Brian & Gordon: Living in threes - 16. Wedding weekend

By the time the weekend came, Brian was on complete tenterhooks. Friday night, they’d arranged for Toby to stay with Drew and Evie so that he and Gordon could go for a drink with everyone from work. Hugh had arranged for them to get a private room in a big pub in town, and the intention had been not to be too drunk or too rowdy.

Fat chance of that. Philippa had come, there’d been cake. But then she slipped away, and things began to go downhill, until Nathan’s kid brother appeared, dressed as a policeman, for fuck’s sake, and started a strip tease and then three of the other guys joined him. Three big burly blokes. The result was more hilarity than eroticism, but they could certainly dance, and it was clear that they’d practiced. And they went all the way.

Connor had suggested that being as they had a regular naked Monday, perhaps they all ought to join in. It was said in jest, but some of the guys were drunk enough that they might have done so, if Damian hadn’t put his foot down. Gordon had joked to Brian that they ought to tell Russ, and the two men had had a private laugh about that idea.

The guys who were working at the weekend also went off before things got too bad, and then it had calmed down. Finally, Gordon and Brian stagged away, not as drunk as some, but they’d had far more beer than intended. Still, the walk home and a kebab on the way had helped, and they’d got back home giggling away like a couple of school kids, reminiscing about drunken escapades when they were younger.

Needless to say, they were not up early and neither found that his capacity for drink had improved over the years. Both were nursing nasty heads. They didn’t rush, and were having a brunch of scrambled eggs, toast and avocado when the downstairs doorbell went. It was a package from Russ, delivered by one of his drivers.

There was no explanation, and the package was addressed to both of them, so Gordon started to open it. A letter fell out and Brian bent down to retrieve it and then heard Gordon exclaim, ‘fuck’. Brian leaned over him to look.

It was a trio of photographs, mounted and framed as a triptych that folded closed. When open there were three images of Russ. In all three he was naked and in two of them his dick was there for everyone to see, rock hard. And the man seemed to be looking out the photographs right at the two of them.

“Christ, where did he get these done?”

Brian laughed, “I hadn’t realised he was so photogenic.”

“Photogenic, that’s one word for it. These are pure...”

“Porn?”

“Yeah. What does the note say?”

Dear Beloved Friends

I wanted to do something special. Just for the two of you. No-one else.

Believe it or not, I had them taken in Italy. One of my business contacts had similar pictures created for his wife – no, I didn’t see the images but heard plenty about them. So, I thought what the hell? And I was thinking of you two, my beloved friends, when we had them done.

The case locks, as I thought you might want to keep it private. You won’t share it, I know, but I don’t think Toby is yet ready to see Mr Russ in all his ‘glory’.

All my love, and a lot else.

Russ

“Fucking hell, I see what he means about keeping it private.”

Gordon raised an eyebrow, “You know what this means, don’t you?”

“What. That he fancies us? I think we knew that.”

“Daft. No, that he trusts us, completely. That we won’t let this get into the wrong hands.”

“Fuck.”

Gordon grinned, “But it’s hot, also.”

“How hot? Getting over the hangover, hot?”

Gordon stood up, tenting his cotton pants, “Tell you what, join me in the shower and I’ll show you.”

---

“Good night, sweetie?”

“Uproarious, Mum. Nathan’s kid brother came and did a strip dressed as a policeman and was joined by Warren, Arnie and Olaf.”

Evie paused in making coffee and stared at her son, “In a striptease?”

Gordon grinned, “Got it in one.”

“In a pub?”

“Private room. They went all the way.”

Her eyebrows raised further, “And it was…” She cocked her head on one side.

Brian laughed, “Funny. Impressive. Definitely not sexy. At least the four of them could dance and had practiced but”, he shrugged, “not my idea of an erotic night out.”

And the photographs of Russ suddenly flashed into his head, making him turn pink. Luckily Evie had turned back to making the coffee. Toby was evidently with Drew, helping with the final sorting out of the studio.

“Don’t get your hopes up”, Evie handed them their coffees, “Drew’s studio won’t be luxurious, but it will be clean, tidy and spacious. With a few pictures on the walls.”

“Which ones, Mum?”

Evie looked uncharacteristically demure, “I couldn’t say, sweetie”. They just knew the pictures were going to be the nudes, plus whatever else Gordon’s Father could come up with to embarrass his son.

Toby came cannoning in, greeting his Father as if he hadn’t seen the man for ages and they got a breathless description of his stay, including the jigsaw, the ice cream, the bee border plants as well as helping Grandpa Drew tidy the studio, which was going to look great on Monday. A big grin.

Then he finally remembered his manners, “Did you have a good evening?”

Brian nodded, “Yes, thank you. We had a drink with all the guys.”

“Or two.”

“Or two. And some of them did a mock strip tease.”

“Some of the guys? Wow”, Toby looked wide eyed.

Brian grinned, “It was a bit of fun. They’d practised, so they danced well. And no, there aren’t any pictures.” He ruffled his son’s hair.

Drew followed Toby in and once things had quietened down, asked the boy to do something in the studio. Once Toby had disappeared, Drew gestured for Brian and Gordon to follow him, turning to Evie and asking her to make sure ‘the lad’ didn’t come through.

Brian and Gordon were both curious, but Drew wasn’t saying anything. In the sitting room there was an easel with, presumably, a picture on it covered in a dust sheet.

“What’s this Dad?” Gordon stared at the hidden picture.

Drew pursed his lips, “Something I was trying out. It was harder than I thought, your Mum’s seen it. But I don’t want anyone else to, till you two give the OK.”

“Come on Dad, put us out of our misery.”

Drew nodded, “Fair enough.” He lifted the sheet.

It wasn’t a large picture. Loosely, lightly painted, it clearly depicted three people in what was recognisably Drew and Evie’s orchard. The three were not painted in detail, but it was still clear who was whom. Toby was to the right, in front of a tree, mid-gesture. To the left, Brian and Gordon listening to him. Gordon had one arm out to the boy, the other was wrapped around Brian as Gordon leaned against the bigger man in a pose that was familiar to those that knew them. Both men were smiling at what Toby was saying.

“Dad it’s…” Gordon came to a halt.

“Forgotten how tricky it was”, Drew smiled and turned to Brian. “When I was younger, I could do quick sketches of people, no bother. Now, not so easy.”

“Dad, it’s terrific.”

“It looks like?”

“Of course.”

Brian leaned closer, “It’s amazing, Drew, you’ve used so few brush strokes yet it’s exactly us. Thank you.”

“Shit. I’m so relieved.” He leaned out of the door and shouted to Evie. Shortly afterwards, she appeared, closely followed by Toby.

“So, you like it sweetie?”

“Mum, it’s lovely.”

“We both like it.”

“Dad, that’s us. Did Grandpa Drew paint it?”

“I did, young Toby.”

“I didn’t know you…” Toby came to an embarrassed halt and went bright red.

“Didn’t know I could paint pictures that looked like things? Well, I can and do. Sometimes.” Drew gave the boy an impish smile, “Usually, for special occasions.”

“We thought we’d hang it in the studio on Monday, sweetie.”

“Rather than having a ceremonial presentation”, Drew gave a mock grimace.

Toby, who had been paying the picture close attention, started on a breathless, detailed and surprisingly accurate description of it.

---

“I thought you had a party tonight?”

Russ laughed.

>Oh, that finished a while ago.

“How was it? Iverson’s were showing their new product lines?”

>If you can call them that. Some amazingly minimal leisure wear.

“Leisure wear, as in…”

>Thongs. Itty bitty things. Miniscule. Amazing.

“And did you try some on?”

>Noooo. But Morrie, the guy that owns the company, suggested you might like some for your guys for the next party.

“Indeed. And what do you think?”

Russ sniggered.

>Might be interesting. I’ll get Felicity to send you the proper pictures when they are sorted out, but here’s one.

Their phone pinged (Brian and Gordon were using Brian’s phone on speaker).

“Bloody hell, imagine Warren in that.”

>Or someone closer to home.

“No way.”

“Never…”

>I think it might be rather fun. But that’s not why I phoned. I wanted to check you got my little present.

“Little.”

“That’s some weapon.”

Russ laughed again.

>We try to please.

“Where did you get the photos done?”

“And how did you, you know, keep it up?”

>You remember that Italian trip where I visited the ecology centre?

“You brought Toby those bloody seeds that lived on the kitchen window-sill for weeks.”

>The very one. Well one of the Italian guys had some photos taken for his anniversary.

“Ones like yours?”

>I gather so, at least that was the gossip. I never saw them but there was a great deal of banter, much in Italian that was too colloquial for me.

“Was he decent looking?”

>If you like rake-thin, hairy men, then yes. I suspect that he’d photograph well.

“So, you had photos done too.”

>Not immediately, but I filed the information away. But when you went to Edward Hirsch’s for photos, I wondered if I dared. And for this occasion, I wanted to do something rather special.

“You didn’t need to.”

>Oh, I did. You two are very special to me, I wanted something you couldn’t get elsewhere.

Brian laughed, “Say that again.”

>You won’t show Toby?

“I know we’re a bit casual with him, but he’s just turned 15 and I don’t think he’s ready to see his Father’s friend with a stiffie.”

“Not after all the lessons in propriety Brian’s been giving the lad.” Gordon was smiling.

>Good. I’d like it to stay private for the moment.

“So, how did you?”

>Stay hard? With bloody difficulty, I can tell you. They say sustaining power droops as you get older.

The two men laughed.

>I can tell you it’s true.

“Thanks, it’s terrific.”

“Best present ever.”

>Great. But you can see why I didn’t want a public presentation. Besides, it’s been all confirmed, I’ll have to miss Monday. Everything’s been set up for months, and I just can’t…

Russ petered out.

“It’s OK, Russ, we understand. You were clear from the beginning.”

“And it’s not as if we chose the date.”

“You fly out tomorrow.”

>For my sins. Dinner with the other party on Sunday evening, then final discussions on Monday, signing the contract on Tuesday.

“Sounds fun!”

>Not. But will be great business. Look. There’s one thing?

“Yes?”

>Felicity reckons she can arrange flights, so I’d get back to East Midlands Airport.

“Is there such a thing?”

>Seems so. It’d mean travelling coach, but I could come and see you, it’s only an hour’s drive from the airport.

“In Derbyshire?”

>To offer congratulations in person.

“At the cottage?”

>That’s the general idea. If I’d be welcome…

Again, Russ petered out, uncertain.

Brian and Gordon looked at each other and nodded.

“We’d be delighted.”

“We’d love to see you.”

>I’ll get Felicity to confirm details.

The rest was stupid, sexy banter. After they signed off, Brian had a brief worry.

“What if Toby heard all that.”

“Hardly earth shattering, and I expect you’ll know, because he quizzes you in the morning.”

---

Sunday morning, Toby said nothing about their conversation with Russ. Instead, he stuck his head round their bedroom door and announced he was making them breakfast in bed. They heard the microwave ping a couple of times. Brian wondered what concoction Toby was coming up with and what state the kitchen would be in, afterwards. He wasn’t sanguine, for all the boy’s savvy, his interest in food production had remained minimal.

Gordon smiled at him and mouthed, ‘You’ll have to eat it’ and Brian nodded.

In fact, it was well done. Perhaps the food wasn’t quite hot enough, but Brian could imagine the boy taking too much time whilst fussing over the arrangements. There was toast, coffee and scrambled eggs.

“Gran’s been teaching me to cook a bit.”

“Good. It’s a useful skill.”

“Yeah. She says I need to be a bit independent.”

“That’s good.”

He dipped his head, embarrassed, “It’s only using the microwave.”

Gordon laughed, “Don’t knock it. Besides, the scrambled eggs were good.”

“Are you sure?”

Brian grinned, “Trust me. You can certainly do that again.”

Gordon smiled, “Breakfast in bed every Sunday.”

Toby looked a bit embarrassed but pleased.

When Toby came to collect the trays, Brian pulled him in to kiss him. And when Toby collected Gordon’s, it seemed churlish not to, so Gordon gave him a quick fatherly kiss too. Another first.

They fooled around in the bathroom for a bit and when they finally emerged in the kitchen, Toby was sitting there, everything tidy, and a package on the table. Toby picked the packet up and handed it to them, a bit abruptly.

“I didn’t want to give it to you tomorrow, in case it wasn’t right.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, and happy, erm, wedding?”

Brian laughed, “I’m not sure what the correct phrase is, no doubt we’ll find out tomorrow.”

Gordon nodded to the as yet unopened package, “This is what you organised with Russ’ PA, Felicity?”

“Yeah”, the Toby went bright pink. “And I owe Mr Russ as he paid the person.”

Brian laughed, “Thank you. That was most enterprising.”

It was a photo of Toby, talking, in full flow, one hand up gesturing, just trees and sky in the background, no buildings. As if he was in mid-air.

“Where?”

Toby grinned, “Mr Russ’ balcony. The lady, the photographer was on the floor, and I was on a stool. Felicity chose Mr Russ’ flat ‘cause it was quiet, and we didn’t have much time, so we could get things done without being interrupted.”

“It’s fabulous, thank you.”

“We’re going to have to work out where all the pictures are going to go.”

Clothes for Toby for the next few days needing organising too, not for a holiday, but proper school clothes. Toby sat on his bed, ‘helping’ and happy to point out when his Father missed something. But then they started sorting out clothes for Brian and Gordon for the honeymoon. Here, Toby helped properly.

“Dad, what’s this?”

Toby held Russ’ present to them, thankfully folded shut and locked. Brian had put it at the bottom of the wardrobe till they worked out what to do with it.

“Russ’ present to Gordon and me.”

“But I thought Mr Russ was treating to you the food and stuff tomorrow evening?”

Gordon smiled and held out a hand for the object; Toby handed it over with reluctance. “This is a very special present, just for the two of us.”

“Photographs of Russ, special photographs.”

Toby simply stared, eyes wide.

“Photographs that are just for us two.”

“So, I can’t see them?”

“Not yet”, Gordon smiled, “You’ll have to wait till you have someone who sends you something special.”

“Did you send Dad something like that?”

Brian laughed, twitted Toby’s head, “Don’t be cheeky.”

When they managed to get rid of Toby, Gordon was sitting on their bed, looking a bit thoughtful and rather red of face.

Brian sat down beside him, “What’s up, love?”

During their time together, Brian had rather cycled through endearments for Gordon, in fact they both had. Nothing had stuck, and Brian always had to stifle a giggle when Evie called her thirty-something son ‘sweetie’ the way she had 25 years ago. Brian eventually settled on the endearment his Mother habitually used, ‘love’. They’d never had real nick names, so it worked.

“I never bought you anything special when we got together, and I haven’t got anything for tomorrow.”

Brian grinned, and took Gordon’s hands, “Just you, that’s all that counts. I’ve not bought you anything either, but I’m looking forward to tomorrow evening when you fuck me to buggery.”

“As long as we don’t drink too much, I should be able to manage that.” They both laughed.

“Need to remember that. Besides, you did buy me something.”

Gordon wrinkled his brow in puzzlement and stared. Brian got up, went to his drawers and got something out. With a smile he dangled the abbreviated swimming costume from a finger with what he hoped was a sexy grin.

A bit later, Toby had a question for his Dad; he didn’t knock, true, but mid-afternoon didn’t seem an awkward time and they were packing, weren’t they?

No.

Gordon was sitting on the bed, clothed, whilst Toby’s Dad, wearing just brief swimming trunks, stood between Gordon’s legs and was, well, gyrating.

Toby quickly closed the door and went onto the balcony. One of his mates at school’s favourite expression was TMI, too much information. This was definitely a TMI moment.

When his Dad came to him, Brian was smiling and simply ruffled Toby’s hair.

“You OK, sport?”

“Sorry Dad.”

“Knock next time.”

“I thought you’d be packing and well, it’s afternoon.”

Brian laughed, “That’s the thing, when you love someone, it’s always the right time. OK?”

“OK Dad.”

Brian kissed the top of his head, “And thank yourself lucky that we decided not to go too far.”

Toby’s eyes widened, and Brian laughed.