to coordinate their schedules so Justin and Brian could have a few hours without their newborn son. 

As he walked into Kinnetik, he was greeted by Cynthia who handed him a Starbucks coffee.  "Morning, Brian," she said without much enthusiasm.

Looking at Cynthia, he saw the concern on her face, eyes scrunched and mouth a little tight.

"Problems?" he said as he took the cup of coffee and smelled the delicious aroma. 

"You could say that .  Seems that our model for today's shoot for Ray Ban got arrested last night for drunk driving and won't be released for a few days.  This isn't her first offense and the courts are holding her.  In addition, the photographer was in the car with her and he's a little banged up from the accident so he's not available either."

"Shit!!!  Shit!!! Shit!!!.   What are our options?"

"I've contacted the photographer we used for Ice Mountain a few months back.  Remember, we really liked his work and told him we would keep him in mind.   Of course, he's not thrilled to be second in line, but he agreed to shoot the ad. I had to sweeten the deal by offering him a bonus if he got in done in three days versus four. However; he can't come for two days.   This way we aren't out a lot of money with the delay.  The location will only charge us for the days used; I checked and they are available for the time we need," she said as she looked at her notes in the file she was holding in her hand.   "As for the model, that one was actually a little easier since we have three days until shoot time.  It's not as uncommon to get last minute models.  I checked with the agency and chose three that I thought would work for the product.   I'm expecting a call from them at any time."

Brian listened to the information, mentally checking off the details of the ad.  "Good job.  I knew I hired you for a reason.  Now, keep me informed regarding the models.  I've got a shit load of work to accomplish and I'm leaving on time today."

"You've got a conference call with Tarrington Builders in half an hour and then another call at 11:00 with Logitech.   Your morning is pretty full," Cynthia reminded him. 

"Okay.  I'll be in my office, reviewing my notes."  Brian blew on the coffee and then took a sip, enjoying the mixture of flavors that Cynthia had ordered for him.  Sitting at his desk, he clicked on his computer to open his email hoping nothing else would go wrong. 

Justin

Justin had returned to sleep without any difficulty and awoke on his own.  Looking at the clock, he saw that it was almost 10:00.  He jolted up, scrambling for some shorts and a T before rushing to Colin's room.  He realized he hadn't heard the baby since the early hours of the morning and he knew he should have woken up sooner to be fed.   Colin was lying in his bed, and appeared to be asleep.  Justin's heart was in his chest, beating so fast he could feel it.   His breath came in quick short bursts and he could almost feel himself hyperventilating.   Gently he reached down to touch baby Colin, laying his hand on his belly, assuring himself that the baby was still breathing.  When he verified that Colin was still breathing, he touched his skin to see if he was warm and found the baby was warm.  

"Shit!!  Colin is sick."  Rushing down to find Chloe, he raced into the kitchen.

"Chloe.  Colin is hot.  He didn't wake up to be fed for his 6:30 feeding and I just woke up.   What should we do?"  Justin had read all the books about caring for a baby, but all of them addressed well babies, not sick ones.  The closest ‘sick' baby symptom was diaper rash.  He was ringing his hands and alternately running his hand over his face.  "Where is the doctor's number?  Should I call the doctor?   I should call Brian?"  He said, the fear evident in his voice and quick sentences.

Chloe put a hand on his shoulder.  "Take a deep breath, Justin."  She waited for him to follow her instructions. "Okay.  Now where is the baby thermometer?  Let's take his temperature and see if he really has a fever.   It could be that he is finally big enough that he doesn't have to eat so often." She spoke softly, hoping her voice would calm Justin.

Justin found the thermometer in the baby's room in a drawer with other medical items like a syringe and nose drops.   They covered the tip with a plastic cover and put it in his ear.  It beeped within 30 seconds and the reading showed 98.0.   Normal.  Baby Colin did not have a fever.  Justin felt his body sag in relief, his breath slowed down and his heart beat returned to normal.

"When did you say he ate last?"

"About 3:00a.m.   He's been eating every 3 and a half to 4 hours."

"Well, it's after 10:00 now.  Why don't you pick him up, change him, and put new clothes on while I go grab a bottle.  6 hours is long enough for him not to eat and it's been 7.  If this continues, you might get a full 8 hours yourself."

Justin picked up Colin and got him ready for the day with a new diaper and clean clothes.  "There you are buddy, all dry and sweet smelling.   If Ms. Chloe is right, you might be sleeping through the night soon.  I know me and your daddy Brian would like that a lot.  I miss sleeping a whole night and I'm too tired in the morning to say goodbye to your daddy."  Justin smiled at the thought of the morning blow jobs returning to their repertoire.  Having Colin was worth every missed morning blow job, but it would be nice to be able to enjoy them again.   His thoughts brought him back to his planned evening with Brian and he started to get hard, thinking of the opportunity to blow his partner when he wasn't exhausted.

Justin picked up Colin and kissed his head, then laid the baby against his chest as he carried him downstairs to Chloe.  "Chloe, here you are.  One baby Colin all changed and sweet."

"Hey there, little man.  Your daddy got you all dressed and changed to start your day.   Well, we have a big day planned for today.  First were going to get your stroller and then we are going to the park to see the ducks.  After that you're going to have a nice lunch of a yummy bottle and then take a nap."

Justin smiled at the conversation, turned around and made his way up to his studio.  Getting out his pencils, he located the canvas he'd begun to sketch yesterday and worked for the remainder of the morning.  His hand needed a break and he reluctantly put down his pencil and went to find some lunch.  After lunch he returned to the studio and took out his paints as he looked at the canvas deciding which colors fit the sketch.  Mixing a palette of blues, greens and yellows, he had begun to fill in the canvas when his hand started to spasm and the brush zigged across the entire canvas.  Dropping the brush at the sudden pain in his hand, he used his other  hand to shake it, hoping to get the spasm to shorten.

"Damn!!! Fuck!!!!   Shit!!!"  Justin yelled as the pain shot through his hand, the shaking unsuccessful.   Justin went over to the medicine cabinet, grabbed his pills and took one, hoping to alleviate the pain and allow him to continue his painting.   Accepting that he had to give the pill time to work, he walked to the nursery to play with Colin, but he was sleeping so Justin returned to his studio.  He walked around the studio as he looked at the different canvases, deciding which ones would go to each of the upcoming shows.   Thankful that he had been painting a lot while Cynthia was pregnant, but would still need to paint in order to fulfill his upcoming commitments.

After about a half hour, the pain had subsided sufficiently for him to return to his canvas.  As he stared at the zigzag of paint, he tried to envision a new piece of art and eventually came up with a variation of his original design.   He returned to painting, but when his hand starting showing signs of fatigue a mere half hour later, he stopped, washed his brushes and reluctantly accepted he was not going to get any real work done today.

It was 4:00 and he had three hours until he could leave for Woody's.   Too early to leave for the Pitts, but too late to start any big projects.   He settled on reading his emails, a chore that he absolutely loathed and spending the next hour perusing the New York times art section.  At 6:00, he showered and dressed and went down to play with Colin for a bit before his mother arrived. 

"Mom, I just changed him and he had his last bottle at 6:00 so he should be good until about 10:00.  The bottle is made and in the fridge.  We warm the bottle a bit before giving it to him."   Walking to the nursery, he opened a drawer that held the medical supplies.  "Here's the thermometer and the syringe and baby nose drops.   I thought he was warm this morning and took his temperature.  If you need to do that, here are the covers for the ear bud," he said as he lifted the box of lids.  Pulling out a different drawer, he said, "These are his sheets and in this drawer," he said as he pulled out a second drawer,  "are his sleepers and burp rags. He likes to be burped about half way through his feeding." Pointing to the changing table, he said, "Here are the diapers and the wipes.  Make sure you change him before you put him down.  He pees a lot."

"Justin, I've been here a lot.  I know where all the baby stuff is located and I have raised a child or two," Jennifer said as a somewhat sly smile filled her mouth. 

"Oh.  Okay.   You know our numbers in case of emergency, right?"

"Justin.  Go.   Have fun and I don't want to see you until at least 11:00 pm."

"Okay.  Going."  He said as he grabbed his keys.  Bending to kiss Colin who was being held by his mother, he said, "You be good for Grandma Jennifer and I and your daddy will see you tomorrow."

Justin drove into town, excited to spend some time with Brian.

Brian

In the late afternoon Cynthia came in to Brian's office.

"Brian, the models have been confirmed.  Everything is set up for the shoot and it appears that even with this mishap, it shouldn't cost us but a day in production.  With the bonus to finish early, we should meet all our deadlines."

"Great." Brian looked at Cynthia who remained in his doorway.

"And?  What disaster occurred now?"

"The boards came back from the printer and they are the wrong color.  I thought we changed the Eyeconics from green to blue, but they are this shade of greyblue."

"Could this day get any worse?"  He rubbed the bridge of his nose.  "Don't answer that.   Did you call the printers?  What did they say?"

"I called them and they apologized. Said they would do a rush job on the reprint but it won't get here until late morning on Thursday.  Our presentation is Thursday afternoon.  That doesn't leave us a big window."

"I don't want to reschedule the presentation.  Let's hope they are the right color and if not, we'll deal with it Thursday.  Any other disasters you need to share with me?"

There were some minor personnel issues but she could deal with them, so she said, "No.  Everything is good.  Aren't you supposed to leave on time today for a date with Justin?"

"Just because I'm married... ."   Brian did not refute her statement, choosing to let it hang in the air. "Its 5:45 and I'm leaving in 15 minutes. Any crisis better be handled by 6:00."  Brian picked up the file on his desk, essentially dismissing Cynthia and any further conversation she might have had.  Ten minutes later, he closed down the file he was working on, shut down his computer and grabbed his coat and briefcase.  He was on his way to the loft to get ready to meet his husband for some much needed alone time.

After arriving at the loft, he showered and changed into a black wife beater and Hugo Boss jeans.  Admiring himself in the mirror, he hadn't gained any weight since his early 20's and looked great.   "I'd fuck me," he said to the room, smiling at the familiar statement.  Of course, at this point in his life, he only fucked one man, but that man kept him very satisfied. Grabbing his phone, keys and wallet, he walked down to Woody's and sat at a tall table top in the back. 

Going to the bar, he ordered two beers as he waited for Justin to show up.  He watched the patrons playing pool and several guys cruise each other as he drank his beer.   A feeling of nostalgia came over him as he envisioned the gang and their frequent meetings after work.  He remembered when he first met Justin and he stalked him by coming to Woody's.  It seemed like a lifetime ago, but was really only about 8 years.  How his life had changed in 8 years.  If someone had told him that he be married and have a baby 8 years ago, he would have laughed and told them he was not a lesbian.  Now he was thrilled to spend time with his husband and newborn child.  But tonight, it was just the two of them, no gang, no tricks, just Justin.

A few minutes later Justin showed up, kissing him on his lips and then sitting on the high bar stool.   He went to grab the beer but his hand cramped and he stopped midway.  Brian grabbed his hand, massaging the sore area until Justin smiled and said, "Thanks."

"You're working too hard.  You know that your hand cramps when you push yourself."

"I've got to get the paintings done for the next several shows.  I got a lot done while Cynthia was pregnant, but if I'm going to have enough work for the next three shows, I have to paint.  We spend our evenings with Colin and I can't just paint anytime like I used to.   I have to paint between 10:00 and 7:00 since that is when Chloe is available."

"You could cut back on your shows.   You are no longer a struggling artist, a few less shows isn't going to impact your opportunities.  In fact, it might help your work. Give the public only a few shows a year and then you will be wildly popular."  Brian took a few draws from his beer.

"I'm not asking you to cut back at Kinnetik.  My career is just as important as yours," Justin said, the hurt and anger in his voice evident.

Hearing the anger is Justin's voice, he knew he needed to get back to neutral territory, especially if he was going to enjoy the evening.  Looking around at the patrons, he saw that no one was paying attention to their little conversation. He was thankful that most people were there to unwind and didn't really pay attention to the other patrons unless they were trying to pick up someone.

"Justin, I never said your career is less important than mine.  I was only suggesting that you don't have to have as many shows as you used to.   I'm not asking you to choose between Colin and your work.  I know that Colin will win, as he should.  I'm only saying that if you're pushing yourself to complete paintings and its causing you pain, then maybe you should re-evaluate your commitments."

Justin heard Brian's words and mulled them over for a few minutes before answering.  ‘I worked so hard to get here; I don't want to give up my painting," Justin said softly, the emotions so close to the surface.  He too looked around and was thankful none of their friends were here.  He knew they would never be discussing something so important if they had an audience.

Brian reached out to Justin, putting his hand on his partner's hand.   "I know.   What would you like to do?"  Brian wanted to help, solve the problem, but he had learned that his solutions were not always the best ones for Justin.  Justin had to tell him what he wanted, not what he thought Brian wanted to hear.

"I don't know.   I've been thinking about it for a few weeks."

"This is the first time you mentioned it." Brian was surprised by Justin's statement, thinking they had been more open with each other. 

"I know, but it's not like we have endless time together these days.  I feel like we are ships in the night, passing each other as we complete our daily activities."   Justin drank some more beer and finished his glass.  He saw that Brian's was empty as well.  Standing up, he grabbed the empty glasses, pushed them aside and went to the bar to get new ones.  This also gave him a few moments where he was away from Brian and he could formulate a response.  He brought the new beers to the table and drank a few draws before he continued.

"My mom was saying that many new fathers are jealous of their wives when they have a baby since the wife stays home and takes care of the newborn while the father goes off to work.  Both of us are taking care of Colin and both of us are continuing to work, but my work is at home so I feel like I'm there more.  This morning he was still sleeping at 10:00 and I was frantic that something had happened to him.  I rushed in to the nursery and I thought he was warm.  I found Chloe and brought her to the nursery."

"Why didn't you call me?  I would have come home immediately.  He's our son and Kinnetik is not important, he is."

Justin's heart warmed to hear Brian's statement, reaffirming his commitment to fatherhood over his job.  "After Chloe and I took his temperature and it was normal, Chloe said he was fine, just probably getting big enough to eat and could sleep longer.  There was no emergency."

Brian let out a huge sigh.  He was so relieved and didn't realize his heart had sped up until he felt the pounding in his chest as he willed his breathing to return to normal.

"So, you're feeling like the wife, staying home with Colin since your studio is in the house?"

"Yes.  Well, no.  I don't know," Justin said as he tried to give names to his feelings.  "I work at home and Chloe doesn't interact with me at all during the day once I give her Colin.  In fact, this morning, she made a point of telling me that she wasn't my partner or my parent and I did not have to tell her where I was going or what I was doing each day."  Justin drank some beer and clenched and unclenched his hand a few times.  "I guess I sort of feel like I'm home with him even though I'm working since he is so close.  But on the other hand, it's nice to go check on him or play with him when I need a break."

"You like working at home, but you feel disconnected from me," Brian said as he listened to his partner.  Just as Justin had always teased that he wrote the Brian Kinney operating manual, Brian had learned to read Justin very well in the many years they'd been together.  The difference was that now he was willing to address any problems whereas in the past, he would deny they existed or deflect them.

Justin smiled, Brian had understood his conflicts.  "Yeah.   We used to sit and talk about our day, no matter what time we got home.  I guess it's not so much that I work at home, but more that my time is not totally mine anymore.  While you go to Kinnetik every morning and work until you are finished, it is still meant to be a traditional work setting 9:00- 5:00.  I'm finding it hard to paint on demand, rather than on inspiration.   It was not unheard of to wake up at 3:00 in the morning and go to my studio and paint if the urge hit, but I can't do that now.  If I paint at 3:00 in the morning, I miss waking up with you and that is often times the only time I see you."

"So it really is two problems.  The first is you're finding it hard to paint in set time slots and the second is that you and I are not spending quality time together."

Justin smiled larger this time.   "I knew I married you for a reason.  You are so smart."

Brian took several draws from his beer and smiled back.   "Of course, but that doesn't solve the problem."

"True.  But at least I can now put the uneasy feeling into words."

"And...."

"I wish there was a way I could paint when the inspiration hit me verses a set time."

"Okay.   There's no reason we have to continue this week to week schedule for getting up with Colin.   We could be more spontaneous. I could invest in a baby monitor to keep on my side of the bed; that would probably alert me to his needs.  I could take care of him, especially if you are painting or if both of us are there, we could alternate like we do now."   Brian continued to think on the fly; he was used to doing this with his job, reading the companies he was pitching to and adjusting his speech as needed.  "I know we want to raise Colin ourselves, but maybe we should get a live in nanny.  I think there are going to be times that neither of us is available.  We may both be out of town for business and since both of us value our careers, we may not always be home to care for him.  If we had a live in, we could let the person know on a daily basis if they would be needed.  If either of us had a slow day, we could spend time with Colin or if we needed to work late or at odd times, the nanny would be there to take up the slack."

"I don't want Colin raised by the ‘help'," Justin said as his body shuddered at the thought.  "I didn't have a child so someone else could raise him.

"I don't intend for the nanny to raise Colin.  I want you to be able to paint whenever you want to and for both of us to have a little time together without spending 2 hours on the phone arranging schedules.  This evening out cost both of us at least 1 hour in wasted time just scheduling the babysitting and carpooling."

"True."  Justin remembered the numerous phone calls and discussions about cars, babysitting and transportation just to be able to spend a few hours with his husband.  Brian did bring up some salient points.   "If we hired a nanny, would we still keep Chloe? I really like the way she cares for Colin."

"Well we could hire an overnight nanny.  One that starts at 6:00 and stays until 10:00, after Chloe gets there.  Maybe Chloe could start a little earlier,  8:00 or 9:00.  The nanny could travel with us when Colin gets older.   We wouldn't be able to spend time with him during the day if we were working out of town, but in the evening we could see him."

"If we hired an overnight nanny, then we could both sleep through the night, especially since Colin may have outgrown his night time feedings.  She could get up with him at night and then we'd both be rested in the morning.  And....  We could return to our morning activities.  I miss morning sex, even if I do go back to sleep."

Brian felt his pants get a little tight at the mention of sex, but he wanted to finish the discussion.  Unlike in the past, when he would let any discussion get derailed by the mention of sex, he knew this was an important discussion and wanted to finish it before they enjoyed the remainder of their short time together.

"If we had a nanny, you could get up whenever you had inspiration and the nanny could care for Colin if he had any needs.  We both could continue pursuing our respective careers, but with the commitment to be home for Colin as much as possible. Of course, it would allow us to be a little more spontaneous since there would be a nanny around."

"No Brian, if we're home and not working, we need to be the caregivers for Colin.   The nanny isn't there so we can go have sex at any time.  He needs to come first, not our sex life.   The nanny is there so we can pursue our work," Justin said, the firmness in his voice, brooking no discussion about his intent.

"Speaking of sex...."  Brian's eyes moved toward the bathroom of Woody's.   "I think we've come to an agreement about our problems, let's say we seal the deal with a visit to the men's room."

Feeling better about parenting and his career than he had for a while, Justin got up and walked to the back of the bar, letting Brian see the tight jeans he'd chosen for the evening.  Brian could feel his jeans getting tighter as he watched Justin walk and followed his partner.   Once inside the stall, they kissed, their lips pushed hard against each other's mouths as they undid each other's jeans.  Reaching inside for Justin's cock, Brian was elated to find he'd gone commando.  He stroked the cock, relishing in its smoothness and solid girth.  He loved Justin's cock, feeling it in his hand, running his tongue around its mushroom head and tasting its sweet cum.  He loved the feel of it in his tight channel as well.  Tonight he had no time for languishing; he needed to be inside his partner.   Grabbing the tube of lube he always kept in his pocket, he quickly prepared Justin.

Justin felt Brian's cock, hard and pulsing with desire.  He knew they both wanted to get off, their joining quick, but fulfilling.  He was happy to know that he could read Brian's moods and needs so well.  He recognized the time for quick- in and out with a maximum of pleasure and a minimum of bullshit versus slow and teasing, building up the release for a long period of time.  Today's need was quick.  They'd come to some major decisions about their family and lifestyle and he was excited about the prospect of his future.   He answered Brian's fervent kiss with pressure and moans of excitement.  Turning around so Brian would have access to his tight channel, he said, "Now.  I need you, Brian."

Feeling the same need that Justin did, he placed the condom on his cock and pressed into his husband, breaching the tight outer ring with little resistance as Justin pushed back as Brian pushed in.  While they didn't use condoms at home, they used them in public where others could see.  Brian grabbed for Justin's cock, working him as he pushed in and out of Justin's body.  Justin pushed back harder, signaling Brian to move faster.   Brian held on to Justin's hips, pushing back and forth out of the tight channel.  He felt his balls tighten, signaling his release.  Justin moved faster and Brian let go as did Justin.   Justin came all over Brian's fingers and Brian moved his hand to lick them.  Brian stepped back, letting his cock leave Justin.

"I hate that part.  You leaving."

"Twat," Brian said as he wiped himself clean and then turned to do the same for Justin.

They pulled their jeans back up and left the stall, washing their hands before returning to the bar to order new beers.

"While it's not the back room, it will have to do," Brian said as he took a draw from his beer.

"It's as close to spontaneous sex as we've had for a while.  I'll take it.  But unfortunately, we need to leave soon.  I don't want mom to drive home too late."  Justin hated bringing their evening to a close, but he didn't want to inconvenience his mom.  

"Let's finish our beers and then we'll go.  I'll have Cynthia contact some agencies tomorrow regarding a nanny.  Hopefully we can interview someone soon and you can get back to painting.

"Sounds like a plan."

TBC