60I slammed the carved wooden door shut and flipped off the person hiding behind it, shouting his seemingly obvious preference for animals for the whole street to hear.
"AND THAT, "I screamed, "was for NOT TIPPING!" I grinned, and did the fly up loudly and rudely on my leather pants in the direction a mother across the street, in all white and cream with perfectly slicked back blond hair and a matching set of perfect twin boys. She looked shocked and gasped, hurrying her children down the street and muttering something along the lines of "...there goes the neighbourhood...".
I almost regretted my actions when a girl I knew from my English class and the School Counsel stepped out of the next door, looking prim and priss in a loose-skirt summer dress, her long black hair flowing down. She looked smarter and kinder than she really was- there was a reason she was called Permanent Monkey Sphincter- shortened to PMS.
"Hayden Tucker?" she asked, attempting to look confused. I smiled, putting on my best "piss-off-if-you-know-what's-good-for-you" face.
"Hiiiii, *Lilly*, " I drawled, sarcastically. She immediately pursed her lips and snapped her eyes to glaring, striding across her lawn. Oh, what *fun*, she was going to put on her highly socialised upper class schtick! Make notes, class!
"Hayden...," she said, and cued the fake sweetness. "May I ask why you were visiting Mr. Holdenberry? I thought you lived in...Belcrest Heights..." She said the last words like they was something dirty. So what if Belcrest was filled with artists who liked to , er, over-experiment with mind expansion aided by chemicals, and those who enjoyed a nice drink with their friends and then decided that maybe it was time to better re-acquaint their fists with their wives bodies? So what if almost every woman there had chosen to give birth at a generally untraditional age to fulfil herself with the experience of being a young mother? I often thought that maybe Lillies' neighbourhood were far too fond of willing to risk inbreeding just for breeding. 'Like dogs,' I thought obscurely.
Out loud I came back to her comment.
"I had a *spot of business*, Lils, if you don't mind..." I tried to push past her to get to my car, a classy 60's convertible a friend and I had spent all last summer restoring, but the stupid wench stopped me. I still hold enough chivalry not to push her to the ground...well...unless provoked.
"I do mind, rather..."she started, oozing patronising tones. "See," she explained, "we have certain standards to remain in this neighbourhood. Maybe we do go to school together...but you're also on a scholarship, *dahlink*, and it just isn't fitting for our scholarship kids to present themselves in a manner less than *desirable*. Hurts the school, see?"
'Ooh, nice' I thought.' A mock community service announcement!'
"Mr. Holdenberry found me and my *business* *desirable*. Is that good enough? Would you like me to *re-enact* his absolute satisfaction with my business?" I smirked and trailed a finger slowly up her arm. She grabbed it harshly and pushed me away, talking slowly and viciously, finally cracked.
"Watch it, because we will *not* tolerate that sort of behaviour. You may get your money and your kicks with sad rich old men but note that they are *not* your Daddy, and you are not on our level. I don't even know why you show your face at school."
"Because, "I drawled again, showing no emotions from her words intending to hurt. "I go to school with such people as you! It'd be such a *shame* to miss out on your admirable influence, dontcha think?" I smiled serenely at her and walked to my car. But once at the drivers door I called back to her.
"Oh, and Lils- one of them may have not been *my* Daddy? But he was damn well yours. Ponder it, *dahlink*!"
**************************************************************************** * Back at home, with my brother. It's just me and him, thankgawd. He doesn't know what I do- he'd hate himself if he found out. He thinks I have a job as a handyman...it's almost true...I am handy, I am a man...
I walk through the front door and hand over a satchel full of twenties equalling about four hundred bucks. He looks at me, a huge smile on his face, his eyes bloodshot.
"Hey, Will, you've been smoking then?" I sigh, honestly disappointed. He's usually responsible. He nods, grins, and turns back to the cooking show he's been watching. I immediately just leave for my room and check my mobile to see if there's any job offers waiting, Will's probably gone and spent the rent on that pot, for Christs sake he swore he'd quit...Not that I should be believing in that crap anymore. Everyone swears they will. No- one actually does. The men who beat their wives next door, over the block, all swear they'll stop, they swear they won't drink. They plead. But it's always the same, you can always hear it all over the neighbourhood. One house a night. It's a *very* good night if not one has set themselves off.
Good, there's a few offers. I laugh hysterically for a few minutes when I see one for Lilly's address. She probably thought I was bluffing. I wish. Her father's really kinky, I won't often go for him, unless money's really tight. He once saw me when he was at school for Lilly's sake, the time I beat her out for the top of English in an awards ceremony. God, the expression was priceless. The fact he called me that night was too.
I finally see one I'll take, for a guy in the upper class that's about the only good one in the whole suburb- Sebastian. He's gay, about 23, only calls me when he's desperate. This town's crap to find a gay guy to date in. He's only here because his dad put him up here to try to "shake that abnormality out of you with some fine schooling and lack of that terrible boy Brian!". Brian was his ex-boyfriend. Shame for Sebs, Daddy Dearest caught them right when they weren't exactly up for visitors. So off to Daddy's home town and apprenticeship at a newspaper because his Dad wants him to own a magazine. Twisted. Especially since he studied Music at Uni. I know all this because Sebs likes to talk occasionally. He tries to pay me those times, but since I occasionally shoot my mouth off too, I make him keep the money- another "only if it's tight" thing. I'll take it if he fulfils his threat to publish my "stories" in a book though.
This time he's in for a whole deal though, so I grab a few more essentials and write a quick cover note to Will- even if he's stoned now, he'll realise later that it's getting a bit late for a handyman job- and it's out the door.
***************************************************************
SEBS POV:
I wait for Hayden as I get his agreeing message back, taking a shower to pass the time. Once I did that and he came in. I must say, from my very, very, limited experience with male prostitutes- only him- the boy's good.
Some of the shit he's told me amazes me. The two friends he's got at school, a Puerto Rican girl dating her female History teacher, the homeless but typically rich-looking boy secretly dating the head cheerleader but with eyes for her soccer star boyfriend. All of the people he grew up with. The two he saw die one night when he was still in a gang. Whenever I'm reminded of that and I've got him over, we talk. We talked the first time, which he said felt so weird for him. He's never had a boyfriend before, and I tell him if he's ever hard up he can have me. He grins and tells me maybe , , but it's a hard choice from the obvious freely open gay community in the town. He honestly feels more comfortable when we're "doing business". Says it's what he knows, in that tone that conveys so much more than he's willing to let on.
Tonight I've called him 'cause my date dropped out. My ex boyfriend. He was going to be in town tonight but unfortunately, he missed his flight. I just can't wait any longer.
And finally the door rings and it's Hayden. I step out of the shower and wrap a towel around my waist, heading out to the front door and leaving a trail of water in my wake. I smile an honest grin as I pull open the formal wooden door and quickly hide behind it as I see that no, it is most defiantly *not* Hayden. It's that bloody twit from around the corner, the girl Hayden goes to school with, Lilly something. I sigh, not in the mood for it.
"What the fuck is it, Lilly?" I can't be bothered with ingrained courtesy rules. Especially not with this bitch.
"Right, well Mr. Mason. As much as I feel welcomed by your statement, I feel compelled to ask if i could come in?"
"No, you may fucking not, I'm wearing a towel."
"Still?"
"What could be so damn important?"
"I have a petition I'd like you to-" SLAM. God, felt good to shut that door. The girl grates my nerves to a fine powder.
It's barely shut half a second when it's knocked on again. I fling it open and thankgawd, it's Hayden.
"Hey!" I say, relieved. "You're bitchy little schoolmate was here, wanted me to sign a petition..."
He snorted and entered, shutting the door to the cold night air after him. He got right down to it and gently kissed me , warming me up. He tried all his usual and utterly successful foreplay tricks and we immersed ourselves in my bedroom for about an hour. He had more time tonight because it was Friday- he'd probably told his brother he was partying or something. Afterwards, he fell asleep. He'd never done that before. He'd never felt safe at anyone's house. I was touched he slept in my bed, absurdly so. Hayden was starting to seem less like a professional and more like a friend who was into the whole casual sex thing. That was dangerous in what he was doing, I guess, but I'm glad it was happening. This town had too little friends for both of us.
While he was sleeping I decided to entertain myself, and draw him. I studied Music at school, but I also stole all the art notes off my friends in that course, did the assignments. One of mine got handed in by accident once, I was so chuffed to see a top mark on it. On my way to get my pad and pencil I accidentally stepped on a small bit on paper and looked down on my usually neat floor, picking it up to see what it was. A shopping list.
"Bread? Toilet paper? Huh...Hayden's shopping list...?"I figured it was the least I could do for him- he's worth way more his usual, and plus sometime you just have to... give tips. I wrote him a note and left it on the bedside table, confessing my apologies for leaving him there sleeping and I'd be back soon.
At the grocery shop I suddenly realised what I was doing. Shopping, for my punker prostitute, the one with all the attitude and spunk and smarts. God. What the hell was I doing?
But I couldn't resist. I shrugged it off and strolled about, picking up all the items and humming an unrecognisable song.
************************************
"FUCK!" Hayden swore loudly when he realised he wasn't in his bed, he wasn't at home, where the HELL was he? He quickly looked around and realised two things: One, that this was Sebs room. It calmed him infinitely to know this, unconsciously soothing him. Two, there was a note beside the bed. Scrawled in seemingly Seb's messy writing, it read :
Hayden,
Boy, seriously, caffeine, you need it. I've gone out to do some grocery shopping. Feel free to go back to sleep or just help yourself to some coffee. But wait till I get back- I need to pay you, plus don't you just want my wonderful company? Don't say "Fuck no" too loudly there, this neighbourhood has "class", remember?
Sebs
Hayden read it a few times, before shrugging it off and sliding back into bed. So what if he wrote and said he'd be back at 3 am. He doubted Will'd even be straight faced before that. He could go a night.
As he slipped back to sleep it drowsily occurred to him what he was actually doing, but he just shook it off as some paranoid feeling and let a smile curve on his lips as dreams overcame him.