"Medium Security" V - Ch. 27

[gaedhal]

In the apartment.



By Gaedhal

Chapter 27

Justin came out of the bedroom as Ron and Jennifer were
about to leave.

"Brian's sleeping," he told Ron and his mother. "I think
he's exhausted. I guess we tried to spring too much stuff
on him and he's not ready for it."

"That's all right, sweetheart," soothed Jennifer. "I put
the rest of the food in the fridge. If Brian wakes up and
feels like having some later, just heat it up in the oven."

"Yes," said Ron. "Chinese food is just as good left over." He
helped Jennifer on with her coat. "Don't pile too many things
on Brian tomorrow, kid. Call Julie and maybe we can take
him over to the PLD on Friday afternoon. But we can't leave
it too long, you know. We want this re-trial to happen ASAP.
Also, James Crossley, the literary agent, says that the editor
from Brian's publisher wants to get to work on the entire
manuscript as soon as Brian is able to handle it. They want
to put his book on their Fall List, which means that there
will be a lot of work to do to get it ready for publication."

"I know, Ron," said Justin, running his hand through his
tousled hair. "But please don't push Brian too much, okay?
He's been sick and... and he's feeling pretty confused right
now. Let's take one thing at a time. The book is important
and the trial is important, but so is getting Brian's head
together!"

Ron turned away and took his own coat out of the little closet
next to the door. It was going to be a struggle with Justin
over Brian every inch of the way. But he couldn't antagonize
the kid too much. Then he'd have both Brian AND Jen on his
back about it!

"I expect to see both of you boys at my condo for dinner on
Sunday," Jennifer reminded her son. "Brian should be able
to handle that, don't you think, dear?"

"Yes, Mom," Justin sighed. "We'll be there. But give Brian
a little space, will you? Please cut him some slack? You
have no idea what... what Brian's been through in prison."

"Jennifer may not be aware of everything, but I think that
I know exactly what Brian has been through, so don't lecture
me!" said Ron, peevishly. "But you can only coddle Brian so
much. Remember that, too, kid. Brian is a man and he has to
learn to live on the outside. I had to learn to do it and so did
you, Justin. It's a matter of adjustment. Brian is a very
intelligent person and he's perfectly capable of adapting to
life outside of prison. After all, he has all of us to help him."

"That's what I'm trying to do!" Justin muttered. "Help him!
If certain people would only let me!"

Ron ignored Justin's remark. "Brian has some time to get
his strength back and his head on straight -- but not a hell
of a lot! And he has a ton of work ahead of him, kid. His trial
can't wait and neither can his book. He's going to have to
work with that editor and get the book finished so he can
earn the big advance that Lewis-Fisher and Company
dished out."

"This isn't about money, Ron!" Justin fumed.

"Yes, Justin, it is about money," Ron retorted as he put on
his coat. "Brian has to live on the outside. And that means
he has to work, the same as all of us do. That big advance
will keep him afloat for a while, but eventually Bri Baby
is going to have to join the real world. I think Brian is
going to be an important voice for prison reform in this
country. But it's only going to happen if his book is a
success. It HAS to be a success!"

"It will be, Ron," Justin huffed. "You know it will!"

"We'll see," Ron narrowed his eyes at Justin, but then
he grinned slyly. "Besides, the two of you can't live
forever on your tips from the Liberty Diner!"

Justin was so angry he wanted to spit at Ron. He wanted
to tell Ron what he thought of him and his view of Brian's
future. But Justin also knew that Ron was right in his
own fucked up way. Brian needed to finish his book and
he needed to get his trial out of the way. Until then, they
couldn't move ahead with their lives. But Justin hated it
when Ron was right, because he was right for all the
wrong reasons. Justin didn't want Ron to be right --
ever!

"Call me tomorrow, honey," Jennifer called as she was
going out the door.

"I'll be in touch," said Ron. He gave Justin a knowing
look. "Let Baby get some sleep tonight -- if you know
what I mean! He needs his rest."

"Goodbye!" Justin said firmly. And he shut and locked
the door to the apartment and chained it for good measure.

He and Brian were finally alone. This was their home!
And now they were in it together -- for real!

Jennifer had already cleaned up the kitchen, so Justin
only had to turn off the lights. Then he searched around
the living room until he found his yellow legal pad. He'd
have to make of list of all the things Brian would need.
Which was almost everything, from new underwear to a
winter coat. And so many other things, too. Brian didn't
have a driver's license. Or a single credit card. Ron had
opened an account for Brian at the bank, so they'd have
to get some checks. And an ATM card. And he needed
insurance, too.

Justin thought Brian should see a doctor very soon. Dr.
Caputo did a good job when the men of Stanton were sick,
but Brian needed to have his general health looked at.
Ten years in prison was bound to take a toll on anyone,
let alone someone who'd been through some of the things
that Brian had survived. Brian also needed to see a
dentist. Justin wrote that down on the pad, too. And a
car. They would definitely need a car, even if it was
only a used one.

There were so many things to do. Luckily there was
Brian's book advance. Yes, Ron was right about that,
too. Brian and Justin couldn't live on Justin's tip money
from the diner. They needed to use at least some of Brian's
money if they didn't want Ron to keep paying the rent on
the apartment forever.

He set the legal pad down on the coffee table. It was still
early, but suddenly Justin felt very tired. This whole
day had been too much. He yawned and then went into
the bedroom.

Justin turned on the little light next to the bed and
Brian opened his eyes.

"I'm sorry," said Justin. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"I wasn't asleep," said Brian. "It's too quiet in here. I
kept waiting to hear the C.O. walking up and down the
tier. Or Beemer coughing. Or Wesley crying in his
sleep." Brian rubbed his eyes. "Do you have a radio
or something? I need a little noise so I can fall asleep."

"Sure, Brian," said Justin. "This is a clock-radio." He
switched on the box on the bedside table. He had it tuned
to the Oldies station. "I set it to play music to wake me
up so I won't be late for the breakfast shift at the diner."

"That's pretty neat," said Brian. "You'll have to show
me how it works."

"I'll show you how everything works, Brian," Justin
whispered. "It's easy."

Brian sat up against the pillows. "Do you think I can
take a shower? I feel so... so grungy. Like I still smell
like prison."

"You smell great to me, Brian," Justin smiled. "You
always smell great. But you can take a shower if you
want to. You can do anything you want to do! Come on.
I'll get you a towel."

The bathroom, like the rest of the apartment, was
from an older era. The bathtub had old-fashioned feet
and two leaky faucets, while the toilet had a wobbly
wooden seat. But to Brian it looked wonderful. It had a
door that shut. You could be safe there.

Justin turned on the shower and ran the water, testing
it. "Is that too hot for you?"

"No," said Brian, putting his hand under the spray.
"That's perfect."

Brian stripped off his shorts and tee shirt slowly. He
felt almost shy in front of Justin. This wasn't their
cell or the shower room. This was somewhere else. A
world away from the Quad.

Justin took Brian's underwear and tossed it into a small
hamper for the wash. He would be glad when he was able
to throw away all of Brian's old prison gear, but especially
the ugly gray undershorts. He could picture Brian in sexy
briefs that would look good with his wifebeaters.

Brian pulled back the shower curtain and climbed in. The
water was so warm. And he could stay in here as long as
he wanted. There was a bar of pink soap in the soapdish.
He rubbed it all over his body. The soap felt creamy and
soft and smelled like roses. Brian closed his eyes.

"Is there room for me in here?" asked Justin. And he
climbed into the old bathtub with Brian.

"Justin -- what are you doing?" Brian stared at him
as he clutched the soap.

"I'm getting clean," Justin laughed. "We're conserving
water, Brian! There's an Energy Crisis, remember?"
Justin took the soap out of Brian's hand and began to circle
Brian's chest with the foamy pink bar. "Let me help you
with that."

"We've never done this before," Brian breathed. His cock
was getting very hard. "I've never done it in the shower
before, ever. I was always afraid of getting caught in the
shower room by some gang, so I used to rush in and out
as fast as I could."

"There are no gangs here, Brian," said Justin. He ran his
sudsy hands down Brian's long body and grasped his dick.
It came alive in Justin's hand. "It's only us. This is our
place. Our shower. Our soap. Oops!" Justin shrugged. "I
dropped the soap, Brian. Do you want me to pick it up?"

"Yes," said Brian. His cock felt like it was about to explode.
"Pick it up."

Justin bent over and braced himself against the tiled wall.
It was slippery, but he held fast to the surface with the
palms of his hands.

Brian eased his soapy cock into Justin, wrapping one
arm around his lover's body, while his other hand took
hold of Justin's own throbbing dick. Then Brian thrust
into Justin deeply. He leaned his chin on Justin's shoulder
as they fucked, the warm water cascading down their
bodies.

They rocked together, their wet skin slapping. Brian
gritted his teeth as he felt himself shoot and Justin let
out a gasp. Brian jacked Justin's dick briskly until he
came. Then they held each other under the spray until
it began to turn cool.

Justin turned off the water and reached for the towels.
"That's One!" he said.

"One what?" asked Brian, rubbing the towel over Justin's
back.

"The first time we fucked in our apartment. And the first
time we fucked in the shower," Justin replied. "I'm going
to keep track."

And Brian laughed out loud for the first time a very long
while. "You're going to lose count pretty quickly, punk!
Because we're going to do it until our heads spin. I'm going
to fuck you until you won't know what year it is, let alone
keeping track of where and when and how many times!"

"That's a promise I'm going to hold you to!" Justin ran
his fingers through Brian's wet, dark hair. "But there's
still the bed. Unless you aren't up for any more tonight?"

Brian stroked his cock gently. It was already lengthening
in his hand. "Who's not up for it?"

"I'm glad I told Debbie that I couldn't work the breakfast
shift tomorrow, because I don't think I would have made
it," Justin sighed.

"Oh, you're going to make it," Brian insisted. "We're
going to make it again right now! In the bedroom. Unless
you're the one who's too tired?"

"Never!" Justin grinned. "Never too tired for you, Brian.
Ever."

And he took Brian's hand and led him back into their
bedroom.