SECRET ADMIRER

Justin couldn't help smiling as he meticulously scrutinized his latest work. He had asked Brian last night to wake him when the ad exec got ready for work this morning so he could come down to the studio and get an early start on his painting. Of course, he had been delayed due to an extended lovemaking session with Brian in their bed and in the shower before he left for Kinnetik. Not that I'm complaining, although my ass might be sore for a week, he thought, grinning.

Brian and Justin had been living at the Blackbird Studios district now for almost a year. Their living quarters, which had been converted from an old industrial warehouse a few years ago, was perched above Justin's new art gallery. At the time the work space was being renovated to Justin's specifications, Brian had sarcastically nicknamed his gallery Sunshine Studios and the name had somehow stuck, even though Justin thought it was a pretty dorky name. It certainly didn't have the finesse of a name like Kinnetik, but Justin didn't particularly mind.

In fact, Justin had to admit he had very little to complain about at all right now. After going their separate ways for a while, they had finally realized how much they loved each other and wanted to be together. Brian had decided to sell his loft and move with Justin to a place that would signify a new beginning for their life together. He knew how much Justin would love the idea of having a studio at his fingertips, and Justin had fallen in love with the ambience of the quaint, historic neighborhood. The loft was also a shorter commute into Kinnetik, which allowed Brian to indulge in spending more time at home with his partner.

To Justin's surprise, too, Brian had been making more of a conscious effort to verbally let the blond know how much he loved him. He normally only said the "three little words" during or after they made love (and yes, by now it was not just having sex and fucking, it was actually making love). But there were also the occasional moments snuggled in front of the wood fire on the thick, plush oval rug or lying together, legs tangled, on the couch watching an old movie where Brian felt comfortable enough to express his love aloud to Justin. Yes, Justin had never felt happier. And although Brian would hate the description, the older man had actually mellowed out during the past year. He was still the fiery, "think outside the box" ad exec at work, and the smug, cavalier businessman at Babylon, but he seldom felt the need to hunt for a new trick or even ingest all the drug crap he previously felt he needed to rely on. And once he and Justin had moved to their new home, he had made good on his promise to never bring a trick home. It made Justin feel secure to know that he did not have to worry about their being "company" at home unexpectedly when he arrived. For Justin and Brian, their love had not only remained exciting, but had actually grown more intense as it continued to deepen.

Justin's concentration just then was diverted as he heard a knock on the studio door. Turning toward the glass window front, he observed a uniformed delivery man standing there.

"Yes?" Justin was frequently shipping paintings all over the country, and at time even throughout the world, and was constantly accepting shipments either for the gallery or for Kinnetik, so he was very familiar with most of the delivery personnel in the neighborhood. This man, however, was a stranger to him. Although he wore a dark brown delivery uniform with a matching cap, he wore no insignia on either. Justin made a mental note of that as he was asked to sign his name on an old-fashioned clipboard. Odd, he thought, normally they have me sign electronically.

That observation slipped his mind as he turned his attention to the package. It was in a shipping box about 14 inches square. Oddly enough, too, only Justin's name and address of the gallery was on the shipping label; there was no return address.

Very curious now, Justin toted the delivery over to a nearby work table. Picking up a box cutter, he slid open the shipping box and peered inside. Nestled in gold-colored shreds of paper was a fancy, gold foil box with the name Delafee written in elaborate, raised maroon script on the top. The name was unfamiliar to the young artist, but he appreciated the elegant writing and fabric-covered box with the matching top. Lifting the top, his sense of smell was immediately assaulted by a wonderful aroma. He smiled. He didn't have to open one of the individual, foil-wrapped packages to know there were chocolates inside. The pungent smell was instantly recognizable. Eagerly opening up one of the candies, he popped one in his mouth. Justin had always had a weakness for chocolates, but he had never tasted anything so mouth-watering in his life. Well, not after Brian, anyway, he smirked. He rolled the candy around on his tongue to prolong the unbelievable texture and taste before finally swallowing it.

Wow! Now THIS was chocolate! The smooth consistency and delicate, creamy filling was unbelievable. Biting into another one, he picked up the box nestled inside to see if there was a return card of some type. It was then he noticed a small, white linen envelope underneath the box of candy. Placing the candy aside rather reluctantly, he curiously opened the envelope to read the message. It was typed in the same elegant script as the name of the candy company. It simply read: These chocolates could never be as delicious as you. I can't wait to get a taste for myself. The card was simply signed "From your secret admirer."

Justin stood at the work table, rereading the card with knitted brows. Could these be from Brian? Before they moved here together, he would have laughed immediately at the idea of Brian ever doing anything like this. But that was before Brian had felt threatened by Lane Prescott, who had wined and dined the artist fervently a year ago before finally giving up after Justin had made it clear to him that he loved Brian. In fact, during that time Brian had actually gifted Justin with some customized white chocolate Hershey kisses and a teddy bear in an attempt to romance his lover. So Justin couldn't immediately dismiss the idea outright.

"Hey, baby! How's it going down here at the hottest art studio in town?" A blur of color and fake fur rushed through the front door.

Justin turned one of his trademark smiles on his flamboyant friend. "Emmett! Hi. I forgot we were meeting for lunch today." As he hugged the taller man, he looked over Em's shoulder at the time. "Shit! I didn't realize it was after 11:00 already. I was so busy with the painting I'm working on the morning has just flown by."

Emmett looked at the blond skeptically. "You sure a little extracurricular activity didn't have a bearing on that, sweetie?" Justin's flushed face and rather embarrassed smile confirmed the man's suspicions. "Ah, I thought so….." His comment was interrupted as he suddenly noticed the open gold foil box sitting near Justin on the work table.

Stunned, Emmett stammered, "Baby, do you KNOW what those are?" He pointed toward the box, now missing two pieces of chocolate.

"Em, that's not a real difficult question, is it?" He smiled indulgently at his friend. "They're called CHOCOLATES. And they're REALLY good chocolates, by the way. Have one." He picked up a randomly-selected triangular-shaped candy and handed it to the other man.

"I KNOW they're chocolates, Sweetie," Emmett advised him, as he enthusiastically opened the candy and popped it into his mouth, swirling it around his tongue with a loud ahh. "But did you see the brand name? Do you know what those are or what they cost? George told me about them one day when I saw a box of them in his library at the house."

At Justin's puzzled shake of his head, Emmett explained. "Delafee chocolates are made with the finest cocoa beans and contain flakes of 24-carat gold in them. George told me they cost $508.00 a POUND," he finished, sounding remarkably like a professor instructing his students.

Justin's mouth hung open. "$508.00 a POUND? You're kidding me, right?" He knew Brian could be very generous with his friends and his son, but Justin couldn't imagine his partner spending THAT kind of money on candy.

"No," Emmett confirmed with a shake of his head. "You heard me right. Either you were REALLY good at your extra-curricular activity this morning, or Brian was REALLY bad." Smiling and winking at his friend, he added, "Better put those in a cool spot. You certainly wouldn't want them to melt, unless you need to convert some of them into cash. I heard gold's going for well over $1,300 an ounce nowadays."

Justin continued to stare amazed at the box. $508.00 a POUND? He still couldn't get over that. Scooping up the box and lid, he placed the candy inside the refrigerator (after he picked up two more pieces and placed them gingerly in his pants pocket). As he motioned for Em to follow him out the door for lunch, he resolved himself to ask his partner about the mysterious package he received that morning.