Mr. Jaguar (13 page)

Mike swallowed, his blood pumping faster. “You wanna go to Vegas with me?” he uttered. In the bright light, Jamie looked even paler than he usually was. Was he this nervous?

“If you want. I’ve earned a vacation anyway, so we could pick a destination and go.” Jamie cleared his throat. “I know you’re very tight on money, so we could… you know, continue with the current arrangement. We could speak of the details after I’m back…”

Mike licked his lips, dumbstruck. ‘Current arrangement’? Jamie wanted to keep paying him for company? As much as Mike loved and needed money, it made him feel uncomfortable at best. Was that all Jamie thought of him and their sex and… stuff? So Mike was broke, but the situation had changed since two days ago. He wanted different things now. It wasn’t even about feeling like a hooker, he was prepared to take some shit for three days, but he was not a ‘vacation package’. What was this? Mike all inclusive?

“Y-yeah…” he uttered in the end.

James gave him a tight smile and rushed across the room to pick up Mike’s hand. “I’ll be back later. We could have a nice dinner somewhere, without all those people,” he said, looking deep into Mike’s eyes.

Mike nodded, even though he’d lost all appetite. Dinner would be on James, ’cause Mike Miller couldn’t pay for shit. He didn’t like this at all. He kind of thought their arrangement dispersed into pleasant nothingness like a spray of Febreze. “I suppose.”

James bit his lip and opened his mouth to say something, but the silence was broken by his weird ringtone. It sounded like the soundtrack from a 1990s video game. James groaned but picked it up. “Yeah, I know, I’m getting back there right now. Tell him to wait for me,” he told the person he was speaking to. He finished the call with a brief “thanks” and smiled at Mike. “I need to go. There’s the promised two thousand in the bedside drawer, just so that you know I’m not trying to cheat you.”

Mike gave him a tight smile, unable to utter a word. It was his own damn fault that he got himself into a situation like this in the first place. Mike Miller, prime stud meat for the millionaire. The lunch he’d just had rose in his throat and threatened to escape. He needed to be out of here. The air conditioned room didn’t seem all that cool and comfortable anymore. The slight kiss James pressed to his cheek felt like a branding. “So… see you in a few hours. Get some rest. They have a great day spa, I’ve heard,” uttered James, slowly moving back toward the door where his briefcase was already waiting for him.

“See you. I’ll… have that nap.” Mike muttered, feeling completely out of place. He didn’t belong here. This wasn’t the thread count his life had. Expensive hotels, restaurants, big brand pants. It was all fake and rubbed him the wrong way. Having sex with James only showed Mike what he was missing, what he really wanted. And what he wanted was something real. Getting paid to be a boy-toy just didn’t cut it. Mike wasn’t the kind of guy Mr. Jaguar would be looking for.

James waved at him one last time and disappeared. The emptiness he left behind was filling the room like vicious smoke, threatening to choke the life out of Mike. The comfortable sofa, the television on the wall, even the grand bed peeking from the bedroom seemed to ready themselves to jump him.

He walked over to the other room and opened the drawer by the bed to find an envelope with the promised money. He could take it and go to Las Vegas, but it felt so dirty in his hand that even a pauper like him wouldn’t take it. Where he saw the possibility of something deep and meaningful, James saw a luxurious fling. A way to rub the noses of his frenemies and a good sexual experience. In a way, Mike couldn’t blame him. James couldn’t know how intense it would all get for such a gay-virgin like Mike.

He took a piece of paper from a notebook with the hotel logo and quickly wrote:

Thanks for the offer, but it turned out to be more intense for me than this. I think we’re looking for different things. I’ll find my own way to get what I want. It was great though. XXX Mike.

Mike sneered at the note. It looked pathetic and didn’t convey even half of what he was feeling. His handwriting was so bad it looked like it was offending the thick, creamy paper. Just like
he
was a stain on James’s life. He would have only been a nuisance.

Having made his decision, he started folding the clothes James got him into neat packages. He didn’t want dirt or weird smells on them. The ones that didn’t fit into the duffel bag he stuffed into one large plastic bag with the department store’s logo, and he gave the room one last look. His eyes were instantly drawn to the bed, and he found himself feeling sorry that the maid had made it. If it were still rustled, he’d consider walking over and smelling the pillow James used last night, but now it seemed like a waste of someone’s work.

If worse came to worst, and Vega wouldn’t give Mike his job back, he could probably sell some of the clothes on eBay. He could hardly believe thoughts like that were his life again.

****

Chapter 9

Mike felt numb when the crappy, old bus stopped a few hundred meters from Vega’s Gas & Motel. The thought of having to face his boss again, explain that he didn’t in fact fuck Vanessa, and that he would be a proper employee from now on was making him physically sick. But with barely having enough money for the bus fare, there was no way around it. It was back to the drawing board. Now that he got a taste of a different life, he would be more motivated to save up some money and eventually move to Vegas. In a year or so, if he was lucky.

He walked along the asphalt, with dirt blowing into his face. He could almost smell the gasoline now, and it brought the nauseating memories of long days filled with nothing of importance, of the smelly room that only fit a single bed, and the complete lack of fulfilment. This was going to be his life again. At least it was getting dark so he didn’t have to bear the excruciating heat pouring down from the sky. Everything around him had this purplish shade that made even the dry ground beneath his feet seem a bit otherworldly. He wouldn’t mind walking along this road with Jamie.

A car exited the station and drove past him with a low hum. There were a few vehicles parked by the motel, but the station seemed pretty much deserted. This was it, his walk of shame, his nightmare. He held the duffel bag over his arm so hard his palms were all sweaty. Even from afar, Mike could already see Vega getting up from his shabby old chair and making his way to the door. This would not be pretty.

Vega pushed the door open so hard it rattled when it hit the wall. He stopped by the entrance with his arms slightly spread, the beer belly peeking from underneath an old tank top that used to be white but was now a sort of unhealthy yellowish color. At least he wasn’t holding a gun.

“Hey, Mr. Vega!” Mike forced a smile as he walked up to his former and hopefully future boss.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the
prodigigulolous
son.” Vega smirked.

Mike laughed even though there was nothing funny about his position. This had to be the most humiliating day of his life. Even worse than the day his brother found gay porn on his computer. “Yeah, I suppose so. Stuff got a bit out of hand on Friday, didn’t it?”

Vega snorted and crossed his arms on top of the drum of his stomach. “I didn’t expect you to show up after that performance.”

Mike came up to Vega with a frown that he hoped looked apologetic. “Yeah, I kinda… I was on drugs. You know Mr. Jaguar? He gave me coke in the garage, and I kind of went mental. Sorry for that. I never slept with Vanessa. I respect her very much.”

Vega frowned. “You should kiss her feet after all this! Though I doubt she would ever speak to you again.”

Mike looked down at a bug crawling at his feet. That was how he felt now. Crawling at Vega’s feet. And just when he thought that, Vega stepped on the thing, breaking its little back with his dirty shoe. “I will. I’ll never do coke again, boss.”

“Oh, so it’s boss now?” snorted Vega. “I thought I fired you the moment I took out my gun.”

“How about I work for free for two weeks to make up for the stress, huh?” Mike clenched his hand over the handles of the plastic bag with expensive clothes. It was time to put all his stuff on eBay.

Vega narrowed his eyes. “I don’t know… what guarantee do I have you won’t do it again?”

“I promise, man. You know me, I don’t usually go off the rails.” Mike took a deep breath of hot air and put his hands in his pockets.

“A month. We’ll feed you,” said Vega, and Mike already knew that meant cheap toast and expiring food from the store. Horrible, but he would take that chance.

“Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Vega,” Mike muttered and pulled his hand out for a shake. There was a hum in the background so maybe a lost driver would end Mike’s misery?

“And we’ll lower your hourly wage by a dollar, until I decide I can trust you again,” said Vega. His eyes were slowly narrowing as he zeroed in on something over Mike’s shoulder.

Mike inhaled and gritted his teeth, but looked over his shoulder, annoyed with the noise. His mouth fell open when he saw that it wasn’t a car that disturbed the conversation. A black helicopter was lowering itself to the empty parking lot by the motel, raising dust into a cloud around it.

“What the f—” Vega uttered, barely audible through the noise.

Dirt and garbage started tumbling all around, pushed by the speeding air as the machine set down by the building.

“Is this even legal?” asked Vega, watching the helicopter door opening to reveal a male figure. The guy got out into the parking lot and rushed for the store, his tie and suit jacket floating in the air.

Mike’s jaw fell even lower when he recognized the man as no one else but James. What the hell was
he
doing here? Mike dropped both his bags and stared. With the helicopter behind him, in that sleek suit, James looked so classy it made Mike’s heart beat faster.

James started jogging, his face open and honest as he approached Mike in front of Vega’s store. He stopped two yards away from him and after a moment’s hesitation, took one more step. He blinked. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Mike uttered.

“What the fuck is Mr. Jaguar doing here? You givin’ my Mike coke, you shithead?” Vega walked past Mike and poked James’s chest.

“Who?” James shook his head, his eyes darting to Mike. He was flushed and out of breath. “What? No, I only had coffee.”

Mike slapped his forehead, wishing he could disappear. “What are you doing here?”

James looked back to the helicopter, to Vega, and then back at Mike. “Could we have some privacy, please?”

Vega opened his mouth to say something, but Mike stopped him with a groan. “I’ll deal with this, yeah?” he said and grabbed James’s arm, pulling him along, away from Vega.

“I’m so happy I found you here,” whispered James, tagging along like a puppet. “I was afraid you went God-knows-where, and I wouldn’t catch up to you.”

Mike frowned at the sight of a bandage on James’s hand. That was a much easier topic. “What happened to you? What are you doing here?”

James blinked and glanced at the white fabric. “Oh, this? I punched Richard, and… yeah, I’d never done that before so I hurt my hand.”

“Why did you punch him? I mean… he probably deserved it, but why?”

James spread his arms. “He told me he saw you leaving, and he made a comment that just… I just snapped.”

Mike raised his eyebrows. So James had it in him after all.

The silence was only bearable because of the hum of the helicopter. James bit his lip and inhaled so much air that his chest seemed to have gained a size. He cupped Mike’s face, stepping close with a slight frown. “I’m sorry.”

Mike tried to look away, but it was impossible, especially with the touch so warm on his skin. “It’s fine. I think we’re just looking for different things.”

James shook his head and found Mike’s hand, squeezing it tightly. “Don’t leave.”

“I can’t do it for money, Jamie. I thought I could, but it feels really weird with someone you like.” Mike took a deep breath, trying to slow down the pounding in his chest.

James let out a shuddery breath and nodded, his hair floating with the moving air. “But that’s what I’m trying to tell you. I like you too. I just thought… you’d feel weird if I expected you to just tag along with me for nothing after two days together.”

“It’s not like I had much of a plan anyway.” Mike dared to smile at James. Could Jamie possibly feel the same way about him? His whole body went aflame at the thought that he wasn’t the only one overwhelmed by their time together.

Jamie’s Adam’s apple bobbed. His face looked soft and fresh in the purplish light of the setting sun, which made his small smile seem all the sweeter. “I know it’s weird, but I’ve never felt this way before. I don’t want to bury you with the rest of my past,” he said, squeezing Mike’s hand harder.

“You don’t?” Mike stood a bit closer, unable to stop himself, as if the blue eyes were drawing him in.

James nodded, his eyes darkening. “When I was with you, it felt so… right. Everything; your voice, the way you touched me.” He swallowed and started to whisper, “The way you feel inside me… it makes me feel real.”

Mike couldn’t help the grin widening on his face. He loved to hear that. He’d love to hear that all the time. “Yeah, I couldn’t keep the money after that. No matter how much I need it. It’s not about pride, I didn’t want to make it seem less than what it was.”

Jamie’s hand fell from Mike’s face, and he squeezed both of Mike’s hands, standing so close that their chests were almost touching. “So… will you come with me?”

“Why? You gonna take me away in your chopper?” Mike snorted and glanced to the glorious machine that looked just as out of place in front of the ugly motel as a flying carpet would.

Jamie’s eyes glinted. His handsome face was otherworldly, like in a movie. This was where the characters kiss at the end. “I thought you’d like to fly in one before you start working for your licence.”

Mike bit his lip and squeezed Jamie’s hands so hard it hurt his fingers. “I’d really like that.”

Jamie opened his mouth but then closed it without uttering a sound. He leaned in, his chest bumping into Mike’s, and their mouths met. Jamie’s was soft, luscious, safe.