Cutting My Losses

“Who the fuck is Greg?” Justin rolled his eyes. He really wasn’t in the mood to deal with Brian’s anger.

“He’s a friend.” He stood up and walked toward the kitchen, putting some distance between himself and the angry brunet. Brian was quick to follow though.

“He sounded like more than a friend.” It was an accusation.

“You were eavesdropping on my private conversation?” Justin stood on the opposite side of kitchen island and opened the fridge to grab one of the ever present bottles of water.

“It’s not eavesdropping when you’re in my loft, using my phone.” That statement stung, but it wasn’t the first time he was treated as an unwanted guest rather than an equal partner. Justin took a sip of water before responding.

“We both live here, Brian. It’s supposed to be our loft and our phone. Whatever, I’m not having this conversation with you.” He walked around the island and made an attempt to pass Brian and walk toward the sofa, but Brian grabbed his arm.

“Justin, who the fuck is Greg?” Brian repeated for the second time.

“He’s my best friend, Brian. I’ve known him since I was six. He lives in Las Vegas. He’s a DNA analyst in a forensics crime lab. Anything else you need to know?” Justin pulled away and sat down on the couch, picking up a magazine to flip through. Brian moved to stand in front of him.

“Drop the attitude, princess.” Justin dropped the magazine on the coffee table and looked up at Brian.

“Seriously, Brian, what do you want to know?”

“How is it that I’m just now hearing about him?”

“I don’t know, Brian. He lives halfway across the country. He doesn’t really come up in conversation.” It wasn’t an answer and they both knew it.

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

“What? You think I’m lying?”

“We both know that honesty isn’t your strong suit, Justin.”

“You’re still throwing Ethan in my face? It was a mistake, Brian! I told you it was a mistake. I’ve apologized. What more do you want? And for your information, I never lied about Ethan. You never asked and I never told.”

“Just like you didn’t tell me about Greg? When was the last time you saw him?”

“After the bashing. He visited me in the hospital. He was there for me.” Brian reeled back as if physically hit.

“Right. He was there for you like I wasn’t. Like I’m not.”

“Brian, I didn’t--”

“Stop, Justin. I don’t want to hear it.” With that, Brian turned away and walked toward the bedroom, effectively dismissing Justin. Of course the younger man wouldn’t allow that to happen. He followed him into the bedroom and stood on the opposite side of the bed.

“What the fuck is your problem, Brian? This isn’t about me and Ethan or me fucking Greg. Because you know I’m not sleeping with him. I told you I wasn’t. I told you exactly who he is to me. And you know I’m not lying. So what is this about?”

“You know what I still don’t get? How am I just hearing about your bestest friend in the whole goddamned world? You talk all the time, Justin. You tell me about shit I don’t even want to know about. But you’ve managed to keep your friend your own little secret.”

“He wasn’t a secret, Brian! I tried to tell you about him a couple of time when we first started seeing each other. But you didn’t want to hear about it. So I stopped talking about it.”

“The fuck you did. I listen to everything you say. There’s no way you told me about him.”

“You’re not serious, are you? The first time I tried to tell you about him, he hadn’t called me in months. I was so excited when he finally sent me an email and I got to talk to him. As soon as you walked in the door I tried telling you about it, but you just told me to ‘Get dressed. We’re going to Babylon.’ The second time was pretty much the same thing. You didn’t want to hear it. Believe it or not, I do have some sense of self-preservation. I’m not going to bring up the same subject over and over again so you can brush me off each and every time.”

Just then, the phone rang. Brian was closer and picked it up. The last person Brian wanted to talk to. Luckily the call wasn’t for him.

“It’s your mother.” Justin took the phone, walking into the living room area to talk with her. He listened to her for a few minutes before ending the conversation.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be there.” He walked back into the bedroom to hang up the phone. Brian was sprawled on the bed, his arm over his eyes.

“I have to go. Mom has a house showing. It just came up and she needs someone to watch Molly. I'll probably just stay there the night.” Justin already had his shoes on. He grabbed his phone and wallet off of the bed.

“Good, I won’t have to listen to your shit anymore.” Justin rolled his eyes. And if Brian was listening very carefully, which he was, he could hear a very low, muttered “drama queen.” The older man exhaled a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Things were going to be just fine.

Brian heard the loft slide shut. He stayed in the bed for half an hour before he considered getting up to take a shower. He was still in his work clothes. But the decision was taken out of his hands when he heard a knock at the door. He really had no idea who it could have been. Everyone he knew would have just walked in.

He slid the metal door open to see a stranger with messy hair, two suitcases, a back pack, and a goofy smile.

“Who the fuck are you?”