"Medium Security" V - Ch. 29
On Liberty Avenue.
By Gaedhal
Chapter 29
"This neighborhood isn't too bad," Justin told Brian as
they left the apartment building on Barker Place. "My
mother thinks I'm going to get mugged every time I walk
out the door. Liberty Avenue is a little rundown, but I
like it. I can walk to the diner. And I can catch my bus
to class right on the corner."
Brian hunched his shoulders against the cold. He had tried
to put on one of Justin's jackets, but they were all too small.
So he wore two sweaters and topped them off with Justin's
extra-large Carnegie Mellon sweatshirt. But he was still
fucking freezing!
"Is this really a gay area?" Brian asked. He eyed the people
walking by, but they just looked like regular people.
Non-inmates. Civilians. No obvious queens like Emmett
or Michelle. Everyone looked fairly middle-of-the-road.
"There's a gay bar over there." Justin pointed to a nondescript
storefront with blacked out windows. "And a disco down an
alley a couple blocks that way. There are head-shops and
bookstores and funky clothing stores all along the street.
And the Liberty Diner, of course. That's the most obvious
gay business -- at least to an outsider."
"And that's where you work -- of course!" Brian grumbled.
"With Michelle's crazy mother."
"It's a fun place to work, Brian," Justin insisted. "So don't
knock it. That's where we're going for brunch."
"Brunch!" Brian snorted. "Jesus Christ!"
Justin pulled Brian by the hand, laughing. "Come with me!
I know you must be hungry since you didn't eat any of Ron's
big Chinese meal last night."
"I know," Brian admitted. "I feel kind of bad about that after
he went to all that trouble. But I couldn't eat. There was...
too much going on."
Justin stopped on the sidewalk. "Brian, I'm not going to
pretend that I trust Ron, because I don't. I know you have
a long history with him and that you feel like you owe him
a lot. I understand that feeling. I owe him a lot, too. Ron
worked hard on my case and he gave me the deposit so I
could rent the apartment, as well as the rent for the
first few months."
"That's the first thing we'll have to change," said Brian.
"I'll pay the rent from now on. With the advance money
for my supposed book."
"Not supposed book, Brian -- definite book!" Justin said.
"Once you get settled you can start working with that editor
and get it ready for publication. But in the meanwhile, we'll
have to use some of your money for the basics. It's the only
way we can be independent of Ron."
"That's what I want," said Brian. "If it's possible."
"It's possible, Brian." Justin wondered if Brian had any
idea of just how much money he had gotten for his advance.
A hundred thousand dollars was a lot of money, even after
taxes. But for the moment it was all Brian had to live on
until he made some money from his book. Unless he was
going to rely on Ron. "One more thing, Brian. If Ron... if
he starts, you know, bothering you in any way, I want
you to tell me. Because I know that Ron still thinks about
you all the time. I know that he does. Maybe he thinks he
loves you or that he still 'owns' you or whatever the hell.
I don't really care what Ron's motive is. But you're MY
lover, Brian, not Ron's! And I want everyone to know that."
"They will, Justin." Brian smiled at Justin serious
expression. "I'm not planning to slink back into the closet
now that I'm out of the Quad."
"I didn't think you would go back into the closet, Brian,"
Justin replied. "That would be awfully hard to do after
your 'New Yorker' piece. But forget about anyone else,
Brian. Most of all I want YOU to know how much I love
you! And I don't give a fuck what Ron thinks or what Ron
wants. He's in my life now and I can't do anything about it.
He may even marry my stupid mother and be my fucking
stepfather, if you can imagine that!"
"I doubt Ron is planning to marry anyone, no offense to
your mom, Justin," Brian countered.
"Who knows what will happen?" Justin shrugged. "But I
don't want Ron to turn the screws on YOU, Brian. Not ever!
He may have been your jocker for most of the years you
were in Stanton, but I'm your boyfriend now! And I'll
kick Ron's ass if he tries anything. Get it?"
Brian gaped at Justin in surprise. Then he saluted sharply.
"Yes, SIR! I get it, SIR!"
"Don't laugh at me, asshole!" Justin swatted Brian's arm.
"I'm not kidding!" But then Justin stopped smiling. "Unless
you... you still have feelings for Ron? More than you have
feelings for me?"
But Brian shook his head. "No, Justin. I have feelings for
Ron, but not like that. He was my mentor and he was my
lover. But that was in the past. I don't have those kinds of
feelings for Ron anymore and I haven't for a long time. I
think you know that already, Justin."
"I only wanted to be sure." Justin grinned. Then he took
hold of Brian's face and pulled him down to kiss him,
right there on the sidewalk in front of the Liberty Diner
"Faggots!" shouted some man across the street. "Fucking
fags!"
"Jealous?" Justin yelled back. "Get your own boyfriend!
This one's mine!"
"Be careful, Justin," Brian warned. He grabbed Justin's
arm and pulled him towards the door of the diner. "This
may be a gay area, but obviously not everyone around
here thinks so."
"Some people are fucking jerks!" Justin muttered. "We're
not hurting anyone!"
"I mean it, Justin," said Brian. "Kissing on a public street
is a bit much. Before I went into Stanton if two guys had
done that on the sidewalk, no matter what part of town it
was, they would have been beaten up -- or worse! I don't
think things have changed that much since 1968."
"I hate the way people are," Justin complained. "Some day
it'll be different."
"Maybe," Brian replied. "But don't take chances. Why risk
it when we have that great apartment to fuck in?"
"Yeah!" Justin grinned mischievously. "And we've only used
two of the rooms so far!"
"God you are a horny kid!" Brian laughed. "Are we going
inside? Or back to the apartment for another round?"
"We better go inside," said Justin. "Debbie's already seen
us."
Justin turned and waved at Debbie Novotny, who was standing
in the front window of the diner, her hands on her hips,
watching them intently.
By Gaedhal
Chapter 29
"This neighborhood isn't too bad," Justin told Brian as
they left the apartment building on Barker Place. "My
mother thinks I'm going to get mugged every time I walk
out the door. Liberty Avenue is a little rundown, but I
like it. I can walk to the diner. And I can catch my bus
to class right on the corner."
Brian hunched his shoulders against the cold. He had tried
to put on one of Justin's jackets, but they were all too small.
So he wore two sweaters and topped them off with Justin's
extra-large Carnegie Mellon sweatshirt. But he was still
fucking freezing!
"Is this really a gay area?" Brian asked. He eyed the people
walking by, but they just looked like regular people.
Non-inmates. Civilians. No obvious queens like Emmett
or Michelle. Everyone looked fairly middle-of-the-road.
"There's a gay bar over there." Justin pointed to a nondescript
storefront with blacked out windows. "And a disco down an
alley a couple blocks that way. There are head-shops and
bookstores and funky clothing stores all along the street.
And the Liberty Diner, of course. That's the most obvious
gay business -- at least to an outsider."
"And that's where you work -- of course!" Brian grumbled.
"With Michelle's crazy mother."
"It's a fun place to work, Brian," Justin insisted. "So don't
knock it. That's where we're going for brunch."
"Brunch!" Brian snorted. "Jesus Christ!"
Justin pulled Brian by the hand, laughing. "Come with me!
I know you must be hungry since you didn't eat any of Ron's
big Chinese meal last night."
"I know," Brian admitted. "I feel kind of bad about that after
he went to all that trouble. But I couldn't eat. There was...
too much going on."
Justin stopped on the sidewalk. "Brian, I'm not going to
pretend that I trust Ron, because I don't. I know you have
a long history with him and that you feel like you owe him
a lot. I understand that feeling. I owe him a lot, too. Ron
worked hard on my case and he gave me the deposit so I
could rent the apartment, as well as the rent for the
first few months."
"That's the first thing we'll have to change," said Brian.
"I'll pay the rent from now on. With the advance money
for my supposed book."
"Not supposed book, Brian -- definite book!" Justin said.
"Once you get settled you can start working with that editor
and get it ready for publication. But in the meanwhile, we'll
have to use some of your money for the basics. It's the only
way we can be independent of Ron."
"That's what I want," said Brian. "If it's possible."
"It's possible, Brian." Justin wondered if Brian had any
idea of just how much money he had gotten for his advance.
A hundred thousand dollars was a lot of money, even after
taxes. But for the moment it was all Brian had to live on
until he made some money from his book. Unless he was
going to rely on Ron. "One more thing, Brian. If Ron... if
he starts, you know, bothering you in any way, I want
you to tell me. Because I know that Ron still thinks about
you all the time. I know that he does. Maybe he thinks he
loves you or that he still 'owns' you or whatever the hell.
I don't really care what Ron's motive is. But you're MY
lover, Brian, not Ron's! And I want everyone to know that."
"They will, Justin." Brian smiled at Justin serious
expression. "I'm not planning to slink back into the closet
now that I'm out of the Quad."
"I didn't think you would go back into the closet, Brian,"
Justin replied. "That would be awfully hard to do after
your 'New Yorker' piece. But forget about anyone else,
Brian. Most of all I want YOU to know how much I love
you! And I don't give a fuck what Ron thinks or what Ron
wants. He's in my life now and I can't do anything about it.
He may even marry my stupid mother and be my fucking
stepfather, if you can imagine that!"
"I doubt Ron is planning to marry anyone, no offense to
your mom, Justin," Brian countered.
"Who knows what will happen?" Justin shrugged. "But I
don't want Ron to turn the screws on YOU, Brian. Not ever!
He may have been your jocker for most of the years you
were in Stanton, but I'm your boyfriend now! And I'll
kick Ron's ass if he tries anything. Get it?"
Brian gaped at Justin in surprise. Then he saluted sharply.
"Yes, SIR! I get it, SIR!"
"Don't laugh at me, asshole!" Justin swatted Brian's arm.
"I'm not kidding!" But then Justin stopped smiling. "Unless
you... you still have feelings for Ron? More than you have
feelings for me?"
But Brian shook his head. "No, Justin. I have feelings for
Ron, but not like that. He was my mentor and he was my
lover. But that was in the past. I don't have those kinds of
feelings for Ron anymore and I haven't for a long time. I
think you know that already, Justin."
"I only wanted to be sure." Justin grinned. Then he took
hold of Brian's face and pulled him down to kiss him,
right there on the sidewalk in front of the Liberty Diner
"Faggots!" shouted some man across the street. "Fucking
fags!"
"Jealous?" Justin yelled back. "Get your own boyfriend!
This one's mine!"
"Be careful, Justin," Brian warned. He grabbed Justin's
arm and pulled him towards the door of the diner. "This
may be a gay area, but obviously not everyone around
here thinks so."
"Some people are fucking jerks!" Justin muttered. "We're
not hurting anyone!"
"I mean it, Justin," said Brian. "Kissing on a public street
is a bit much. Before I went into Stanton if two guys had
done that on the sidewalk, no matter what part of town it
was, they would have been beaten up -- or worse! I don't
think things have changed that much since 1968."
"I hate the way people are," Justin complained. "Some day
it'll be different."
"Maybe," Brian replied. "But don't take chances. Why risk
it when we have that great apartment to fuck in?"
"Yeah!" Justin grinned mischievously. "And we've only used
two of the rooms so far!"
"God you are a horny kid!" Brian laughed. "Are we going
inside? Or back to the apartment for another round?"
"We better go inside," said Justin. "Debbie's already seen
us."
Justin turned and waved at Debbie Novotny, who was standing
in the front window of the diner, her hands on her hips,
watching them intently.