You Bring Me Joy
(Like a Best Friend Should)
by Zaen
3. Milky Way
“Oh, shoot,” Justin groans at the Milky
Way teetering precariously on the edge of shelf number D14 of Zeeks Tech’s sole vending machine. Justin curses the Almond Joy pressed up
against the object of his chocolate craving—the
“Fuck me!” he grunts, kicking the
machine—lightly, someone in Finance had been fired for doing as much, so the
office gossip says—and turns quickly on his heel, and nearly runs headfirst
into Josh.
“Were you talking to me?” Josh asks
good-naturedly. Justin is too angry to
blush, as he has been for the past week and a half when he unexpectedly runs
into the silver-eyed man.
“Stupid vending machine,” Justin
says, not stopping, but he glances quickly at Josh before exiting the
cafeteria. Josh watches him go.
Justin comes back from complaining
to the building manager for the umpteenth time about the faulty vending
machines. When he rounds his cubicle’s
sharp bend, he sees a flash of brown and green out of the corner of his
eye. It’s a Milky Way, sitting right in
the middle of his desk blotter. It’s a
little smooshed in one corner, but it’s otherwise
completely appetizing. A small squeak
escapes Justin’s throat. He sits down at
his desk and stares at the chocolate bar perplexedly. Then he hears the sound of candy
wrapper. He looks up and sees Josh at
his desk, taking a bite out of an Almond Joy.
Josh grimaces, then looks up to see Justin smiling
at him.
“Not into coconut?” Justin says,
flashing his perfect teeth.
“The coconut’s ok,” Josh says,
smiling back. He inspects the bar
closely. “I like coconut. It’s the almonds I don’t like. I don’t like big nuts in my mouth.”
“Oh.” The giggles start slowly, and soon both men
are laughing hard and trying not to at the same time, until Johnny pops his
head out of his office and they quickly compose themselves. Justin stares at his fingers as he unwraps the candy, but he whispers “thank you” to Josh
before he takes the first bite. Josh
nods and goes back to his work.
Going against his genteel Southern
upbringing, Justin licks his fingers several times as he finishes the
chocolate. His eyes are glued to his
monitor, so he doesn’t see Josh staring at him the whole time.
**********
4. Stapler
Eight days on the new job and Josh
still doesn’t have a stapler of his own.
Justin smiles as he digs through his desk drawer for his stapler.
“Wow. You have a lot of CDs in there,” Josh says as
he peeks into Justin’s open drawer.
“When do you listen to music?”
“I usually do. When I get really bored…or…when I can’t
concentrate because people are babbling or—”
“—Or
annoying you by asking to borrow your stapler!”
Josh’s eyes crinkle up when he smiles really hard, Justin notices.
“No!
You’re not…I’m not annoyed.”
Justin mentally kicks himself as he opens yet another drawer. “I know it’s here somewhere!”
“I really like that.”
“What?” Justin squeaks.
“That one,” Josh says, pointing to a
compact disc, Sherry Boknovitch’s Soi-disant,
in Justin’s drawer. “Great
album. Almost
as good as her first.”
“I’ve never heard that one,” Justin
says, eyeing the CD before returning to his search. “It’s really rare. I’ve been looking for it. I don’t think it’s even out on CD.”
“No, it isn’t.” Josh touches the CD, his eyes wistful. “She’s got a great voice. It’s like…I don’t know.”
“The rain.”
“Yeah.” Josh looks up, and their eyes meet in a warm
blue embrace. “Exactly.” Justin gulps and reaches deep into the last
drawer.
“Found it!” He hands over the stapler, and when Josh
accepts it their fingers touch. Justin
wants to roll his eyes at the cliché, the ridiculousness he feels as his heart
rate speeds and his throat goes dry. He
pulls his hand away before he blushes any more than he knows he already
is.
“Thanks, Justin. I’ll bring this right back,” Josh says
softly, looking at the stapler instead of at Justin.
“Don’t worry about it. Josh.”
Josh looks up at Justin when he hears his name. He smiles a little before walking back to his
desk. Justin goes back to his work,
determined to convince himself that that wasn’t a blush on Josh’s face.
**********
5. Lunchtime before
“I can’t wait for this week to be
over,” Lance grumbles before taking a bite of his sandwich.
“You and me both. I’ve been saving my dollar bills for our girlfriends tomorrow night!” Chris says to Lance, then points to Justin.
“And you, my young friend, are
coming whether you like it or not!”
Justin rolls his eyes as he swallows
a huge glob of his lunch. “I told you
“I think if I can come on
Valentine’s Day of all days, then you can surely put in an appearance,” Joey
says as he flicks Justin’s arm.
“The only reason you’re getting to
go out on Valentine’s Day is that your old lady has to work late,” Lance quips.
“Sometimes karma works, baby!” Joey
laughs.
“Oh, yeah, right,” barks Chris. “She’s making you take her to
“Yeah, yeah, whatever, I’m going,
everybody’s going!”
“But, I have an appointment,” Justin
says shyly.
“You can come for an hour or two,”
Joey says as he digs into a huge bowl of steaming hot food. “Then we’ll send you home to watch your silly
basketball game.”
“It’s not silly,” Justin says with a
smile.
“They’re playing Duke tomorrow
night, right?” Josh asks Justin, who’s sitting directly across from him. Justin looks up from his food, surprise
covering his face. “Their season started
out strong. Do you think they’ll make
the Final Four this season?”
“They might,” Justin says, his fork
frozen half way to his lips. He beams
proudly at the other three. “See? He knows!”
“Puh-leaze,”
Chris sneers. “Basketball is for
losers. It’s all about hockey and
curling this year!”
“Doofus,”
Joey says, then purrs loudly as he tastes a bite of
his food. “Oh, my girl can cook!”
“She even makes your lunch for you?”
Justin asks as he stares at the mouthwatering dish. “You’re a lucky man.”
“Don’t I know it,” Joey says around
another forkful. “You remember Kelly,
don’t you, Josh?”
“From high
school?” Josh asks, eyes blinking.
“You guys are still together?”
“Yep! I haven’t been able to shake the old lady
loose yet!” Joey laughs.
“When are you gonna marry her?”
Lance chides.
“When he’s had all the other women
on the East Coast,” Chris says unflappably.
“So at his rate, he’ll be ready to tie the knot when he’s, oh, 28.”
“Shut up,” Joey says, but with a
small smile. “I’m totally
faithful.” Lance, Chris, and Justin roll
their eyes, but Josh just smiles at Joey.
“I think it’s great that you’re
still together,” Josh says. “You must
really love her.”
“Yeah,” Joey says bashfully. “I’m lucky.
Well, what about you, man? You
always had to beat ‘em off with a stick back in the
day. Who’s the lucky lady now?” The other four look at Josh expectantly, and
he looks down at his bottle of water.
“I’m just chillin’,
man,” Josh says, then takes a long sip of water. Justin watches him, waiting for him to say
more, looking away quickly when Josh licks his lips.
“Exactly. No reason to get yourself
tied down at such a young age,” Chris says, nodding his head at Josh. “Girlfriends are nothing but trouble. Love is an illusion. Women are only good for one thing—”
“Hi, Chris! How’s it going?”
“Heeeeeey
there, Gwen,” Chris says nervously to the blonde woman standing next to
him. She pats him on the shoulder and
walks away before Chris can think of anything else to say. He drops his head to the table and sighs
dejectedly.
“Real smooth, man,” Lance laughs.
“Oh, God! I will not rest until I make that woman
mine!” Chris groans.
“Don’t mind him,” Joey says, shaking
his head at his pathetic friend. “He’s
in love and refuses to admit it.
“It’s not love—it’s lust!” Chris
says, looking up and wiping imaginary tears from his eyes. “Anyway, as you can see, emotions are wicked,
wicked, wicked! Better to be the
perpetually single playboy—like Justin.”
“I’m not a playboy,” Justin says,
looking down at his lunch.
“Oh, please. You’re a babe-magnet! I’ve seen them literally drool after you!”
“I’ve seen it, too, J,” Joey says.
“And he never has a girlfriend! Not one since he’s been here.” Chris looks at Justin with awe. “How do you manage that? You must have ‘em
on their backs faster than Dial-a-Mattress.”
“Oh, please,” Justin groans, still
not looking up, fighting a blush creeping over his face.
“And he’s so quiet about it, too!”
Chris continues. Justin wishes Chris
would stop. “When I get laid, I tell you
guys everything!”
“When you get laid, you tell the
mailman,” Joey teases.
“Exactly! So you know the kid is getting it left and
right. It’s always the quiet ones,”
Chris says.
“Shut up, Chris,” Justin says
finally. He looks up at Josh, who is
staring at him with those penetrating blue eyes. “I’m not a—I’m not like that,” Justin says,
and then wonders why he even felt the need to tell Josh that. “I’m just…private,” Justin says to the rest
of them.
“Me, too,” Josh says softly, and
Justin looks at him, those eyes. They both
look away after a second.
“Mmm, I
see,” Joey says, looking at Justin and Josh.
“Ugh! It’s not fair. Look at ‘em. You know, as good looking as they are, they
must have had hundreds of women between them!” Chris says, throwing his hands
up in exasperation.
“Can we change the record?” Justin
groans.
“Maybe even thousands,” Lance says,
goading Chris.
“Oh, man! Life is so unfair,” Chris whines.
“Stop complaining,” Joey cuts
in. “You’re good looking—for a guy!”
“Yeah, but not like those two,”
Chris says, nodding his head toward Josh and Justin. “What’s it like being Greek gods?” he asks
thoughtfully.
“I think you’re exaggerating,” Josh
says bashfully, but with a small smile.
“I’m not. I mean, I don’t…um…no.”
“Sure you are,” Chris says. “You’re hot, man. Right J?”
“Um,” Justin grumbles, his throat
tightening. Lance, Joey, and Chris look
at him, waiting for his answer. “If I
say he’s hot, can we drop this, please?”
“Yes!” Chris yelps.
“Fine. He’s hot, ok?
Now talk about something else,” Justin barks at Chris, who flashes the
puppy dog eyes until Justin smiles. He
takes a sip of water before working up the nerve to glance at Josh again. Josh is looking down at his food, studying
his salad carefully. He doesn’t look up,
but his sculpted cheeks are pink and he’s biting his supple bottom lip. Greek god indeed, Justin thinks.
**********
6. Second Friday Pearl’s
Necklace
In the end, Justin does go to
“Nah,” Justin says. “I’m good, but thanks. I’m gonna get going soon anyway.”
“Your game. I remember.”
Josh smiles at him as he sips his beer.
It makes Justin a little nervous.
“So…do you follow college hoops?”
Justin asks suddenly. Josh shrugs, then
leans closer, cupping his ear, and Justin repeats the question.
“Um, not really. Someone I used to, um…spend a lot of time
with was really into it, so I kinda, well, I guess it rubbed off,” Josh
says. He scratches his thigh, and
Justin’s eyes closely follow his fingers.
“Someone from your
old job?” Justin asks. Josh looks
at him quizzically.
“Um. No.”
Josh looks at his fingers. “Not a
coworker, no.”
“An old roommate?” Justin feels strange pushing, and yet he
can’t stop. Josh looks at him, his face
somewhat serious. Justin suddenly feels
very hot.
“Actually—” Josh is cut off when a
tall leggy brunette presses her high heel right in the space between the two of
them. Josh’s attention is shifted to the
woman as she dances on the stage right in front of them. Justin wants to touch Josh’s shoulder and ask
him to continue. Josh, usually pretty
guarded, had been about to confide something, Justin is sure. Justin watches Josh clap and whistle as the
dancer performs for them. Soon another
woman joins her, and the two go about removing one another’s clothes. Justin smiles at them, but his heart isn’t in
it. And after 6 months of coming here
nearly every Friday night, he figures it never will be.
“Oh my!”
Josh says when the two women writhe around on their backs in front of
them. He giggles as he takes out his
wallet. “And you guys come every week?”
he laughs.
“Pretty much,” Justin says, his eyes
moving between the women and Josh.
“You must really love coming here,”
Josh says as he takes out two bills.
“It’s ok,” Justin says into his
beer. “It makes the guys happy, so…you
know.”
“Yeah, I know, Justin.” Josh’s eyes are soft yet serious, and Justin
nods, like they understand something, just the two of them. Then the moment’s gone, and Josh winks at
Justin, then turns and bashfully slips a bill down the G-string of each dancer,
his fingers never coming into contact with their skin. The women smile seductively at him as the
song ends and they slink away to the next man.
Josh quickly stuffs his wallet back into his pocket as another dancer
approaches them. “I don’t see how you
guys do it! That’s all the ladies are gettin’ out of me.
I’m too frugal for this!” His
eyes crinkle up in another silvery blue smile, and Justin suddenly wishes he
had Tivo.
After saying goodnight to the others
Justin goes out to his car. He’d stayed
longer than he planned, talking to his friends, especially his new friend. It was his first time seeing Josh in a
non-work setting. He liked what he
saw. Justin smiles as he clicks the
alarm on his car and reaches for the handle.
“Hey, Justin!” Justin turns and there is Josh a few cars
away, opening his car door, waving.
“Did Joey hit you up for more
money?” Justin laughs.
“No, Chris did!” Josh wraps his coat closer to his body. “I had to get out before he robbed me blind!”
“Yeah, good idea.” Justin leans against his car door and
breathes hot air into his hands. They
smile at each other easily.
“Well, I don’t wanna keep you. You better get going—”
“Wanna come over and watch the
game?” Justin can’t believe he said the
words. He swallows the lump in his throat
and tries to recover. “I mean, if you’re
not doing anything. I mean, it’s
supposed to be a really good game.” He
bounces on his heels, to keep warm, and to keep from screaming. “If you’re not busy, I mean.”
“Welllll,
um,” Josh says, looking up in the air, like he’s weighing his options. “I was
going to polish my silver tonight. And
alphabetize my porn collection.” He
puffs warm breath into his hands as he smiles wickedly at Justin.
“I see,” Justin says, smiling. He can picture Josh doing just that. “Well, have fun—”
“I’d love to, Justin.” Justin watches him for a few seconds, unsure
if he heard right. When he hears Josh
say, “I’ll follow you—don’t drive too fast!” before tossing his curly hair and
jumping into his jeep, Justin takes a deep breath. It’s only a 15 minute drive to his place, but
he knows his cheeks are going to hurt by the time he gets there.
<<CHAPTER
ONE STORY INDEX CHAPTER
THREE>>
FEEDBACK UPDATES LIST MAIN INDEX
Copyright © KTA December 2, 2002 – June 2, 2004