Ends and Beginnings : Part VII
On that Friday morning, Nick was up good and early, and by the time that Mike and Jeff emerged from their beds, he was in the middle of baking cookies again. As they both looked at him quizzically, he explained his motivation. "I thought that it would be a nice gesture to take them a gift, just to kind of soften the blow, if you like. I have made some vegan friendly ones for Rachel, and some of each of the other's known favourites. It will also help in another way…"
"Santana will immediately smell a rat!" said Jeff and Mike together, which made all three of them laugh.
"Exactly what I am hoping for! That way, we don't need to worry about how to bring the subject up, she will do it for us," Nick replied with a grin, as he set about preparing boxes to put the cookies in. Half an hour later, the three of them were standing at the door to the other loft, waiting anxiously for someone to answer their knock.
It was Santana who came to answer the door in the end; she looked at them, then down at the four carefully labelled boxes that Nick was holding, then stood aside and ushered them inside, before directing them to the kitchen once she had closed the door. She smiled, then shouted, "Hey guys, I need you all in the kitchen. At first I thought that we had a group of girl scouts on a fundraiser at the door, but on closer inspection I see that it is Mike and the lovely Niff; and moreover, they are looking shifty and carrying bribes! So if you could all come to the kitchen just now, you can help restrain them when I start the interrogation."
Mike chuckled at that, and ignored the glare that he received in return. Sure enough, within a couple of minutes, the other three residents of the larger loft had assembled, each of them taking their box with a smile. Santana also took hers, thanked Nick, then folded her arms and stared at him. "Right, now that the bribes have been handed over, you three can spill the beans. So, someone start, and make it good…" she said with just a hint of menace.
"You all know that we have been looking for a new place, so that we can avoid all the problems that the closure of the 'L' train is going to bring? Well, we have found one that we all like, and is within our budget," Nick replied, keeping his eyes cast down. He paused for a moment, then looked up, and his heart ached at the sad looks that had come across the faces of the four people opposite him. Brittany looked heartbroken, Sam miserable, and even Santana was sad. "There was only one issue, and that is what is going to make it worse for you guys. It was perfect, but there was a catch; if we wanted it, we had to take it quickly; and so we will be leaving much sooner than we thought…."
"How soon?" asked Rachel, who was acting as if she was less sad than she actually felt; after all, that loft had been her first home in New York with Kurt…
Nick looked at Mike and Jeff, and the former decided that it would be best to treat it like a Band-Aid, and just tell them straight. He nodded to Nick, and said "We'll be leaving on Monday…"
"This Monday! You're seriously leaving in three days!" gasped Santana, who had instinctively placed an arm around the shoulders of a devastated Brittany.
"It was the only thing that we could do in the circumstances. If we wanted the place, we had to be in on Monday," said Jeff sadly. "But it wasn't an easy decision. If there had been other places, more choices - but we've looked at so many other places, and nowhere was like this one. I just want you all to know that we are going to miss you guys so much…"
"And we are going to miss the three of you too," said Sam with a sniff. "Life here in Bushwick just will not be the same without you guys being around…"
"So, where exactly are you going then? Where is the place that is so good that you have to move like yesterday," said Santana. Jeff and Mike looked at each other, both aware that this was the question they had dreaded.
"We found a nice apartment in Barnes Avenue, just off Pelham Parkway, up in the Bronx. It near a stop on the '2' and '5' trains, a short walk from the shops on White Plains Road, and across the street from the public library, more or less," Nick replied with a smile. He had done some research that morning whilst the cookies were baking, just in case this happened. "The '2' train was the big plus, of course, as it takes the three of us more or less directly to either Columbia or the Lincoln Center; the '5' was a bonus, as it will bring Jeff more or less to the door of the Spotlight. The fact that the place still had so many of its original features was the final clincher. Sure, it is nowhere near as spacious as the loft, but it is bigger than most of the things we've seen, and it will be so much easier to heat in the winter. We will get used to less space; we will just need to exercise more care about what we buy to avoid clutter; that's all there is to it."
Whilst he had been talking, Santana had pulled out her tablet, and was now looking at the same thing he had that morning; the Google Images page for Barnes Avenue. "Well, I have to admit that it does look very nice. I wouldn't mind if Brittany and I ended up living in an area like that one day; it seems to be the sort of neighbourhood that a respectable married couple could settle down in and raise a kid. I will be totally honest with you and say that I had an inking yesterday that something was going on. I saw you coming home Nick with a pile of empty cardboard boxes. I thought that you were just a tad over organised, but it seems that was not the case."
"We didn't actually know for certain until early yesterday evening that we had actually been selected to have it, if we're being honest. We'd started to pack just on the off chance that we did," said Mike. "It was wanted by a heck of a lot of people, and we didn't just have to prove that we could afford it; we had to give them a lot of background information. In the end it boiled down to these two being prep school boys, Jeff being the artist of the moment, and me getting a job at the City Ballet at just the right time."
"Or maybe they just wanted a nice lawyer living amongst them," said Nick with a faux grumpiness, which made them all smile.
"Whatever it was, it worked," said Sam, a bit sadly. "You might not be living across the landing anymore, but we will still see you all the time; and on a positive note, at least you aren't going to have to cross the Hudson every day."
"Thankfully!" exclaimed Nick. "To be honest, I would rather have sat on a bus from here for a couple of hours each way every day than moved to New Jersey, however nice it is! So, we were thinking that we could hold a little gathering at the Spotlight tomorrow afternoon, around about two, just to let everyone else know what is going on. I know that the timing means that Rachel won't be able to attend, but it is still early enough that she could watch our little speech of thanks on Skype instead."
"Now that is such a thoughtful thing to do," said Rachel, ignoring Santana mouthing the words 'Suck up' at Nick. "I only hope that the new people that move into the other loft are just as perfect and polite as the three of you."
Once they managed to get back home, the three roommates looked at each other, then smiled. "I am so glad that you anticipated Santana's question and then did all that research, Nick," exclaimed Mike. "If you hadn't, then she would have smelt a rat. I know what she is like from old…"
"She could still rumble us if she does a search of the property rentals for that area and discovers that the property we described was never online," Nick replied. "Nonetheless, we have told them, and I don't think they will be too mad when they find out the truth tomorrow."
"Here's hoping," added Mike. "Anyway, I am going to go and pack up the stuff in my closet, and that will be my room done. After that, if you two need a hand with anything else, just give me a shout. I've got a free day for a change."
"We'll be packing up our own clothes this morning," Nick responded. "After lunch, I have a shift at the library until late, and Jeff has a shift at the diner at the same time. It will just be you and Caleb this evening. You could ask Sam over for a gaming session, because I don't think he is working today, whereas the girls will all be out and about. Of all of them, I think that he is secretly going to miss us the most. Once we are gone, he is going to be the only guy in Bushwick."
Mike nodded. "That's true; I can see him spending a lot of time in the West Village somehow. I will give him a call, and invite him over to play games and eat greasy pizza; totally unhealthy, but just this once, why not?"
True to his word, Mike invited Sam over, and when Nick walked in that night after work, it was to the sound of computer games and the smell of pizza. He walked into the living room and saw the pizza sitting on the table, still in the box it was delivered in, as Mike and Sam thought an epic battle on screen. He smiled happily at the way that the two of them were acting as if they were still a pair of teenage boys in a bedroom, not a couple of young twenty somethings. Nick was not a big gamer - his father had not approved, and although he had acquired the necessary hardware, he had it mainly to lend to Jeff. At Dalton, he had been much happier to sit and watch as Jeff had battled it out with the others on the few nights that their usual DVDs had been set aside for gaming. It seemed as if Caleb did not really approve of games either. He jumped out of his bed on seeing Nick, and after scowling in the direction of the couch, he walked over to rub himself against Nick's legs, desperate for attention, affection and no doubt, food. "Never mind, Caleb. Once we are in the new house, they can be playing games in one room, and you can be safely curled up in the peace of my little study with me," Nick whispered as he picked the cat up, and carried him through to the kitchen. He set him down, and found some scraps of chicken for him, which he set down nest to his bowl of milk. As the little cat ate, Nick glanced around the room, and realised that he was actually going to miss this room. He had the kitchen of his dreams in the West Village, but this place was special, in all of its mismatched glory. He had taught himself how to cook here, more or less, and had progressed from walking disaster area to competent in months. Since then, he had only improved, or so everyone told him. He just hoped now that his skills would live up to their surroundings in that beautiful kitchen in Manhattan…
As Nick fed the perpetually hungry Caleb in Bushwick, Beats and Flint were preparing for their penultimate show as the Preppy Boys in their small and familiar dressing room in Princeton. It seemed all the smaller that evening as there were two additional bodies in there. Having satisfied the bar manager with their skills the previous week, Alan and Callum were about to perform for an actual audience for the first time. With both of their mentors having been tied up with their final exams, it had not been easy for them to schedule much rehearsal time until that day, when they had resorted to using the confined space of the bar's liquor store to run through a relatively complex routine a few times. It was all about the timing and co-ordination between the two pairs, as well as the way they interacted within their own. Thankfully, the two younger men seemed to have most of the routine down already, having worked from the sketchy idea that Beats had given them; they also had their timing down pat, watching each other for the secret signs and gestures that would indicate that it was time to do a particular move.
It was one thing though to rehearse, and quite another to actually perform in front of a crowd of people. Then there was the right amount of stage make up that they had to apply to look their best under the harsh lights, and applying that was an alien concept to both of the younger men. So it was that they sat and watched as Beats and Flint, by now seasoned pros at this game, made themselves up, and then the positions were reversed, and the elders watched the younger apply theirs, correcting them as and when necessary. It was also obvious that as the time for their debut grew close, nerves were starting to get the better of the two apprentices in the stripping game, and so, with a few minutes left to go, Flint sat them both down, and spoke. "The first time that I did this, I spent the hour immediately before throwing up copiously in the restroom, retching until there was nothing left to come. I had a serious case of the jitters, and all I could think was that I must be mad to be doing this. Then, I remembered why I was doing it, and I knew that I had to go through with it; that there was no backing out now, not with Beats relying on me. So, my advice to you is quite simple, and it is what he said to me…."
Beats interrupted him at that point. "What is said was this; once you're up there on that stage, just ignore the crowd. Concentrate on just enjoying yourself. Picture someone in the crowd that you love, and dance for them, and only them."
"I used that advice the first time I had to go solo," Flint continued. "I was a bag of nerves, and then I decided that I would go out there and perform solely for my girlfriend Izzy, who was there for moral support in the audience. If other people saw what I was doing, then it was just incidental. The show was for her."
"The guys in the crowd will throw money at you, hopefully," said Beats, and that last word made the two younger guys chuckle. "What makes us different from the other guys that work that stage is that we rarely let anyone slip money into our clothes. We prefer to keep the crowd's hands off, unlike some. I would suggest you stick to that rule; it was our mystique that got us where we are, and it should be yours too as our successors. The important thing to remember is that you are here not just to work, but to have fun. Tonight, Flint and I are celebrating the fact that we have finished college. As for the two of you, tonight marks that start of what will hopefully be a long term, well paid gig. All of your money worries will be over. We know you are feeling nervous, but you are ready for this moment. You might not agree, but we think so, and more importantly, so does the boss. So just take a deep breath, relax, and let your body work for you."
Before they knew it, it was time. That moment had arrived. The four of them stood at the side of the stage as the guy that Beats and Flint still called The Cowboy completed the final actions of his routine. As he walked off the stage afterwards, and the money that was lying there was picked up, he paused to say "Good crowd tonight. So, all the best, newbies!" and then winked at Alan and Callum.
Flint smiled, and whispered, "It's not every day that a naked cowboy winks at you," which made the two young men smile.
Then the P.A. started up. "Well, folks, that is college finished for the year, which means a new group of graduates - and amongst them this year are our beloved Preppy Boys…" There was a chorus of booing at those words, which brought a lump to Flint's throat unexpectedly. "As they move on to pastures new, they have remembered to do one very important thing, and that is to train up a couple of new guys to replace them! Tonight is the night for our two Preppy Boys to hand over the baton to the new generation. So tonight, we have scored you a double; not two, but four prepsters ready and willing to how you everything they've got. So give your warmest welcome to the one and only Preppy Boys!"
As the crowd cheered, the routine they had planned and rehearsed began. Beats guided in Alan, and behind him, Flint stepped in with Callum at his side. The whoops that came from the crowd showed them at once that the new talent was getting their vote. The two younger men stood back to back in the centre, and the ceremonial began, as slowly Beats and Flint unfastened the new pin badges that had mysteriously appeared one morning in their apartment - angelic intervention was suspected, but was hotly denied - and pinned them onto the blazer lapel of the man that was replacing him. This done, the two youngsters stepped back to allow Beats and Flint to take centre stage as they had done so many nights before. All this had been done to no backing track; now, as they stood there, the sound system began to play the first notes of the track that they had deemed was the most appropriate for the night; School's Out by Alice Cooper. It was a far more rocky song than they usually used, but they had both agreed that it was the only choice. As for the crowd, the moment that they heard the opening chords, they went wild. The fact that the routine they were performing that night was a little more raunchy and suggestive than usual might also have accounted for the fact that the audience was getting wild…
Their performance that evening was every bit as flawless as people had come to expect of them. Whereas when they had started to work together they had spent a lot of their time watching each other closely to ensure that every move was in synch, now it was as if they had developed telepathy between them; they instinctively knew exactly what the other would be doing. Their bodies twisted and flexed in a choreography that they would never have got away with using whilst they were Warblers, but now those most came naturally and no longer felt alien. Ties were loosened, blazers and then shirts teasingly undone to reveal the flesh that the audience had come to expect. Although neither of them was body conscious, they had both stepped up their fitness regime, attending the gym on campus, building up the muscle tone and their core strength.
As they pulled each other's blazers off, standing right behind each other in turn, giving the illusion of body contact and maybe the suggestion that they were grinding against each other, the noise coming from the crowd began to grow. They then moved into a mirror image position, aping the other's actions as if they were in reflection, all of the time doing their utmost to tease and tantalise the room. Then they spun round, to stand back to back as they ripped off their trousers, their shirt clad back pressed tightly together. Shirts were soon discarded too, whilst their ties remained in place, as they entered what would normally be the finale of the act - but then with a nod and a wink, they pulled apart, and beckoned to the two younger men that had been standing on either side of the stage, as if to say to them that now it was their turn to perform.
For the two younger men, this was the moment that they had been working up to, but it was still one of the most terrifying things either of them had ever faced. The fearful looks on their faces were only partially an act, as where the nervous gulps as they came to take the now vacated spot centre stage. This nervousness only made the audience all the more excited. The music changed, to New Kid in Town by the Eagles, and at first slowly and uncertainly, Alan and Callum began to copy move for move the routine that Beats and Flint had just performed, watched over by the two more experienced young men. Sure, they did not have the same smoothness to their choreography, but if anything it made it all the more exciting to watch, if the reaction of the audience was anything to go by. Flint watched as the nerves began to be replaced by almost cocky glances as the clothes began to come off, and they worked up the same sweat that was shining on his own body. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, and that was for him the most important part.
The finale that evening saw all four of them back centre stage, clad in only underwear, ties, socks and shoes. The latter two items they had always kept on for simplicity, but that had been a surprisingly popular part of the act, if the fan letters were anything to go by. They proceeded to work the crowd into a frenzy, dancing up a storm together in almost perfect harmony, Beats and Flint flanking their young protégés as they worked towards that crucial final reveal. Bodies moved and flexed, all designed to titillate, but not expose too soon. Ties were whipped off, and flung into the crowd, a reward of sorts for the large number of bills that were by now fluttering onto the stage; then, with their hands held tightly over their crotches, they turned their backs on the audience one by one, and then ripped away the tight boxers they had been wearing. Then, as the stage lights started to dim, they whipped round, giving the crowd a brief glimpse of their full glory before darkness fell.
Then it was all over, and they made a dash for the dressing room, the applause and cheering still ringing in their ears. No-one said a word until they were safely back inside the little room, the door firmly closed. "I think that we might just have scored ourselves an A+ with that routine," said Beats.
"And let's be honest, most of the credit for that has to go to our very worthy replacements," said Flint.
"I wasn't sure that we were good enough. I was absolutely petrified to start with, and if I am honest with all of you, I very nearly bottled it when it was finally our turn to strip," responded Alan.
"I thought that I was going to throw up right there, all over the stage," whispered Callum, "but then, once we started, once the crowd was only screaming for us to perform…"
"…the adrenaline kicked in," Flint finished for him. "I was exactly the same the first night that I went out there. Now, I can honestly say that I am going to miss the baying crowd and the greasepaint and glitter. I am going to miss getting up there and gyrating my body with my best friend at my side. I can honestly say, hand on heart, that this has been the best experience of my life so far."
"I couldn't agree more," said Beats. "I actually have a vision of Elliott or Izzy walking into a room unexpectedly in a few years time and catching us doing a routine for old times sake."
Flint couldn't help himself. He burst out laughing as he realised that he could picture them doing that too. "We could call it our exercise routine as long as we kept our clothes on," he replied with a cheeky grin. Beats nodded, not at all averse to the idea of doing that from time to time. He continued to mull the idea over as they cleaned themselves up, removed the make up and glitter, and returned to their street clothes. Doing this job had kept both of them fit and toned. If he was honest, it sounded like the perfect basis for an exercise class…
They were all fully dressed again by the time the boss knocked on the door and stepped in, eager to congratulate the four of them on what he called their best show ever. He had praise for them all, particularly the new boys, which made them both blush - as did the notes that he handed them from the crowd. He then handed over their wage packets, and the tips from the night, split four ways as agreed. As he handed $500 to each of them, Flint could only smile as he saw the look of shock and delight on the faces of the two younger men as they were given the kind of money some people earned in a week for a few hours of work. He had the feeling that in these two, he and Beats had made a wise choice, and in their hands, the legacy of the Preppy Boys would be safe.