The little things


Justin laughed when he saw the magazine sitting on the table. For some reason, Melinda insisted on sending them all copies of J-14 every month. It wasn’t as if it was a reputable magazine, but then again, Melinda always did have a strange sense of humor. He sat on the couch, idly flipping through the mag, laughing at the bad writing, cringing at some of the pictures and…wait…what was that? He pulled the pages back and smiled.

Now that’s a nice picture, Justin thought. Fabulous chocolate curls, sly smile, beautiful face.

JC. His love.

Justin quickly skimmed the little article attached to the picture. Typical teeny stuff, soul mates and girlfriends and shit like that, but one question made Justin pause.

Q. What’s the sweetest thing you’ve done for a girlfriend in the past?

A. I’m not a flowers-and-candy guy, but the only reason I’m not like that is it’s not original. I’m not Mr. Romeo who takes girls on yacht cruises, flies them on airplanes and says “Hey Baby.” I like doing little things.

Justin looked up from the magazine, his eyes thoughtful.

Little things.

1994

He looked around the darkened set, thinking how sad it’s going to be now that it’s all over. No more MMC. No more Orlando. He and his mom were planning on driving back to Memphis today, and Justin was bummed. Big time. He hated the idea of not performing any more. Just…no. He had to perform. Had to sing and dance and be with others who did, too. He watched as JC came in from the other side of the soundstage.

“Justin! I’m glad I caught you!” he said, hair flopping all over as his head bobbed with excitement. “Here” JC held out his hand “For your drive back to Memphis.”

Justin looked down at the cassette tape JC had handed to him. “What’s this?” he asked.

JC shrugged. “Just some tunes I know you’d like. And some Stevie, Marvin, typical Justin stuff.” He smiled. “Might help to make the drive go faster.”

“Thanks,” Justin said, stammering a bit. He’d been getting got tongue-tied around JC a lot lately. “That’s, uh, yeah. Thanks.”

JC reached out a hand and pulled Justin close for a quick hug. “No problem,” he said. “You have my address and stuff, right?” he asked.

Justin nodded. “Yeah.” He looked at the tape, then back at JC. “I’m gonna miss you, JC.”

“Me, too, you,” came the reply. JC looked at his watch. “Gotta motor, Justin. Talk to you soon.”

Justin watched as JC walked away. “JC!” he called. The older boy stopped. “Thanks, again, for the tape.”

JC laughed. “You’re welcome, Justin. Hope you like it.” He looked back at Justin as he opened the door. “It’s just a little thing I do for my favorite people.”

**********************

Little things.

**********************

1997

“Josh, what are you doing?”

“Hmm?”

“I asked what you were doing.” Justin observed the other man as he walked from the bathroom to the closet and back again. He had watched in fascination as JC took one of the chairs in the small hotel room into the bathroom. Then pillows. Then, well, Justin couldn’t see what he was doing or getting from the closet.

“Josh!” Justin yelled, lifting his hand to scratch his nose, then yelping at the pain when his cast bumped him. “Fucking cast,” he said.

“It your own fault,” JC said from the depths of the closet.

“I know!” Justin had been fuming about his cast for day, since he slipped across the stage and broke his thumb. The fact that it had been his own fault, that he had been the one to squirt water on Joey but missed, causing the big puddle, did not make him feel any better. In fact, it made him feel worse.

“Okay, I think I’m ready.” JC walked into the bathroom, signally for Justin to follow him.

“What are you up to?” Justin asked, then caught his breath at what he’d found. A chair had been propped up against the tub. “Josh?”

JC smiled. “I thought you might like your hair washed.” He nodded toward Justin’s casted arm. “I know how hard it is for you to do it with that on, and well, I know it would drive me crazy…so…” JC stopped talking and looked down at the worn rug.

“Oh, god, YES!” Justin cried, throwing his arms around JC and giving him a sloppy kiss. “It’s been driving me CRAZY!” Justin reached up and scratched his scalp.

“Then please, sir, sit.” JC made a motion into the chair. “We are here to serve.”

Justin sat in the chair, looking up at JC as the older man hovered above him. He heard the water turn on and closed his eyes, sighing, at the first feel of hot liquid on his skin. Justin had decided a long time ago that no one in Europe had ever heard of a stall shower. Every place they stayed had small tubs with hand-held faucets. Usually, that would be fine, but ever since Justin had broken his thumb, it had been nearly impossible to really wash his hair.

“Oh…oh…yes…that’s sooo good.” Justin moaned with pleasure. “Oh.. Oh…OH!”

“Damn, Justin,” JC laughed, his hands full of suds and hair. “Hope none of the other guys are out there. You sound like I’m giving you a blow job!”

“This is way better,” Justin said.

JC’s hands stilled. “How would you know?”

“I’m kidding, please don’t stop…”

JC laughed. “That’s better.”

“Really, Josh, you have no idea.” Justin’s eyes opened, looking up at the man he loved. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome,” JC said, leaning down to kiss Justin lightly. “But it’s just a little thing, so don’t make too much a fuss over it.”

*******************
Little things.

*******************

1999

“Yes…oh…yes…now…please…oh…god…you’re…now…uh…”

“Am I hurting you? Is this right? How far…oh…no…don’t push…I can’t stop…no…oh…god…”

“No…perfect…you’re…oh…dear…god…in…heaven…now…now…. nownownow!”

Justin’s hips pumped faster and faster as JC lay beneath him, as he pushed inside JC, as they almost fought each other for their release. It was a strange dance of love and sex and power they finally, finally got do perform. After years of being together but not being together. After years of loving each other, but not being able to physically show that, after years of waiting…

It was worth it.

It was, without a doubt, the best sex anyone in the world had ever had.

They climaxed in unison, locked together by their hands and bodies and eyes and hearts.

Justin collapsed onto JC, his breathing heavy and fast. Justin felt JC hold him close, felt the other man’s arms come around him, felt JC’s heart beating as fast as his own was. Justin lifted himself on shaky arms and looked at JC’s face.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“You’re welcome,” JC replied, kissing Justin softly. He pushed gently, tumbling Justin back on the bed and got up, walking to the bathroom. Justin heard water running.

“I mean it, Josh,” Justin said, finally regaining enough breath to speak properly. “You made me wait, made us wait, and as much as I bitched and moaned about it, I know now.”

“What do you know?” JC asked.

“That I couldn’t have handled it…this…sex back then.” Justin shrugged as JC came out of the bathroom. “How did you know I wasn’t ready?”

“Maybe it was me who wasn’t ready,” JC asked, pulling the sheet away from Justin’s body. He slipped a warm, wet cloth against Justin’s sticky skin.

Justin watched JC’s face as he worked the cloth along Justin’s body. He was serious, Justin saw. “Why weren’t you ready?”

“I was scared.” JC cocked his head at Justin. “You know that.”

“Maybe I didn’t want to believe it,” Justin said. “You know…that you could be scared of anything, or anyone.”

JC shook his head. “You’re the most frightening person I’ve ever met.”

“Me?”

“Never mind,” he said, reaching down and kissing Justin. “It’s over, we’re together, and we’re staying that way, right?”

Justin nodded, his nose bumping JC’s. “Right.” Justin pulled the cloth away from JC’s hand and tugged JC until the other man tumbled onto him. “So stop worrying.”

“I’ll try,” JC laughed. “You know I fret about the little things in life.”

“Little things?” he said indignantly. Justin placed his hand over JC’s growing erection. “Care to rephrase that, mister?”

JC moaned as passion claimed them again, making Justin forget about everything but JC.

******************

Little things.

******************

2002

“Can you give me a hand with this?” JC asked.

Justin looked up from the magazine to find JC standing in the doorway, his arms laden with grocer bags. Justin leapt up and caught one just as it slipped out of JC’s grasp.

“Got it!” he exclaimed, kissing JC quickly. “You could have made two trips, you know,” Justin scolded.

“Shut. Up.” JC grumbled. “The store was packed, they had no sushi, and I was accosted by teenies on every aisle.” He reached into the bag and pulled out a bottle of wine, snagging the bottle opener and a glass before sitting at the table. “I’m going to sit here and drink while you put them away, thank you very much.”

“Fine, relax,” Justin said, unpacking the bags. “Ew, broccoli.”

“You need it.” JC sighed as he sipped his wine. “Anything good in the mail?”

“The new J-14!” Justin exclaimed, his voice high and squealy.

“Idiot.”

“Hey, I really think you’re in it more than me this month,” Justin observed.

“Doubtful, but no matter.” He pulled Justin close as he passed, kissing him long and hard before letting him go. “I have the real thing, I don’t need the pin-up posters.”

“Hmm, delicious,” Justin said, snaking his tongue across JC’s, sipping the wine lingering in his mouth.

“Nuh uh,” JC said, pushing Justin away. “Go finish unpacking.”

Justin removed the groceries. After a while, he finally began to see something special about the groceries. Maybe it was because he’d never unpacked them before. Maybe it was because he never thought as to where things came from. But Justin finally noticed that JC had bought all his favorite things. Cap’n Crunch Cereal and chunky peanut butter. Celery sticks, not carrot sticks. T-bone steaks. Frozen fish filets and curly French fries. Shoot, he even bought the soft toilet paper and the fabric softener with the bear on the front.

“Little things,” he murmured.

“What?” JC asked.

Justin shook his head, coming to stand over by JC. “Nothing,” he said, kneeling down in front of JC and taking his face in both his hand. “Just realizing how much you do for me, that’s all.”

“Because I shop?” JC mused.

“No,” Justin said, his tone serious. “Because you remember all the little things that make me happy.” Justin kissed him softly, sweetly. “I love you.”

JC blinked. “I love you, too.”

Justin smiled into JC’s icy blue eyes, vowing to never take for granted the little things in life.



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