CHAPTER 20:
"HELLO 1776 BAR AND GRILL KITCHEN STAFF!" John called as he entered through the back service door to work. "Did You Fucking Miss Me?!"
"John!" a young female voice called and no more then three steps later he was nearly tackled by it's owner.
"Peggy!" he cried, spinning her around in a hug. "Ahh, I take it your answer is yes you did. How's my favorite server girl?!"
She giggled and smiled up at him. "It's been so boring here without you! I'm so glad they brought you back! NEVER LEAVE ME AGAIN!"
He laughed as he let her go but allowed her to hold onto his waist as he walked over to the area that their weekly schedule was posted. "Sorry Peggy, I gotta go back for the winter break. And summer; I can't afford to live on my own yet."
"You can move into my room with me," she said. "It's small, but we can make it work."
"Tempting, but no," he told her. "My parents would kill me of I 'lived in sin' with a woman they had never met."
"Yeah, mine too."
"I'm sure your father would be after my ass more then mine would be after yours."
"I wouldn't mind a shotgun wedding if you'd be my groom," she said, smiling up at him and batting her big brown eyes. He chuckled and patted her on the head.
"I'm not sure the guy that's gunna fall madly in love with you one day would agree."
"Every time to go home to South Carolina you're too far away."
"Yeah right, what you miss is my cooking."
She giggled, bouncing in place beside him. "That too. But I miss your face more."
"I left instructions on how to make all your favorites this time, didn't anyone read them?"
"It's not the same as when you cook them for me. You make it better."
"The secret ingredient is love."
"Also, I think Bass threw the recipes out."
John shrugged as he studied the schedule for a moment. "No matter," he replied after he'd memorized the dates and times. "I'm back now so I guess I'll just go back to cooking for you."
"Starting right now?"
"Starting tomorrow," he replied with a chuckle. "I still got other stuff I gotta do today."
"You should just marry me and cook for me always."
He rubbed at the back of his neck, still smiling at her absurd notions. "Yeah sure, and three months in we'll both be having affairs with the same guy."
"Kinky, I'm into it."
"You would be, you little minx." She slapped at his arm, playful but with a sting to it and he laughed backing up out of her space, blocking the next hit that she threw at him.
"Hey!" another sharp female voice interrupted them as Angelica came around the corner. "Peggy, stop flirting with the kitchen boys, you're better then that."
"No!" Peggy said and latched onto John's chest. "I love him!"
"Lord help us," John sighed with a chuckle. "What's up Angelica? How you been?"
"What can you tell me about that stupid boy you live with now, what's his name? Adam? Andrew?"
"Alex, you mean?" John supplied, surprised she could forget a name. Angelica did not forget names. John always figured that's what made her a super waitress, that she had an ironclad memory when it came to quick introductions and so the fact that she could forget his roommate's name felt strange to him, until...
"Ange~elica has a cru~ush! Ange~elica has a cru~ush!" Peggy sang in the ever annoying way that little siblings did when they wanted to torment their elders.
"Shut up, no I don't!" Angelica replied far too defensively. John rolled his eyes as they were distracted; Oh this is wonderful, he thought but kept his comments to himself. "So, who is he? What is he like? Where's his family from?" she pressed John for details.
"Uh, he's a decent guy with a lot on his plate and I..." he stalled out for a minute, torn between exactly what to say. "...think he might not be a good match for you.." he finished lamely.
"Why not?" Angelica immediately demanded. "What's wrong with him?"
John shrugged. "You told me your father wants you to marry someone from your class, right? Well, he's not exactly a trust fund baby."
"God damn it," Angelica sighed.
"Oooo, too bad," Peggy giggled.
"Well, what's his potential look like?" Angelica went on. "He's a Harvard student, right? What's he studying? Is he any good at it, do you think? Could he make something of himself?"
"He's studying law, same as me."
"A Lawyer! That—That's Great! What kind of law is he interested in, have you asked him?!"
"I don't even know what kind of law I'm interested in," John confessed. "I think you would do better to talk to Alex about these things."
"She's fishing, John" Peggy told him.
"Oh, shut up! It's not what you think!"
"What is it then?" her little sister challenged. "Do you like his hair? His butt? If you want to screw him, just go ahead and screw him, Angelica. I won't tell Daddy."
"You're not gunna tell father anything because nothing like that is going to happen!"
Peggy sighed and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "Wish it would," she muttered. "Maybe then you wouldn't have such a stick up your ass all the time."
John pulled Peggy into a headlock and ground his fist against the top of her head. "Be nice to your sister!" He chastised like he would any of his own siblings. Angelica, ever the defensive big sister, came to her aid immediately by punching John on the arm and he laughed as he let his co-worker go to fend off her angry sister. His mirth was wiped off his face almost instantly as he looked up over their heads and saw that one of their bosses walking toward them. Peggy, distracted with the opening she saw did not waste a shot to John's torso still with her back turned, only to look up with concern, about to ask him what was wrong.
"ANGELICA! MARGARITA!" Mr. Todd snapped, his voice harsh and gruff. Both women immediately whirled around to stand at attention, eyes wide. Instinctively, John puffed and moved a step ahead of them, although he felt his own heart racing with adrenaline as well. "I don't pay you to flirt with the cooks," their boss growled. "Get back out on the floor, you have customers."
"Peggy," John said, confusing the woman standing behind him and the dour looking man they worked for before he gestured to his co-worker in question and added on, "she prefers to be called Peggy."
Mr. Todd's eye twitched before a wicked looking smile graced his lips. "Peggy," he said in what he must have thought to be a pleasant tone, though it seemed no less threatening. "Get. Back. To. Work."
"Yessir," she said, scurrying past him to get out of the back kitchen and onto the floor. Angelica was right behind her, though she stopped and mouthed, 'thank you,' to John before disappearing into the front.
"And you," Mr. Todd said, turning his attention back to John. "You're not in uniform? I assume then that you're not here to work today?"
"What's all this shouting about?" came the softer voice of Mrs. Lovette as she came around the corner. Her face brightened immediately the same way Peggy's had when she saw the younger of the two males. "Ah! John! Here to see about your schedule are ye, love?"
"Yes, ma'am," John said, minding to keep to the manners he knew kept the angrier of his bosses pleased.
"Well, have you checked the schedule, Mr. Laurens?" Todd asked him.
"Yessir."
"And are you in agreement with it?"
"Yessir."
"THEN WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING IN THE KITCHEN?!"
John flinched and instinctively brought his hands up to cross his chest before he could stop himself. His eyes defaulted to the floor, the would-be murmured apology choking in his throat, and whatever confidence he'd had to shield Peggy was suddenly gone in her absence. His mind flooded with memories of a time when he was frequently screamed at, when it would be followed by a slap to his face, hard and sharp and forcing him to fall to the ground. He felt himself tensing, knowing the impact was coming, knowing he was about to be violently punished. GOD DAMN FUCKING LITTLE FAGGOT—
Mrs. Lovette stepped in for him, tsking her co-owner and stating, "Now there's no need to yell, Mr. Todd. Look, you've gone and gave the boy a fright. Come John," she reached for his shoulder, ignoring the way he tried to twist away to shuffle him along past the other male. "And you," she minded Mr. Todd, "Go back to your sulking in the office and I'll be in to have a word with you in a bit, eh? C'mon then, you're alright now, love." She ushered John out of the kitchen and back toward the waiter's station, a niche in the floorplan with a little sink where they kept a coffee pot and extra silverware and drinking cups. She made shushing noises at him and for a frazzled moment John couldn't tell why, until she pulled a paper towel from the dispenser and folded it carefully before pressing it to his cheek. He wiped at his other cheek and felt the tears right away. God damn it.
"I'm sorry," John muttered, wiping at his face. "I was just in to check my schedule...wanted to make sure everything was good for next week...
"I know, love, I know. Don't let 'im bother you none, John, ye hear me? You weren't doing nothing wrong. Talking to a girl ya fancy ain't no crime here, I know you and Peggy do alright on the clock." A choked laugh came up as he finished wiping at his eyes with shaking hands. He didn't bother refuting the claim that he was interested in his co-worker, too shaken to come out to his boss proper. She kept running her hand up and down his back, trying to sooth him, but he was too damn scared to tell her the motion was just making him feel even more on edge. "Feelin' better then, love?"
He nodded and forced a smile. "Yeah. It's—I'll be okay."
"You need anything before you leave? Coffee, tea? Take a drink for the road." She patted his back once more and made him pour himself some tea and take a muffin. As shaken as he was, John couldn't refute her hospitality and so he just accepted the food and beverage as he made sure to impress that he was okay to come in to work tomorrow like she had scheduled him. It was bullshit, the way he was yelled at, and he knew that; he knew he ought to quit and look for another job and find someplace that didn't have a boss that looked at him or any of his co-workers as if they were the pile of dog shit he'd stepped in every morning so he'd have a reason to be in a sour mood. But then, when work was good it was damn good. Free meals and a paycheck that was slowly building him a safety net, co-workers he could get along with, the freedom to work in a field he felt a lot of passion for. And he knew it wasn't going to be forever. When he graduated he could move into working for a nice local law firm somewhere and work on perfecting his cooking on the side.
John found a shady patch of grass at a knoll that students often idled around in the good weather and sat down to eat his muffin and contemplate his day. He still had to pick up laundry soap, then actually go do his laundry for the week, and he'd been meaning to throw himself back into working out. The last week had been, well, a whirlwind and it only felt like things were starting to settle down now. He was used to Alex being a daily part of his life, though it was still weird how wildly different and yet the same Alex seemed to be from his online persona. Sometimes he laughed in a particular way or cocked his head and held himself just so that John was jarred with the memories of all that he'd seen Alex do for him, but, it was stating to lose some of the effect. Alex wasn't gunna just take his clothes of for John. He wasn't gunna kiss him heavily, he wasn't gunna moan his name in wanton lust as he touched himself and begged John to let him fuck him. Alex was just...a normal guy.
He was reminded again that he had to decide what he was gunna do about his scheduled sessions with said online persona, Lin Garland. John still felt so indecisive about wither or not he should hold onto the slot. He knew he might not get it back in four months if he wanted to use the service, which meant maybe trying to find a different cam boy to follow, and it was a lot of money to be throwing away over the next few months without actually using anything. He wanted to ask Alex, or rather Lin, about it. But then he was supposed to go out with Leslie tonight and he probably wouldn't be able to get back to the dorm in time to settle things with Lin, so unless he brought Lin to Leslie, which could be a whole new can of worms, he likely would just have to settle for skipping out of tonight's session and waiting another week to talk with Lin about what his options might be as a customer. Another option might be to try to sneak a talk with Alex in persona about it, but John didn't think he'd have the guts to do something so bold.
Of course, he'd never thought he'd have been the kind of guy to have a—shit, should he call it a one night stand? Leslie was going to pick him up again tonight, presumably for another round of fun, what was that called? Friends with benefits? No wait, Lafayette had been his...so what was Leslie then? A fuck buddy? Booty call? What was the difference? Did it matter? John was hooking up with a guy he barely knew and—HOLY SHIT I"M HOOKING UP WITH A GUY I BEARLY KNOW! Oh, sudden onset anxiety, you are a fickle bitch.
Calm down John, he told himself. Deep breaths. This isn't a big deal. It's the same as what you had with Laf, except...less...
It was little comfort, but it almost worked. Comparing Leslie to Laf, it made some semblance of sense. When he'd hooked up with Lafayette they had agreed to keep it casual, open, enjoy each other's company and fuck other people on the side who caught their fancy. At least, that had been the plan. Then John had caught...feelings...and Lafayette had been quick to squish any hope John had foolishly had. But maybe that's just what needed to happen; now John knew better. He'd fuck around with Leslie and keep it casual, open, enjoy his company and hey, if someone else caught his fancy maybe John would dare be bold enough to fuck around with them too. Maybe he wasn't so broken, maybe he could actually fully explore this part of himself through more then just a computer screen or a best friend telling him what to do all the time.
But still, he had...a doubt? A worry? Some nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach telling him something was amiss. He wanted it to be a symptom of his anxieties, those paranoid thoughts in his head that told him it was as bad as he thought and everyone was watching his every move, waiting to catch him, waiting to see him fail to hide who he was, waiting to tattle, to tell, to expose him for the faggot he was-
Stop.
Breathe. Just breathe.
He wanted the unsettled feeling in his stomach to just be nerves, or anxious thoughts brought on by his traumas. But they felt too...different. Not right. Why? What was he afraid of? That Leslie was a pyscho murderer that was gunna whisk him away that night to some remote location where he'd cut John open and play with his innards? Okay, now he really was freaking himself out and he reached for his phone, scrolling through the numbers in it til he reached the one that would connect him with his best friend. He wanted to push the button, he wanted to give him a call and tell Lafayette all about Leslie and the fears and insecurities he had, but...
John scrolled down a few more slots until he found the other number he was looking for. He chewed his lip as he debated what to say, or if he really should say anything at all. He asked himself if he could trust this person again, but was met with the rebuttal of What other choice do I have? He didn't feel like he could talk to Alex about this, placing him in the same box as Laf due to his work as Lin, and he didn't feel safe talking about it with family, nor did he have anyone who was close enough otherwise to know what to say...
'Hey, when you get a moment can we talk? I could use a friend.'
He clicked send before he could stop himself. There, now all he had to do was wait—
John groaned when his phone started ringing and he saw Thomas's name come up on the caller ID. Nevertheless, he picked it up. "You can't just text like a normal person?"
"And what? You can't just talk to me like a normal person? This is faster anyway. So what's going on John? What do you need?"
John sighed and rolled his eyes to the sky. "Okay, first I want you to promise me you won't tell Laf anything about what we're about to talk about."
"Hold on, why are we not telling Laf things?"
"Because...I just don't think I want him involved in...certain areas of my life right now..."
"What areas?"
"C'mon Thomas, use your head. He's my ex-boyfriend; what area of my life do you think I don't want him involved in right now?"
"Oh, the area between your legs you mean. Alright, fair enough. Second question tho; if you're talking to me about what's going on between your legs am I allowed to ask if you slept with that guy the other night for real or is Laf throwing a shit fit over nothing?"
"Laf is throwing a shit fit over the fact that I slept with that guy from the other night and won't tell him any of the details. Frankly, I don't want to tell you any of the details either."
"Fair enough. So Laf is throwing a shit fit over nothing. Go on."
"Yeah. So...speaking of that guy I hooked up with the other night..."
"Oh my god, he gave you gonorrhea!"
"What? No!"
"Syphilis?"
"NO!"
"Chlamydia."
"NO! Jesus Fuck Thomas!"
There was a long pause on the other end of the phone, then in the smallest voice his friend replied, "...Aids?"
"THOMAS, I DON'T HAVE AIDS!" Annnnd now other people around the knoll were looking at him—eyes on you, Eyes On You, EyEs On YoU, EYES ON YOU—He got up and started walking, throwing what was left of his muffin in a trash bin so that he could more comfortably hold his coffee in one hand and his phone in the other. "God, do you have to be such a douche-bag all the fucking time?!"
"Well then just TELL ME what you have so I can take you to the damn clinic already!"
"Is that what you think I called you for? That I got some sort of fucking disease and need a ride to a clinic?"
"YES! Why Else Would You Call Me?!"
John pulled the phone away from his face and took a slow, deep breath. He really wanted to scream in frustration; Thomas was just pushing all of his buttons. He counted to ten, collected the mental strength to keep talking to the man and brought the phone back up to his ear as he resumed the walk he'd had to pause to avoid running into a pole or something. "Look, Leslie texted me—"
"Who's Leslie?"
"The guy I left the club with last night! Focus! Leslie texted me and said he wants to meet up again tonight."
"Okay. Well, you're not going, right?"
"Actually Thomas, I was."
"John, oh c'mon John...noooo, dooon't..."
"Why not?"
"He's...weird. He gave me a weird vibe. I don't like him."
"Laf liked him."
"Laf likes a lot of people, John. That's not an excuse. And if you want your stupid ex to stay out of what business that goes on in your pants you can't allow him to have a say in wither he approves of who you're dicking around with or not."
"Okay then, I liked him. And I want to see him again."
"Well, why are you telling me this? Cuz if you're looking for my permission, I don't give it."
"I'm not looking for your permission, Thomas. I'm...asking you to make sure I'm safe about this. Look, to to be fair to whatever weird feeling you have about him, he is a stranger to me and just because he let me leave his house the other day doesn't mean he's not some serial rapist murderer luring me out to the woods to have his way with me before leaving me for dead in a ditch somewhere, right?"
"Right! Exactly! So why are you going out with him again?!"
"Because maybe I'd be flattered to know I'm a serial rapist murder's type of victim and gladly let him take me anywhere he wanted as long as it meant I could finally be free of this tiresome mortal coil," John replied. "But in all seriousness here I can't spend the rest of my life not ever dating someone again because he could potentially hurt me, right? So please, please, help me with this Thomas."
He heard the other man sigh on the other end of the line. "...Okay," came Thomas's eventual reply. "But if you want me to be your confidant about this then you gotta do things my way. You take a picture of the two of you together when you meet up with him and a picture of his license plate if you go anywhere in his car and you text them both to me right away, got it? You text me where you are, when you leave, when you get home or if you're gunna spend the night or whatever, okay?"
"You sound just like my dad when Martha started dating."
"Good."
"You don't think you're being a little demanding?"
"I think if anything happens I want to be able to bring the guy to justice, John. I want a picture of his face, a picture of his car, a location of his home address at least."
"He lives above the nightclub we were at last night."
"Wait, really?"
"Yeah. We just went up to his apartment when we left. He actually owns the nightclub too."
"That's why you were still at the nightclub. Laf said you were full of shit and just like, slept in a bathroom stall for the night."
"Laf can suck my dick if he doesn't want to believe I can convince another guy to let me do exactly that."
"Ew, John, not a visual I needed. So is your new boyfriend loaded?"
"He's not my boyfriend. And I wouldn't know. We didn't talk about that."
"You sucked the dick of a guy that could be your sugar daddy without first making sure he was gunna provide for you?! John! John Laurens, I am very disappointed in you!"
John laughed once, surprised at the teasing tone of Thomas's voice. Maybe he wasn't such an ass all the time. "So are you telling me you'll like him more if he buys me nice things every time I suck him off, is that what you're saying?"
"No. I'm saying if he can afford to buy you nice things every time you suck him off he'd better be buying you nice things every damn time you suck him off. I still wouldn't like him, but it would be nice to see you happy for a change."
"Sucking a guy's dick to get nice things isn't gunna make me happy, Thomas."
"Why not? I'd make me happy."
"Well, go find yourself a sugar daddy then."
"How about you just give me one of the ones that you keep falling into the lap of? Isn't your gay ass tired of that yet?"
"Sure. You can have Laf."
"Listen, we both know Laf is a hot mess. I love the guy but I'm not getting involved in that. And besides, he already buys me nice things and I don't have to suck his dick."
"Yeah, but he'll buy you nicer things if you do suck his dick."
"Wait, really?"
"Go suck his dick and find out. Listen, I gotta go. I'll text you later tonight when Leslie picks me up. He said he wanted to meet up at like 10pm so, is that okay? Are you still gunna be up?"
"That's really late John. So let me guess, he's not gunna be taking you to dinner and a movie?"
"Unless he owns a movie theater and restaurant too, probably not."
"Hmm. Okay. Just feels like he's using you for one thing, ya know?"
"Yeah well...maybe I'm using him for the same thing."
"Oh ho? You, little John Antonio Laurens, are planning on making this Lester boy your fuck buddy?"
"My middle name isn't Antonio, but I'll bet yours is jackass."
"You know good and well my parents didn't give me a middle name so that I could never escape the curse of the shadow my name walks in."
"Thomas Jackass Jefferson. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"
"Fuck you, if I'm gunna have a middle name I'll steal one from Laf, he's got like 16 names."
"Oh really? Which one would you take?"
"I always like the sound of the Daveed one."
"Thomas Daveed Jefferson...Naaaaaah, I still like jackass better."
"Alright John Bitchface Laurens."
"Bitchface is creative. Where'd you steal that from?"
"Believe it or not, I am a master of swearing, John."
"Uh-huh, sure you are. Listen, I gotta go, but I'll call you tomorrow when I get up, let you know I'm okay and stuff?"
"Alright. You'll have a 30 minute window to get me those pictures, so expect me to call you if you don't. Got it?"
"Yeah, okay. Hey Thomas?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks. For doing this. I appreciate it."
For a moment the line was quiet, then Thomas's voice softly replied, "well of course...I owe you, after all." John hated the way his heart skipped a beat hearing that.
"Okay, then I'll talk to you later, bye!" He hung up the phone before Thomas could say anything more and prayed the man wouldn't call him back. He didn't want to think about Thomas owing him anything. Thomas didn't owe him anything, not as far as John could think of. He hadn't asked Thomas because the man owed him anything, he'd asked because he was a friend, and this was what friends did for each other, right? And Thomas was helping him out because he wanted to, out of his own concern for a friend, right? And that was the only reason for any of their interactions recently, right? Right.
John nodded to himself and told himself not to worry about anything else.
John sat impatiently on his bed, alone in the dorm room. Alex had left some three hours ago to get to his job, the job he'd have been doing for John in about an hour and a half had John kept his appointment. He still felt guilty he was bailing on Alex, like he was cheating on him weird as that sounded in his head, but he'd already made up his mind to pursue this thing he had with Leslie, whatever it was, however long it lasted. He had finally decided on what he was gunna say to Alex-er, Lin. He was gunna sit down with him next week and say that he'd found someone, a guy who reciprocated John's feelings. He wanted to make things work with him and he'd thank Lin for everything he'd done for John over the year he'd been seeing him. Then he'd ask for help about what he could do with his account and they would just talk, the whole rest of the session. Like friends. Like he did with Alex now. Hopefully John had been a good enough customer that Al—Lin would try to convince him otherwise, that's just good customer service, right? And then hopefully there'd be a way for John to jump back into it with A—LIN if he needed to later.
But he doubted there would be. He liked Alex, and the more time he spent with Alex, the less he could see of Lin in him.
His phone rang and startled John from his musings. He picked it up, his heart skipping a beat when he saw it was the number he'd called Leslie at earlier. He swiped the green circle across and said a shaky, "heh-ello?"
"I'm here," came the simple reply. "Meet me outside."
"Okay, I'll be there in a minute."
"Now, John."
"I said I'll be right out." He hung up before his date could say anything else, the knot in his stomach tightening. Nevertheless, he put his shoes on and stopped in the bathroom to check his reflection in the mirror once more before leaving. He headed out onto the lawn of the dorm house he was living in, looking up and down the street lined with cars until one flashed their highbeams at him. John made his way over an expensive looking sports car he couldn't for the life of himself name. Cars had never impressed him much, they were a touch more his little brother Henry's thing, but even if he couldn't name whatever this was it didn't mean he didn't know that it must have cost a pretty shiny penny. He stood in awed shock at the passenger side door, disbelieving that this would be the car Leslie drove. It just had to be a mistake. But the door rotated open and sitting in the drivers seat was the man he knew as Leslie.
"Hey there baby boy," the man said, with a perfect coy smile and a twinkle in his eye. "Need a lift?"
"This is...your car?" John asked. "For real?" Even as he said it he was stepping forward cautiously, still thinking at any moment Leslie would slam the door shut and drive away, laughing in John's face. But he didn't and John willingly climbed into the only passenger seat.
"Do you like it?" Aaron asked as John settled in.
"I don't even know what it is," John confessed with a nervous smile. Even sitting in it he felt out of place.
"Oh, its just a Koenisegg Regera," Aaron said. "Few years old. Couldn't afford a newer model."
"Yeah, that means very little to me," John told him. "Is it like, expensive?" Wow, what a stupid question John, OF COUSE IT'S EXPENSIVE You Idiot! "But man, if my little brother could see this he'd probably piddle himself from excitement, like a puppy." WhUt?! JOHN. WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?!
Aaron laughed, low and silkly smooth. "I just thought you should get a little treat for how good you behaved," he said as he shifted the car into gear and pulled out from his park job. "It's funny that you would mention dogs, tho. Tell me, do you like dogs, John?"
John laughed nervously. He reached a hand toward the one Aaron had resting on the stick shift, but was a little put off when the guy pulled it away. John folded his hands in his lap then, figuring Aaron just wanted to focus on driving. "Yeah, uh...I mean, dogs are alright. My family has a dog, he's uhhh...a watercress? You know what those look like?"
"I'm familiar with the breed, yes."
"Ah, so then you know how scrappy they can look. Yeah, we found him a few years back, and he was in rough shape. My little sister, Mary, she's the one who found him and took him in, nursed him up to full health. She calls him Mr. Scruffles." John waited for Aaron to add anything to the conversation, but was a touch put off when only silence filled the air, under the hum of the engine. "So um...where are we going?" John asked.
"That's a surprise," Aaron said.
"Oh!" John suddenly pulled his phone from his pocket. "I'm sorry, I forgot to take a photo of us together. My friends don't think we uh...they...they don't think we hooked up, and I promised them I'd get a photo of us—"
"Baby, I'm a little busy driving a car right now, but if it's a picture of my dick in your ass that you need, all you gotta do is ask."
John turned a dark shade of red. "Um...no? I just need like a nice photo, of us together." He held his phone aloft, putting himself and Aaron in the frame, snapping the photo after a quick, "say cheese!" He wasn't surprised, just a touch disappointed, that Aaron hadn't smiled or looked over, but he figured he get a nicer one for Thomas later.
"Can I see that real fast?" Aaron asked, holding out his hand.
"Uh, you're driving? I'll show you when we stop."
"I can take a quick look." He grabbed at the air to indicate that John should hand his phone over and, after setting it up for him so that he could take a quick glance, John carefully gave him his phone. Aaron quickly shifted it to his other hand, and then pocketed the whole thing.
"Excuse you! That's my phone!"
"John, I do not like having my face photographed. If you don't want me to roll my window down and toss your piece of shit phone right out onto the highway, I suggest you sit there and shut your fucking mouth."
"highway?" John whispered, looking out the windows and suddenly realizing they were indeed getting on the highway. "Where...where are you taking me?"
"I told you already baby," Aaron said, shifting the car as he merged into traffic and pressing his foot down on the gas. "It's a surprise."
"Leslie, I'm having second thoughts about this." John shied away to his side of the car when he was ignored and tried to figure out what to do. He couldn't find a handle to open the door, nevermind that they were already on the highway and starting to pass far more cars than where passing them. Aaron had his phone, so even if he got away he'd need that if he wanted to call for help. Well, not true, he had Lafayette's number memorized, both the old one he no longer had and the new one he did, but that was it. If Lafayette wouldn't pick up fro a random number then John was screwed. And that's only if he could get to a phone. And that was dependent on him surviving jumping out of a moving vehicle going...he shut his eyes and tried not to think of the way Aaron was zipping around the other traffic. Scratch surviving jumping out of the car, John would be lucky if he survived the crash. "Don't you think you're going a little fast, Leslie?"
"Oh baby, you don't need to worry about a thing," came the cold reply and the engine revved with the strain of going a little faster. "I know exactly what I'm doing."
"What if we crash?"
"Then the game would be over."
"Game?"
"Of life, baby boy." Aaron slowed the car down just a bit, though not nearly enough to console John. And when he took his eyes off the road to look directly at John, he nearly had a heart attack right then. "You ever been told that life is too short not to do what you love? Well, it's also too short not to do whatever the fuck you want." Satisfied with the wide eyed look of terror on John's face, Aaron turned back toward the road. "I can do anything that I want, John. Remember that," and he swerved the car across several lanes of traffic to take an exit, forcing the vehicle into a drift as they swung around the roundabout meant to slow traffic down. John closed his eyes and prayed to God they wouldn't crash, his last thoughts focusing on how much he loved his family and he hoped they wouldn't ask why he was out with a man they had never met or speak ill of his sexuality after he was gone.
He didn't open his eyes again until he felt the car come to a complete stop. Shaking hands parted to allow him to peek through fingers at the dark surroundings now, far removed from the part of the city he was used to. They were parked outside a dark imposing building, several other cars just parked where they wanted in an open lot in front of it. Aaron got out of his seat and walked far too casually around the back of the car to open John's door and let him out. So relieved was he at being alive and free from the metal death trap that he tried to get up before he'd undone the buckle of his seat belt. He fumbled with the latch, finding a terrified once of anger at the way Aaron chuckled and cooed at him as he did so.
"What, the fuck," John hissed as he got out of the car, "was all of that about?!" He wanted to slam the car door to show how pissed he was, but the stupid thing was automatic and would not be moved until Aaron pushed the button to do so. "Are you—OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?!"
"You're awfully cute when your mad."
"You could have killed us!"
"And?"
"And? AND?! And We Could Have Died! What Do You Mean, AND?!"
"Well, we didn't. Guess the game goes on." He reached for John as if to pull him close by the waist but was surprised as John slapped his hand away.
"Give me my phone. Now, Leslie." But if John expected that to work he was sorely mistaken when his date smiled coldly, danging the device just out of John's reach and pulling it away as John lunged for it, dancing away and making John chase him. As they circled around to the front of the car Aaron grabbed him and spun him toward the vehicle, pushed him down onto the warm hood and pinned him down with his own body. "Get off me!"
"Say cheese," Aaron said before snapping a series of photos.
"Leslie, Get The Fuck Off Me!"
"What's the matter? Don't wanna play rough anymore?" John flinched as his neck was bitten, his hips were thrust into the too hot grill of the sports car beneath him from behind. "You know, you'd look hot as fuck taking my dick just like this."
"I Said, Stop!" John pushed back with as much force as he could muster and was surprised he broke the hold as he stumbled back, landing on his ass and not comprehending that Aaron had let him go. "I'm done playing games! Give me my phone, this night is over!"
"On the contrary, John, you don't have that authority," Aaron told him. "If you want your phone back, you'll have to come with me."
"I'm not going anywhere else with you."
"Well, suit yourself," Aaron called over his shoulder as he turned and started walking toward the building. "It is your funeral after all."
John got to his feet in confusion over that statement. What did he mean...? He shook his head, bringing the small bit of anger back to the forefront. It didn't matter what the man meant, he wasn't allowed to act like a total jerk and steal John's things. He marched after him, hellbent on chewing the guy out, taking his phone back and calling Thomas for a ride home, because holy fuck John never thought he'd ever meet anyone he'd hate more then Thomas and yet that asshole over there had up and gone and proved him wrong. Well, fuck 'em. And then John got mad that he already had.
As he approached the building, John's angry courage began to wane. The sounds of dogs barking and people jeering gave him pause as he approached the door he'd watched Aaron disappear into. He steeled himself and pushed open the door, strutting through with as much confidence as he could muster, only to stop short at the crowd of people yelling and shouting and smoking and drinking, the sounds of so many dogs barking, angry and alert, some whining in cages, some held on think leashes of heavy chains. The crowd was gathered around something, too thick for John to see through to what it was but the sound of a bell, almost comical among the din of other noise, signaled the start of louder shouts, more aggressive barks and the sudden yelp of an animal in pain.
He jumped when a hand landed heavy on his shoulder and spun him around into Oak. "What are you doing here?" the man hissed at him. "I told you to get out."
"I'm looking—Looking—" John stuttered over his words, the realization of what was going on behind him suddenly hitting him hard as he heard an announcer call the dog fight to a close. "Looking for Leslie—"
"Ain't no one here by that name," Oak told him sternly, looking angry and intimidating. "You need to leave."
"Ah, so you were brave enough to follow me," Aaron's voice caught his attention and John didn't know if he should focus on him or the sudden way Oak's hand snatched his arm and held it firmly in his grasp. "Take him to the back room, Oak. I'll deal with him in a minute."
"Yes sir," Oak replied and began to cart John away.
"Wait, what's going on?" John asked, his mind reeling with how everything kept changing rapid pace around him. "Just give me my phone back, you fucking freak!" He stumbled as Oak dragged him away, taking him deeper into the hell he'd so stupidly walked himself into.
John paced the room he'd been put into, nothing more then four walls and a concrete floor, one door in or out, a single dingy lightbulb hanging overhead. Oak had apologized as he pushed him over the thresh hold, telling him to just be complacent to whatever was going to happen and perhaps he'd get to leave alive. When John had asked him what he'd meant, Oak didn't respond, but the look on his face told John he didn't think anything that was about to come was good. That had been over an hour ago. His only comfort was that if he did turn up as a missing person, Thomas would at least have an idea of who did it.
He prayed to God he wouldn't die tonight. He paced the room and asked for strength to face whatever was coming, that he would survive at least long enough to tell his family he loved them one more time, to tell Lafayette he'd never stopped loving him, to tell Thomas he didn't mean all the shit he had said and that he forgave him. When his thoughts got to Alex he stalled out. He wished he could have spent more time with him. He wished he could have told him who he was or thanked him for everything he'd ever said to John, paid or not. He wished he'd made the choice to stay home that night and talk with Lin.
Voices on the other side of the door alerted John to the presence of people approaching, though they were low and muffled. He finished his prayer and wiped the tears from his face, taking a deep breath to face what comes next. The door opened and Burr strolled in casually, flanked on one side by Oak, and on the other side by another man John didn't know, both of them armed with semi automatic rifles. A fourth man, also unknown, dragged the limp body of a still living pit bull into the room, the grizzly gory markings of a fight lost marring it's body and it's whines of pain heart wrenching to hear, before dropping it at Burr's feet as he finished walking. John was about to say something about how disgusting it was that Burr condoned this, when he simply pulled out a gun and shot the dog dead. John found himself backed into a corner then, scared he'd be next.
"John Anthony Laurens," Burr said dramatically as he pointed the gun toward the ceiling. "Or do you prefer the handle, Anthony Ramos? Or perhaps even A. Ram?"
"Wh—what's this about?" John asked, trying very hard to keep his voice steady and failing.
"Haven't figured it out yet, have you?" the man replied. "That's alright, see this is why I wanted to talk to you, John. I wanted to be sure we could both be on the same page about something. And as soon as we are, I have no problem letting you go. So just pay attention and this whole mess can be sorted," he snapped his fingers, "Just like that." He pulled out a remote, clicking it so that a projector hidden in the shadows and bolted to the ceiling came to life as it started to play out a scene from only a few nights ago.
"Heh, what are you gunna do to me?"
"Oh no, if I told you what I have in mind to do to you then you might not want to stay."
"Give me an idea."
John watched in sickened horror as the recording played out, the way Aaron's cock was slid into his mouth, how John moaned too eagerly to take it. There was no doubt it was him either, no mistaking his bouncing curls, his own voice, every single fucking freckle on his body was accounted for as he rolled over and willingly letting Aaron take him from behind. "Nice little tape, isn't it?" Burr asked him, a smirk on his face. "Do you think your father would like to see it?"
"NO!" John yelled, knowing whatever resolve he'd had to be brave was gone in that single statement. "God No, You Can't!"
"I can do whatever I damn well please, John," Burr told him. "In fact, if I wanted too, I could sent that little sex tape of ours to every single person whose ever seen your face, wither they know your name or not. Think about it, if you will. Your mother and father will get a copy, your siblings, your grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, schoolmates, friends, co-workers. Every single one of your teachers. The goddamn barista that served you at the Starbucks you visited on the far side of town ONCE and have never been back because you just get your coffee fix from the one closer to home, I can make anyone I want see that tape with one little click of a button, John. Oh, but don't worry, no one has seen it, yet."
"So what do you want?" John asked, nearly frantic. He glanced between the unimpressed and unnamed bodyguard and then Oak. Compliance. "I'll give you anything, anything you want! If it's money you want, I'll find a way to pay you whatever you'd like!"
Burr chuckled coolly. "Now there's an interesting offer, but you could never pay me more then what my business generates on it's own, even if you emptied your family's entire fortune straight into my bank account."
John squeezed his eyes shut, feeling tears run down his cheeks. "Then...then what it is you want?"
Burr raised the remote again and pointed it at the projector, this time a different video came up.
"Hello?" Alex said into the screen. "Hello? Hi—oh, there you are. Ramos? A. Ramos?" John remembered this, it was the first time he'd ever interacted with Lin. Ordinarily the footage from any session would be downloaded and emailed to a client for their personal rewatching, but this was one such interaction that John had never received. "One second, I'm so sorry for this, please stay on the line, just give me a minute...Oh, oh, oh I see, oh nooooo, oh sweetheart, I see what happened here. Oh gosh, yeah Jon doesn't like the idea of—Oh course, no, you're right, your right, I'm so sorry for him. Listen, I'm going to take care of you, whatever you want now, okay? He's being talked to, he's being dealt with right now, but I'm going to step in and I hope that's okay? Really? You'll let me try to make it up to you? Okay, thank you so much. Can I just ask if you're alright? You sure? Yeah, I know what he's like, and believe me, he's always that pleasant." John couldn't remember any of his answers for this session, he only recalled typing furiously into the keyboard about how pissed he was to be yelled at by someone he'd paid to perform for him. "Oh, I take it you didn't catch the live show we did four months ago, then? Heh, well, you didn't miss much. To summarize he had my legs on either side of my head and started to say some of the same stuff he said to you. So I punched him in the face and told him to get the fuck off me. Then I got my things and left." Alex smiled softly into the screen, flipping his loose hair over one shoulder. "Heheh, yes really. You know, we record everything, even the live shows. I'll see if my boss won't let me send you the footage. Let you know that Lin Garland isn't a liar, heheh. Oh no, the text box is just fine, hunny. Is it because you don't have a camera? Ahh, yeah, they are. And if you go with a cheap one it's usually just so low quality too. So listen, I see that you didn't make any selection for toys? Oh, I see, yeah, Jon's selection sucks. Listen, I just need to tell you that I couldn't use anything in this room anyway, company protocol and some such stuff, which makes almost no sense because I could if I was working with him tonight but I'm not, soooo...they're very particular about that. So to better service you, I'm having my manager cancel and refund your session here and then we're gunna transfer you over to my studio, okay? No, no you're going to have a session with me free of charge, okay? I'm gunna bump you up to VIP, alright? Do you have two hours to spend with me right now? Good, that makes me so happy to hear that! Okay, so we're about to transfer you, you'll just be taken back to my selection screen, and I want you to feel free to select anything on my menu you want, okay? Oh, I'm very comfortable with anal play. Hey if it feels good I don't see why I shouldn't do it, ya know? Heh, okay. Okay my darling, I'll see you in a bit." He kissed his fingertips and waved to the screen, then sat back with a sigh and turned an exasperated look to somewhere just off screen. "Is Charles out of his fucking mind? What, does he NOT possess the skills to talk a client around something he doesn't want to do? That's like Cam Call 101!" John blinked, this was not part of the session he remembered.
"I know," said a female voice off screen. "But that's why Aaron called you in, you have skills he doesn't, I mean if anyone was gunna save that client it was gunna be you."
Alex grunted and fell back on the bed he was sitting on. "This. Fucking. Sucks. I have an exam I should be studying for! I was supposed to be on my way home by now, now I gotta spend two more hours entertaining some new fucking client because Charles can't NOT run his stupid fucking homophobic mouth!"
"I'm sorry Alex, will you be okay?"
"I wish Charles would just get fucked and get over himself already." Alex sat back up. "I'm gunna tell him that. I'm gunna say it straight to his cocky little face."
"Alex, No!"
"Alex, yeeeeesssssss," he dissolved into giggles with the off camera woman. A red dress began to come into view.
"Well, do yourself a favor and don't say it to him tonight. You got a two hour session ahead of you, you'll need your stamina. Aaron told me to tell you he rescheduled all your sessions for tomorrow night, you just have to get through this last session, go home and study, ace that test of yours, and then you can crawl up in your bed and pass out for as long as you like. Sound good?"
Alex sighed. "He's too good to me. God, I love that man."
"You're his best worker. What is he gunna do, not accommodate your needs?"
"He could stand to accommodate some other people's needs too. How are you feeling? Is he giving you the time off that you need to...?"
"Don't...worry about me, Alex. I'll be okay. Really. A pregnancy wasn't what I needed right now." Alex got up and stepped closer to the woman off camera, embracing her as a sniffling sound was heard and Alex's voice was low and comforting, but the words were now hard to make out. They began to amble off screen and after a moment the screen went dark again, bringing John back to the present moment.
"As you can see," Burr said, "Alex, tho until recently you've only know him as Lin Garland, is an employee of mine. And a damn fine gem of one at that. Did you have even the slightest idea that he didn't want to be entertaining you for your first session with him? I would bet money on no."
"So what, do you seduce and then threaten all of Alex's roommates then?" John asked, bolstered by the temporary distraction he'd been given.
"Oh no, John. Believe it or not, you're a special first case."
"Oh, lucky me."
"Oh, lucky you indeed. You see John, Alex will never tell you he's a porn star. And it's not because he's ashamed of what he does, quite the contrary he's very proud of his work. He is however, very careful, with who he let's into that part of his life. A few years ago he had a stalker, quite a bad one at that. And I just so happened to have the means of not only finding that stalker, but making them go away, for good." John instinctively flinched, his eyes darting once more to the poor dog that lay dead at Burr's feet now. "I took care of them for him and he's been working for me ever since, because I take care of him and protect him and I don't let anyone get close to him that maybe shouldn't be that close to him, ya know? So you can understand how, if Alex thought you were stalking him, he might get upset at me for allowing a client to find him in real life. And then I'll have to find a way to make sure you're cut out of Alex's life for good.
"Now, I know you're not really a stalker, John. I've done the background checks, and I know everything there is to know about you from the moment you popped out of your mother's vagina til right now. I know you're just some poor fool who, by some fucking cosmic joke or twist of fate, happened to luck out in getting placed in the same dorm room as his favorite porn star. I know you're a closet case loser who can't come out and play with the boys because if you do, you'll be shipped off to another summer camp where you'll be told over and over what a horrible sinner you are and how all your desires are gunna drag you straight to hell. It's funny cuz they're right, but what they didn't tell you was that you don't have to die to get to hell, John. Look around, you're already there, aren't you?"
"Life was hell long before I met you," John said.
"I'm aware, baby. The thing about Alex is he's not gunna see you as a victim here, John. As soon as you tell him who you are he's going to freak out and I don't want that. Now, I love Alex, really I do. But thankfully for you and me he can be really dumb sometimes. So your job is really quite simple. I just need you to keep your little fucking mouth shut for the rest of the school year. And I know you can handle that John, because you see, you haven't said a peep to Alex yet, have you?"
"So then why go through all this trouble?" John asked. "If you knew I wasn't gunna tell him anyway?"
"Insurance," Burr replied. "I know you might not want to now, but Alex has a way of warming up to people he likes. And he certainly likes you. So, I need something I can keep in my back pocket that's gunna keep you on a very tight little leash. Now, I think the sex tape might be enough but then again, in case it's not..." He pulled John's phone from his pocket and tossed it at him, startling John before he realized what he was getting back and barely catching it in his hands. When John looked up again, the projected video had changed once more, this time to footage from the security cameras in his parent's home from South Carolina. John felt his heart skip a beat as he watched his baby sister change into her pajamas for the night, angry and sickened that these men far too old to be spying on a 14 year old could so blatantly disregard her privacy. "Sweet little thing, isn't she?" Burr said. "Would be a shame if something happened to her, wouldn't it John?"
"You leave her the fuck out of this," John said, the anger building inside him once more. "Don't you fucking DARE touch my sister!"
"I think she's still a virgin," Burr causally stated looking to one of the unknown guys. "Ash, what do you think? Still innocent?"
"Looks innocent enough to me, sir," the man replied.
"Good, good," Burr said as he turned back toward the video. "They fetch a higher price that way."
"You Leave Her Alo—" John managed to get three steps in before a bullet whizzing by his head made him stop dead.
"The next one won't miss," Burr said coldly. "And if you don't want me to make you watch your sister get fucked by as many guys as I can round up before I make her watch me put in a bullet in your head, I suggest you do as I say, John." Burr watched John sink to the ground, pleased in the man's realization that he was powerless to do anything. "You want your sister safe John? Then you're gunna do everything that I ask of you, alright? Starting with Alex. What do I want from you regarding him?"
John shook in horror and panic. He'd nearly lost his life and the realization that he did not want to die paralyzed him from doing anything else. It sicked him to know his own self preservation in that moment overrode his need to protect his sister, that his own overwhelming fear had dropped him to his knees like a coward. He hugged himself and wished he could have just been killed outright instead.
"John, I'm waiting on your answer. Don't be rude."
His mind scrambled to remember the question, fought with panic that a lack of knowing the right answer only intensified. He looked up, tears streaming down his face and he begged, "please...please don't hurt her."
"I won't hurt anyone from your family," Burr told him. "If you do as I say. Now, what do I want you to do regarding Alex, John?"
"Shut my mouth," John instantly replied. "He can't know who I am. I won't tell him who I am."
"Good," Burr said as he holstered his gun. "That's all I wanted from you John. See? Everything is alright now. As long as you keep quiet no one has to get hurt, nobody needs to know. Don't you feel better now? I do." John shook his head as he covered his mouth, trying not to throw up. "You don't?" Burr replied with mock concern. "Well, here. I have something that'll cheer you right up." He waved the man he'd called Ash over and took a bag from him, producing from it John's personal laptop. "Look, everything is all set up," Burr cooed as he put it into John's lap, showing him the screen for the scheduled session he was supposed to have with Lin Garland. "Baby, don't cry, I'm still gunna let you jack off to my boy. Everybody wins like this, see? I can be a nice guy, can't I?"
John didn't have a response to that. He just held on to the computer on his lap and let the tears fall down his face as the countdown to start the session started rolling in the corner of the screen.
END CHAPTER