When Work Is a Pleasure (13 page)

Shaking his head, Garrett asked, “They didn’t take you coming out very well? Or you couldn’t tell them at all or something?”

“They’re really religious,” Justin said, voice fairly emotionless. It was a mild ache, one he’d mostly gotten over, Garrett guessed. “I’ve got an older sister and two much younger brothers, and I’d been accepted at the local state college, but when I told them I was gay, they wanted me to move out. Said they loved me, but wouldn’t support my

‘sinful lifestyle choices’ and didn’t want me setting a bad example for Jim and Bradley. It was pretty much the same as when Lauren wanted to ‘shack up’ with some guy. They threatened to pull her college money. So I had to move, get a job, and I had a friend going to L.A. for school who let me share a room with him. So that’s where I ended up.”

“That sucks.”

“It wasn’t that bad. No yelling or anything. I think they already pretty much knew I was gay, but as long as I was in the closet they weren’t going to make an issue out of it.

Coming out actually went a lot better than I’d expected,” he said with a chuckle. “Believe it or not, I’d packed my duffel bag before I told them, just in case they threw me out.”

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Garrett laughed too. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t need it.

So how are things now?”

“Okay. I see the family on Christmas, and we don’t ever talk about anything in my personal life. They know I work in a gym and was in school for a while. I’m not all that close with the boys, anyway. They’re both still in college. Lauren lives in Germany and only shows up for the holidays too. We call and e-mail some, though. I know they all love me. We’re just not close.”

Garrett made a sympathetic noise and nodded. “My brother was pretty weird when I came out in high school.

He’s two years older than me. But my folks were great. I was one of the lucky ones. They said they’d known forever and were just waiting for me to tell them.”

“You see them often?” Justin asked.

“Yeah, they’re just a few hours south of here, in Santa Cruz. We get together for birthdays and holidays and stuff, every couple of months. And my mom pops by to make sure I’m eating right and have good food in the house, whenever she’s in the city for whatever reason,” he laughed. “She still thinks I’m too thin.”

“Maybe you should strip for her and show her those gorgeous muscles.”

“You can’t see me, but I’m sticking my tongue out at you,” Garrett huffed. “My mom does not need to see me naked.”

Justin laughed. “How about just topless, then?”

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“Perv. But yeah, maybe. The holidays are coming up soon. I’m surprised she hasn’t called me to plan everything, actually, now that I think of it.”

“Yeah? You all get together for Thanksgiving as well as Christmas?” Justin asked.

Garrett explained his family’s tradition of inviting all the student “orphans” over, since his mom was a professor at the university, as well as any friends who happened to not have plans. They joked about green bean casserole, candied yams, and other disgusting food traditions of the holiday.

Looking at the clock, Garrett groaned. “I should go.

Need to be in on time tomorrow morning. Work’s going to
suck
. It’s deadline day, and with this issue that means a ton of last minute fact checking and everyone screaming at me every five seconds to find out if I’ve done theirs yet.”

Justin made a sympathetic noise. “I’ll let you go then.

Just make sure you think of me next time you beat off.”

That got him a laugh in response. “I pretty much always do,” Garrett admitted.

“Me too. Night, Gar.”

“Good night.” The affectionate, sappy feeling from Justin’s words—like a cup of cocoa and a beat-up old quilt warming his insides—made Garrett feel like his faith in the world, in things working out the way they should, might be justified after all.

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LIFE couldn’t go that smoothly forever. Garrett ought to have known that and been on his guard, what with everything being so good at work, with his friends, and even his romantic life. No, he really shouldn’t have been surprised at all when he got home on Sunday after his trip to the gym to find his mother in his apartment.

Not that her appearance was a bad thing or even much of a surprise. She stopped in whenever she was in the city for shopping or an art exhibit or whatever. She had a key to his place and still brought over bags of groceries, just like she’d been doing ever since he was in college. She
did
knock, of course, but if he wasn’t home or didn’t answer in a “timely fashion,” she let herself in and made herself at home, using his apartment as a kind of home base, especially if she needed to change clothes or stay overnight on business.

Garrett got home from his workout sweaty, stinky, and still a little out of it from the endorphin crash. She kissed him hello, pushed him toward the bathroom, and said she’d start dinner while he got cleaned up. Halfway through a big plate of spaghetti, she asked in a voice that he knew damn well was not innocent curiosity, “So, sweetie, you seeing anyone lately?”

“Uh. Maybe,” he answered, swallowing. “Why do you ask?”

“Maybe? You look awfully familiar with the young man in the picture in your office,” she said, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

His heart and brain froze for a minute, before going back to work at triple-speed. “Oh God no. Noooooo.” Garrett When Work Is a Pleasure |
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buried his head in his hands, nearly tangling his fork in his floppy hair. “Mom….”

“Oh please, Garrett,” she laughed. “I lived in San Francisco in the ’70s and I’ve seen gay porn before. Not that I ever expected to see my baby boy in a pose quite like that….” She paused. “You’ve finally put on some weight and filled out, I see.”

Making whimpering noises, Garrett refused to look up until she smacked him on the arm.

“I’ve seen it all. Stop acting like an idiot and eat your dinner. Food’s getting cold. Now, tell me about this man.

Was it just a random thing? Looks like you’re on a stage or something. Are you making porn now, Garrett?”

He snorted. “Not quite. I was at the Folsom Street Fair, interviewing porno stars for that article last month.”

“Oh yes. I liked that one. You did good work. Those were some of the men you interviewed, then?”

Garrett twirled some pasta around his fork. “Yeah.

They’re nice guys. We’re sort of friends.”

“The sort of friends who give you a handjob in public?”

she asked just as he started to swallow, and she snorted when he choked.

“Mom, please,” he begged in a long-suffering voice. “I… I actually really like him. His name’s Justin, and we’ve been talking on the phone a lot, and he’s come up to visit and stuff a few times. He’s moving up here next weekend, actually. For work,” he added.

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She gave him a probing look. A few minutes passed in silence as they ate, while she obviously thought about what she wanted to say. “How long have you known him?”

Garrett thought back, counting on his fingers. “Five weeks? I guess I’ve kind of been seeing him every other weekend. When he moves up, it’ll be week six.”

“Does he go home for Thanksgivings? Bring him,” she said when Garrett shook his head.

“You’re not going to embarrass me, are you? I mean,” he caught himself, “about him being a porn star. I
know
you’ll embarrass
me
in general.”

She smacked him again. “I would never be that rude to a guest, Garrett, and you know it. I don’t care how he makes his money so long as he treats you right and you’re happy. I just want to meet him and make sure he’s not anything like that dimwit you hooked up with last time.”

Garrett laughed. “No. He’s… very different.” He couldn’t help smiling, thinking about Justin, and his mom winked at him, clearly amused by his crush.

“MY MOM came by and saw the picture of us and now she wants to meet you,” Garrett said all in a rush when he called Justin the next day.

“What?” Justin’s disbelief turned into a groan as Garrett repeated himself. “Oh, that’s a great first impression. Shit.”

Garrett made a noise of agreement. “She wants you to join the crowd for Thanksgiving, if you don’t have any other When Work Is a Pleasure |
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plans. So at least it’s not like it would just be her and my dad,” he offered, trying to sound reassuring.

“How did she take it?”

“What, the porn?” Garrett laughed. “Mom’s pretty liberal. I think if she was here and more involved in my life, she’d probably be as much of a fag hag as the mom on
Queer
as Folk
. Dad’s pretty okay about sex stuff, too, although we don’t talk about it much. Not after the god-awful talk about anal sex and the importance of condoms when I was fifteen.”

He shuddered. “I think we’re both still scarred from that.”

Justin laughed, “Well, I’d be happy to meet you parents, as long as they give me a chance to prove I’m not some sleazy air-headed loser.”

“Oh, I dunno. You can be a little sleazy,” Garrett teased.

“Always trying to get in my pants, sending me naked pictures and movies of you with other men.”

“Do they make you jealous?” Justin asked, sounding a little concerned. At Garrett’s sounds of protest, he dropped his voice to a sexy tone. “Do they turn you on?”

“Yes, more of the turned-on than the jealous, though.

I… I really want you to fuck me,” Garrett said, his heart starting to pound. “Can we do that? Or do you still want to wait for a while?”

Justin moaned. “I think if you’re ready, then I’m ready. I just didn’t want to rush you. I liked getting to know you better first. And I’ve been enjoying the making out.”

“Me too,” Garrett said, his voice going a little breathy. “I mean, I want you, and every time we’re together, I want to fuck. But I’m glad you didn’t mind waiting. It’s been nice When Work Is a Pleasure |
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getting to touch you, take my time, see how you respond to me.”

“Oh yeah. I’ve been loving that. Feeling your huge body with my hands, measuring the size of you, all over. Who’d have thought three inches in height would make such a difference all over?” Justin joked. “You make me feel small. I can’t decide if I hate that or love it.”

“Small?” Garrett laughed, a little overwhelmed by Justin’s expression of feelings. “Mister Ten-and-a-Half Inches feels small compared to my, what did you say, ‘six at least’?”

Justin huffed. “Fine then, get out a ruler and measure it,” he demanded.

“No way!”

“Oh come on, Gar. I want to know, and if you don’t do it now, I’ll just make you do it the next time I see you. Imagine how embarrassed you’ll be when it’s only five inches.”

“Fucker. Fine then. Also, there is no way you’re ten and a half. You measure, too, and tell me.”

“It’s advertising,” Justin snorted. “
I
never said it was actually ten, and I haven’t checked. No one’s had any complaints,” he teased.

“If you’re making me do it, you have to, too,” Garrett insisted, going to find a ruler in his desk. He sat down in his office chair, unbuttoning his jeans and glancing at the picture of him with Justin.

“Are you hard?”

“Halfway,” Garrett estimated, giving himself a rub.

“You?”

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“Mostly. Need to get undressed, I think. If I’m going to talk to you all naked and turned on, I want to get off. I want to hear you come again.”

Garrett made a soft noise and took a minute to shove his clothes more out of the way, still leaving them on. “You’re naked?” he asked.

“Yeah. You?”

“No. Just got my pants and boxers shoved down around my knees, shirt pulled up a little. Like in the picture.”

“You lookin’ at it?” Justin purred. “Fuck, you were so hot like that. Almost more exposed, even though you were the only one not naked. I want to touch you again, love the feeling of your cock in my hand. Barely small enough for me to wrap my thumb around….”

Panting, Garrett grabbed the ruler. “Okay, well, yeah.

I’m totally hard now. How do we do this?”

Justin moaned a little. “I’m ready too. Uh, from the side, I think. Base of the ruler down as far as it will go without pushing into your flesh.” There were a few moments of rustling and movement. “Well?”

“Seven and three-fourths, looks like,” Garrett said.

“Hmm,” Justin replied, a hint of a pout creeping into his voice. “I’m almost eight inches exactly. That’s not fair; I’m supposed to be
huge
.”

Garrett laughed. “So the porn industry lies; color me surprised. I guess for every measurement they list, I can subtract at least two inches for reality. You do know the real average is only five and a half to six, right?”

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“Oh. Well, I knew we were above average,” Justin said, pleased. “Should we do width?”

“You first.”

“Uh…. Looks like about one and a half inches across.”

“Right at two inches,” Garrett said smugly.

“Bastard.”

“Hey, you’re the one who wanted to know.” He let his fingers stroke lightly up his length and then curled them around. “You can’t get your tiny little hands around my huge cock?” he teased.

“Fuck you. I can get it in my mouth just fine.”

“Well, you’ve got a gorgeous mouth,” Garrett noted.

“Talented too. All that practice has certainly made you the best lover I’ve ever had, and that’s just based on blowjobs and the relentless, merciless teasing.”

Justin laughed. “Ah, babe. It’s not teasing if I intend to follow through.”

Reaching down to cup his balls, Garrett began to breathe heavier. “I hope you do, this time. I want it. Want to fuck you, feel your ass tight around me. I want you to fuck me, too, of course, but… yeah. That’s what I’m thinking of right now.”