“That’s right Suzy Anne. I gots me a young one now. Hoowee he’s a looker! Looks like a movie star. Fucks like a rabbit too!” Lynn raved into the phone receiver about her lover. “I’m telling you Suzy Anne when I go to our high school reunion with him on my arm, I’ll show that bitch Becky Lee Stevenson for stealing and marrying my Brock. We was gonna get married. It’s cause of her I ended up with that piece of shit. But now I got a youngin’ who’s in love with me and Brock is fatter than a walrus now. I can’t wait to stick it to her good.” Lynn raised her hand and inspected her ruby red fingernails. “Damn I’m going to make Debra add another coat to my nails. It’s fading.”
“Lynn, when that bitch and her hog of a husband see you with your movie star man together, she’ll keel right the fuck over,” Suzy Anne viciously raved into the phone. “Lynn why are you hiding your new man from your best friend? You know I wanna get a looksee at him. What was his name again?” Her friend asked. She didn’t know how Lynn always managed to get gorgeous young men.
“Joshua Chasez. Don’t that sound like a movie star? Looks like one of them GQ models. I’ll see if he wants to make a stop over the beauty shop. So did you pick out a dress for the reunion? Me and my baby are gonna be the best dressed there,” Lynn crowed and leaned back into her chair. The screen door squeaked as it was opened and closed. Lynn, half listening to Suzy Anne ramble about her no good husband, Harold, smiled to herself as her young lover sauntered inside. Josh walked by the kitchenette table and Lynn ran her hands down his lithe, plaid covered chest. She smiled a lupine smile at him and quickly announced in the phone. “I need to go Suzy. Josh needs me to help him with something. I’ll talk to ya later.” She hung up the phone fast, cutting Suzy Anne off and was all saccharine smiles for Joshua.
“Morning Lynn,” JC greeted as he placed his truck keys on the counter. He had ran to the local gas station to get some milk for the two-bedroom home. He stood in his light blue stonewashed jeans and sleeveless red & blue plaid shirt. Lynn couldn’t help but get wet from watching Joshua looking as good as he did. He made her thirty-five year old heart go pitter-patter.
“Morning Sugar Pie. I’m needing my big daddy in the worst way.” She tried to make her gravelly voice sound like a little girl. She batted her hard blue eyes and tried to look sweet and innocent, which she was neither.
“You do dumpling?” Josh knelt down and tried not to cringe from Lynn’s cigarette breath. He didn’t really like it but he didn’t have the heart to tell his girlfriend. “Well then I guess I’m gonna have to give it to you,” he purred into her ear.
Ever since he hooked up with Lynn, he’s learned that woman had a voracious sexual appetite. And she loved to show him off to her friends especially her cronies at the beauty shop she worked in. All of her beautician friends would stare at him like a piece of meat, which made him feel uncomfortable but he never voiced his opinion. He owed a lot to the older woman. When he met her, he was a nineteen-year old who had no home, no money and owed a $3000 debt to an unforgiving man by the name of Rocky. He was going to beat the living shit out Joshua at the back of a bar but luckily Lynn was out there for a smoke. She calmed the angry man down and offered to pay for Josh. Of course the lanky teen would have to work the debt off for the woman. And Josh, whose only choice was to either keep his teeth or not, gladly accepted the woman’s offer.
The first week he had to do odd jobs around Lynn’s house and job. He got to sleep in her extra room at her house as long as he kept his nose clean, which after his Rocky experience he’d plan to. He’d get tips from the other beauticians and nail technicians and he’d save them like a stingy bear. The women took a liking to the young man but Lynn seemed to have taken a bigger one. She’d give him lingering glances and always made the boy blush. But one night she blatantly told the boy to come sleep her room that night and Josh figured since he owed the woman so much already, why not?
From that night, he didn’t owe the rest of the money. Lynn took care of him. Bought his cherry red 4 x 4 truck and even helped pay for him to finish high school. He sometimes fixed cars for people but Lynn frowned upon it. She liked to take care of her baby, so she said.
Lynn tangled her hair into the man’s chestnut waves and brought him close for a kiss. She forced her tongue into his mouth, thinking that she was being romantic. “Come bring your little girl to bed,” she batted her eyes and brought her red talons to her chest.
“Okay baby. Your daddy will take care of you,” Josh sighed huskily. He slid his arms under her legs and carried her into their bedroom.
*`*`*`*`*`*
“Hello,” Lynn croaked into the receiver. She was woken up from the shrilling phone. Joshua had his head buried into the pillow next to her. She ran a finger down her lover’s cheek and smiled from the tingling her boyfriend caused.
“Is this Mrs. Lynn Harless?” A male voice asked.
“It’s Lynn Montgomery now. I’m divorced.” She informed the man. “Who is this?”
“My name is Samuel Bridgton. I’m with the Child Protection Services. You are the mother of Justin Timberlake?” He inquired.
“Yeah.” She sat up in the bed and reached over for her pack of Newports. “What did he do? His good for nothing daddy is to blame for all of this, I tell ya.”
“No, no. Justin didn’t do anything. Actually Mr. Timberlake has been in jail for quite sometime now. He has a thirty-six month sentence but he’s up for probation in about three months. The thing is that Justin has been living with his grandfather on his ranch but Arthur has been admitted into a rehabilitation home for a collapsed lung. We know that you gave up all parental rights to your ex-husband but we found out where you lived and wanted to know what you would like to do with your son?”
“He’s sixteen. Can’t he take care of himself?” The whining from Lynn woke Josh from his slumber. He figured she was gabbing to one of his girlfriends about how well he thrust but he decided to listen in anyway.
“No ma’am. He’s a minor. When he is eighteen he’ll be recognized as an adult. I’m sure that the stay will be temporary, if that’s a problem. Or we could send him to an orphanage.” The man suggested after hearing Lynn’s tone.
“No. I won’t have my son in no orphanage.” All she needed now was someone finding out that she had a son and sent the boy to an orphanage. “I’ll take him,” she sighed.
All Joshua’s brain was processing was “son” and “I’ll take him”. He never knew that Lynn had a child and she was going to take him in. Great, he had to play daddy now.
*`*`*`*`*`*
Later that day, when the doorbell rang and Lynn went to open the door, Josh couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. Supposed the kid didn’t like him. He sat down on the living room sofa and looked down at his jeans. All Lynn told him was that her son was coming to live with them for a while. He didn’t even know the exact age of her child. It was only Justin and his piece of shit father this and no good pecker ass that. She didn’t even have a picture of her son around her Jacksonville, Florida home. There were more than plenty of herself, few of Josh and of the couple together but not one of her child.
Josh turned his head and smiled in greeting when he heard Lynn and the mini crowd approaching the living room. He stood up to greet the child but when Lynn walked away from blocking the two people behind her, Josh was in for a shock. There was a middle aged man and a teenager. Justin definitely wasn’t fifty so Justin was the teenager. A big teenager. And Joshua couldn’t find anything childlike on the teen. He was tall with long limbs, probably around the six-foot mark. Justin looked at him but then he quickly looked down to the ground in trepidation. He had Lynn’s curly hair. It was a dirty blonde and he had his mother’s glacier blue eyes but his weren’t calculating. He had a baby face like quality, an innocent air about him and that was definitely not inherited from his mother.
“Well boy don’t you got any manners? I’m sure your daddy taught you how to say hello. This here is Joshua and it’s Mr. Joshua to you,” Lynn screeched to the quiet boy who held on uncomfortably to his sports bag.
“Good evening Mr. Joshua,” Justin said and looked up to stare into Joshua’s eyes. The boy seemed to have stopped breathing for the briefest of moments. Joshua felt his lungs seizing him as well.
“Hi Justin.” Josh smiled calmly at the boy. He didn’t want the two to get off on the wrong foot. There was something about Justin that…called to him.
“Well Mr. Bridgton, I hope he didn’t cause you any problems.” Lynn glanced at her son briefly and waited to hear the older man’s accounts of Justin’s supposed wrongdoings.
“Oh Ms. Montgomery, Justin was not a problem. Great boy. His school is ready to send his records down as soon as possible. We weren’t sure as to which high school you’d prefer to enroll him in.” He kindly explained to the woman.
“High school? Just how long in he staying? Ain’t this supposed to be like a visit?” She asked hastily. She didn’t want to be stuck being Mama. That was why she gave the boy to his daddy.
Mr. Bridgton glared at Lynn in affront. “As I explained on the telephone, ma’am we do not know how long Justin’s grandfather will be in the rehabilitation home. It could be two weeks, six weeks, or three months. Until either he or Justin’s father are available to resume their parental rights, he has to stay here with you. Now I have a flight to catch back to Tennessee. I have notified the CPS department of this city and they will be checking up on you from time to time. I will also be making calls to check up on Justin. Is there any questions you have to ask?” He asked while looking down at the woman.
Lynn’s eyes flashed. She refused to be disrespected in her own home, especially by some uppity man. “No. Good-bye, Mr. Bridgton.” She said coldly and directed the man to the front door.
Justin stood there with his bags standing next to him, not looking up at Joshua or anyone else for that matter. He said goodbye to Mr. Bridgton quietly and stood there. Joshua took all of this in and rolled his eyes at the thought of Lynn’s rough demeanor. He wasn’t too keen on her method of parenting. “Want me to show you to your room Justin?” Joshua asked politely. He hated to see the boy to stand there so awkwardly.
“Thank you Mr. Joshua.” Justin looked up and blushed. He looked back down and gripped his bag tightly.
Joshua decided to make small talk. He wanted Justin to be comfortable. “It’s Joshua. There’s no need for the title. How old are you?” He walked closer to the standing boy.
“I’m sixteen.” Justin watched Joshua walk to him and he tightened his grip on his bag even more. His knuckles were turning white.
“Well I’m not that much older than you. I’m twenty-one. How about I take a bag, huh?” Joshua already lifted a suitcase from the floor next to Justin.
“Are you my momma’s man?” Justin stared into Josh’s eyes.
“I prefer boyfriend but yeah I guess you can say that.” He really wasn’t into the titles. That was Lynn’s job.
“Last time I came here she was dating an eighteen year old.” He informed the older man and grabbed his other suitcase.
“Justin. It’s nice to see you getting along with my baby here.” Lynn started to announce loudly as she made her way back into the living room. “Oh Josh are you showing him to his room?” She turned to look at him with lovesick eyes.
“Yeah I was.”
“That’s so sweet of you Honey.” She turned to Justin and lost her sweet tone. “And Justin I don’t know what kind of household your daddy and grandpa ran back in that podunk town back in Tennessee but I expect you to have the best of manners. Keep your nose clean and outta trouble cause one wrong move and your ass is going straight to an orphanage. You can wait for your no good daddy to come bail you out.”
“I’m sure Justin is well behaved Lynn. Are you hungry Justin? I could get you something to eat.” Josh smiled.
“No thank you. I ate on the plane.” Justin went back to looking at his shoes.
“Didn’t I tell you to call him Mr. Joshua?” Lynn couldn’t believe the nerve of this kid.
“It’s alright. I told Justin he could call me Joshua. How about I show Justin to his room? Don’t you have to go see Carla?” He tried to divert Lynn’s attention from her son since she obviously wasn’t happy with the new arrangement.
“That’s right I do. Thanks Sweetie. I don’t know where I’d be without you.” She ran to him and kissed him on the lips. She turned to look at Justin. “Don’t give Josh any trouble you hear me boy? You respect him like you’re supposed to.” She said in a no nonsense voice. She glared one more time at her son and hightailed it out of her house.
“I take it she doesn’t like me.” Justin said morosely.
“No, no, no. She just has to get used to you, is all.” Joshua knew it was a fib but he didn’t want the boy to feel bad.
Justin smiled for the first time since he reached Jacksonville. “No she doesn’t. She always acted like this. It’s okay, Joshua. So where’s my room?”
Joshua smiled back at him. “You just give her time. And your room is this way.” Joshua led the boy down the corridor and into his new bedroom.
“I’m not bad, you know.” Justin filled in out of the blue. “Whatever she says, she doesn’t like my daddy.” Justin said as he looked around his new bedroom.
“I can tell that you aren’t.” Joshua placed the suitcase on the floor and took the basketball bag out of Justin’s hands.
“She can’t. But I can tell that you aren’t too,” he said softly.
“You can tell what?” Joshua turned to look into his eyes that were definitely not like Lynn’s. He thought wrong.
“That you aren’t bad.” Justin stated in his soothing, melodic voice. Joshua didn’t know how to take that comment. He smiled politely and nodded his thanks.
*`*`*`*`*`*
“I’m heading off to work. Justin I hope you’ll keep your ass outta trouble! If I hear about you giving my baby boy any trouble, you’ll rue the day you were born!” Lynn threatened from the kitchen. She hiked her purse over her shoulder as she glared in the direction of her son’s bedroom. She slammed the door as she left the house.
Justin jumped in his bed from the force of the knocking of the door. He didn’t know what he ever did to piss his Momma off so well but he’d take it back if he could. He missed his Papa. He especially missed his Daddy. The last twelve months with out him was tough but he had his Papa there. If only his Daddy wasn’t at the wrong place at the wrong time, he wouldn’t have to be here with his Momma. But his Daddy told him that he’ll be out in three months and he’d come and get Justin as soon as possible. So Justin had to grin and bear it.
Justin knew that his mother didn’t have any maternal urges for him. She quickly divorced her high school rebound after getting tired of being Momma and wife. She never took to her child and was more than happy when Justin’s father took sole custody of the then two year old. Other than a handful of visits she never saw either two of them and chose to think of the Timberlake period of her life as a big mistake.
Justin learned to accept it. He was more than fine with the arrangement. He never expected to see his mother again especially after his last visit when he was ten years old. His momma’s stud muffin at the time was barely eighteen years old but had a penchant for disciplining young Justin since Lynn gave her teen lover authoritative rule. He loved ordering Lynn’s son around and belittling the boy. Justin had vowed to never step foot in her house again. But his Daddy is in the pen for robbery and a spooked stallion trampled Papa’s side and now he had to listen to his mean ass Momma harp on him from morning until night.
But then there was Joshua.
Joshua made the first two weeks not seem so bad at all. He would turn his momma’s attention off of him and onto something else. Justin didn’t like it though when sometimes Joshua would divert his momma on Joshua himself. He knew what they did behind the closed doors. Once or twice Lynn was really vocal and it was hard for Justin to not know what they were doing.
Was it wrong to be jealous?
Was it bad to like your momma’s boyfriend?
Was it terrible to wish that it was you Joshua was loving?
Touching and kissing and just feeling him.
He knew that it was more than like but Justin was afraid of thinking about the ‘L’ word. From the moment Justin saw the graceful man, he was smitten. Joshua was never harsh and always patient with the teenager. He kept Justin company, much to the teen’s delight. Joshua was just a loving person and Justin wondered how his mother ever caught the man.
Justin rolled onto his stomach to trap his erection between the mattress and his lower torso. He loved moments in the morning when his mother left. Then he would imagine Joshua opening his door, naked as the day he was born and confessing to lusting over the boy. Then the two would make love all day long while his momma was at work. But they were only dreams, lust filled dreams. And it could never happen.
But there were times.
There were few times when Joshua would look at Justin while they talked and Justin swore Josh felt his stomach quiver as well. Justin couldn’t help the thoughts that ran through his brain when he looked at the older man. Justin knew he was gay for a long time. His Daddy and Papa knew and had no problem with it as long as the boy kept his desires discreet. The town that they lived in wasn’t exactly the most accepting of towns. So Justin kept it quiet but he didn’t mind because no one caught his fancy. That was until Joshua.
“Hey Justin.” Joshua knocked on Justin’s closed bedroom door. “Are you decent? I know you’re up.”
Justin pushed his hips against the bed. “I’m asleep.” He looked over his shoulder to the door, already knowing Joshua’s next move. It became routine for the two.
Josh opened the door and laughed. “Ok then since you’re asleep, I guess you ain’t hungry.” He stood in the open door with his arms folded against his chest and playfully glared at the cover lump in the bed.
Justin turned onto his back, making sure that his covers were bunched around his groin area and sat up. He couldn’t believe that Josh was shirtless and inside his room. The worn jeans seemed to be made just for Joshua. “You know that I am.” He smiled and hoped that he wouldn’t have to stand up in front of the other man.
Joshua smiled back. “Yeah well get your ass up and come help me. Or you get none,” he teased. He knew that even if the teen didn’t help him, he would have fed him anyway. The two just loved to tease one another.
“I’m coming. I just need to go brush my teeth.” He wanted to avoid any embarrassing situations.
“Okay but whatever I start on, you can’t have.” Josh began to back out of the room and made an exaggerated wink.
Justin stuck his tongue out as Joshua made his way out. He tried to not watch how the jeans cupped Josh’s backside. He wanted his erection to go way not become even stiffer. Justin made his way out of the bedroom and into the bathroom thinking about the teasing that Justin sometimes thought of as flirting. He cleaned his teeth and found a pair of sweatpants to put on over his boxers. He thought of disgusting thoughts to try to lose the swelling in his pants.
Justin cracked open the bathroom door and peered out. He couldn’t see directly into the kitchen but this was the only time he could watch Joshua in his element. He felt like a peeping tom and then opened the door wider to leave. He would get hard again if he watched the man for over a minute.
“Justin it take you that long to brush your teeth?” Joshua called out while peering into the refrigerator.
Justin tiptoed and sneaked behind Joshua and then said, “No.” He leaned closer to his crush and laughed at his reaction.
Josh had jumped and barely missed hitting his head in the open door. “Shit!” Joshua scowled as he turned to look at the boy. “You scared the hell out of me.”
“I’m sorry.” Justin widened his eyes sincerely. He would have been disappointed in himself if he caused his friend injury.
Joshua looked into the eyes and the two stared at each other. He blinked and then shook his head. He moved closer to Justin to properly close the fridge door but Justin didn’t back away to give him the proper amount of space.
Josh took a shuddering breath and went to the skillet on the stove. He took another breath and then turned back and felt the pierce from Justin’s eyes. “How?” His voiced cracked. He cleared his throat and started again. “How about omelets? We got ham and cheese and I could cut the meat and you do the cheese.” He turned on the stove, placing the skillet over the electric heated rings.
Justin looked down to his bare feet and then looked up meekly. “Okay.” He quietly stood next to the older man and then two worked quietly and efficiently, each thinking about the moment that had passed. Justin poured orange juice in two glasses and made his way to the kitchenette table.
Joshua placed the steaming plates on the table. Justin sat down on the side connected to the wall and Josh sat to his left side. Justin bowed his head to say a quick grace. When he lifted his head, he found Joshua’s eyes on him. “What?” he asked while his cheeks heated up.
“Nothing,” he said with a little smile and shoveled a forkful of food in his mouth.
“You don’t say grace?” He countered.
“I do. Well I mean I did. I haven’t in about a year or so.”
“Since you been with my Momma,” Justin said stating the reason he deduced.
Joshua thought about it. “Yeah just about around then. My mom wouldn’t make us eat if we didn’t say grace.”
“I know you miss them something awful” Justin was talking about Josh’s deceased parents. His family had died in a car crash when coming home late from a party. Justin especially remembered because after Josh told him with wet eyes, he’d hugged the slender man and he held him for quite some time.
“Yeah I do. But I keep them inside my heart always.”
“How’d you meet my Momma?” Justin asked, deciding to change the subject into something that has been prickling his mind ever since he entered the house.
Joshua didn’t know how to exactly explain the situation the couple had met. “We met at a bar,” deciding to not tell the whole truth.
“But she’s so old. And you’re…not.” Justin filled his mouth with eggs.
Joshua frowned a little. “You’re mother ain’t that old.”
Justin’s blue eyes were filled with disbelief. “You should be with someone younger.”
“But if I was with someone else, I wouldn’t be here talking to you now, would I?” Joshua asked and drank from his glass.
Justin pouted and gazed across the short distance into the blue-gray eyes. “Do you love her?” He hoped that the answer was no.
Joshua didn’t expect a question like that. Why were they having this conversation? He didn’t know the answer himself. He liked Lynn most of the time but love? That was a strong word. He had a perplexed look on his face and Justin saw his chance to point out his mother’s faults. Joshua saw the boy getting ready to ask even more questions that he wasn’t supposed to ask. Questions that Joshua didn’t know the answer to. So he turned it back to Lynn’s son. “Do you love her?”
Justin closed his open mouth and frowned. He didn’t say anything, just stuffed his mouth with more omelet. His eyes however said it all. Joshua noted that Justin’s eyes never resembled Lynn’s more than it did then.