Don't Read in the Closet: Volume Four (91 page)

to merit that?

“Never get mugged?”

“I can hold my own,” I answer dismissively. I’m not as tall as

Nick, or as broad, but I’m a trained fighter and I’ve had a few

occasions to prove it, so in that respect, I’m not worried. That said, I

have no idea where this is going, and I don’t like it one bit.

“Here we are,” Nick says as the car stops in front of a warehouse

like so many in this part of town. The marquee says “Benedetti

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Meats” and the front door is open, so we walk in. There are boxes

neatly stacked everywhere I look, but I can’t shake the feeling this is a

front as I follow Nick through the warehouse. It’s quite a walk and

he’s swift on his feet. I occupy myself watching his obviously tailor-

made suit swish around his body, and occasionally catch a glimpse of

well-defined muscle underneath the expensive-looking fabric. I’m just

starting to imagine what he looks like without the suit when he stops

and hitches up his jacket to grab something from his pocket. It’s

money, but I can’t make out how much. He knocks on the door and

after a little while, a man opens it just a little, then some more when

he sees who it is. His expression is blank, but he steps aside to let us

in and I see Nick slip him the money.

“This way,” Nick directs as he walks ahead of me.

Immediately the air changes. It was stale and cold in the

warehouse, but in here it smells sweet and feels much warmer. I

realize I’m hungry as Nick closes the door behind me and I smell

food. Soup maybe, and then a little later, cake. The smells blend, so

I’m not sure.

I want to walk further, but Nick stops me. “Let me see what you

look like first. Boss likes his boys to dress well.”

I’m wearing an Armani suit. It’s by no means this year’s

collection and it’s second-hand, but it fits me well, so I let him look

me over. I know by now that if I want to fit in I wear silk shirts and a

silk tie with a clip. The right look goes far in this family, and I’m once

again glad I put in the effort.

Nick is standing in front of me and as he smooths down my lapels,

I need to stop myself from leaning into the touch. He notices and

smiles just a little as he tightens my tie and pulls it down inside the

clip. “Giancarlo’s going to like what he sees.”

Apparently Nick likes what he sees as well,
I can’t help thinking.

With a seductive cock of his head, he directs me to the room

where all the light seems to be coming from. As we walk through the

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open door, I see a stage setup, like in a strip bar, with a central pole

and lights all around the rim. Near the front is a bench and on it two

twinks are undulating against each other. They’re both facing the

same way, toward a darkened booth. As we move closer I see the

front one is stark naked and aroused, while the other one is half

undressed and doing everything to keep the first one writhing. They

look alike, same slender, practically emaciated built, roughly the same

height, with the same bleached blond hair as if they’ve been styled to

look like twins, and it feels perverted to me. All this means I’m not

particularly aroused by what’s going on. I’ve had my release earlier

and the two kids are a bit young for my taste; besides, it looks

contrived and all for show, even when the first one comes and shoots

his load all over the bench in front of him.

As I take a step forward, I see a goon step out of the shadows so I

stop and look at Nick. “Give it a minute,” Nick whispers just loud

enough for me to hear him.

The sated twink collapses on the bench as the one behind him gets

up and walks to the booth in front of the stage.

“You like?” I hear in a thick Eastern European accent.

“Oh, I like,” an older voice answers. I recognize Giancarlo’s New

York drawl, but I can’t see him and although I feel Nick’s hand on my

arm, I don’t need it to remind me not to move yet. Because of the light

coming off the stage area, the twink isn’t shrouded in darkness like his

patron, and I see him sink down to the floor between what must be

Giancarlo’s legs. His body language is all seduction before he dives

in. His head starts bobbing and Giancarlo starts moaning softly and

using sweet-nothing words to encourage the youngster.

I look to the side and see Nick look back at me. I raise an eyebrow

and he shrugs like he’s telling me “Whatever” and “Business as

usual”. His look softens when he continues to feast his eyes on me,

and I wonder if it’s just my imagination or whether he’s speculating

that all this is turning me on. It still isn’t, and I couldn’t care less

about what’s going on just a few yards from where we’re standing. I

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just want the twink to do his job so we can get the introductions over

with.

A loud grunt interrupts my thought and we both look in the

direction of the darkened booth. The twink gets up and wipes his

mouth and we hear the soft rattle of a zipper closing. As the twink

retreats he smugly saunters past us before walking back to the stage to

collect his friend, who is watching it all without much interest.

“You’re not pretty enough to simply stand there for me to admire

you, Nicky,” a voice says from the booth. “Show me the boy.”

Nick nods that this means me and we walk closer. Just as we enter

the shadows, the booth light flicks on and I see Giancarlo, arms

resting on the curved back of the chesterfield inspired leather

upholstery. He’s a well-preserved man in his forties, lean and with a

receding hairline, but clearly confident.

“He’s a bit old to be called a boy,” Nick tells our host. He turns to

me and puts his hand on the back of my neck. At the same time he

caresses my chin, paying extra attention to the dark facial hair that

adorns it. “Smile, Matteo. Show off your best asset.” He pulls at the

side of my mouth and despite the strange situation, I do smile.

“I doubt that’s his best asset,” Giancarlo says to Nick. “Just like

you, he’s a bit old for me, so you’re welcome to him, but his smile is

definitely not his only strength, is it?”

I’m not sure how to react, and I wonder what Giancarlo and Nick

are playing at. Did Nick bring me here to entertain Giancarlo? Or are

they testing me for something else?

Nick continues talking to Giancarlo as his hands continue to

caress my neck and face. As Giancarlo’s eyes travel to me, I wonder if

Nick is aware of the intimacy of his caresses. “Matt here’s too good to

be working for Freddy, but because he provides the clubs with candy,

he does know the circuit so I thought he could be of use to you. You

said you were looking for someone to take over running a few of the

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failing clubs. I know Matt can do it, and he’ll keep his hands off the

girls and his pecker in his pants.”

“You’re very confident about that, Nicky,” Giancarlo says with a

knowing smile.

Nick nods smugly and they exchange a look I can’t read. The only

reason I can think of that Giancarlo would believe I won’t touch his

girls is that Nick just told him I’m gay. Denying would be the same as

acknowledging, so I pretend not to be able to read between the lines.

Giancarlo turns his attention from me to Nick and then back to me,

and I pull away when Nick squeezes my ass, more from the fact that

I’m still sore from the pounding I received just over an hour ago than

that I don’t want his hand on me.

Giancarlo laughs and Nick sniggers along. “Maybe you’re wrong

about him, Nicky. Perhaps you should take him to one of your favorite

haunts and test that theory of yours.”

“Perhaps I should take you along and you can see for yourself?”

Nick suggests to Giancarlo, and I involuntarily tense up. The last

thing I need is for the big boss’s brother to see me as I am. Suddenly,

simply being honest about my sexuality seems like a better idea than

being outed in a show-and-tell. I decide to wait with the big coming

out speech for a few moments longer, though. As Giancarlo sniggers,

I see that’s a wise decision.

“You know we like different types of men, Nicky.”

Now it’s Nick’s turn to laugh. “As in that I actually like men and

you prefer boys.”

“Legally they’re all old enough, they just look younger,”

Giancarlo admits. “I’ll tell Freddy I’m taking Matt here off his

hands,” he says casually, changing the subject without batting an

eyelash. “Now take your boy out for the evening, because he’s going

to be kept too busy for any of the relaxing stuff for a while after that.”

Nick nods at Giancarlo and then gestures at me to leave with him.

I nod my goodbye to Giancarlo as well, but his attention is already

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drawn to the two young men who entertained us earlier and who have

joined him now. I follow Nick to the next room.

“Care to tell me what this is all about? I’m supposed to work for

Giancarlo now?” I ask, feigning naiveté.

Nick smiles. “Giancarlo owns a number of clubs that employ

exotic dancers and escort girls. He also has a club that caters to

homosexual clientele, but that’s not his problem club. At a few of his

strip clubs, the managers couldn’t keep their hands off the girls. I took

over managing them a while ago, trying to get business going again. I

don’t have a problem keeping my hands to myself.” He looks at me

sideways as if he expects me to tell him I understand, but I keep my

face neutral, as if I don’t get what he’s aiming at. “I could use some

help and Giancarlo has heard some good buzz about you.”

“And who, pray tell, spoke highly of me? Not Freddy, for sure.

He’ll be glad to be rid of me.”

Nick doesn’t answer. Instead he walks out of the warehouse and I

follow. Once outside, he leads me around the corner to a narrow alley

between this building and the next. He turns around suddenly and his

face is serious.

“I’ve been doing my homework. Let’s just say I know more about

you than anyone else in the Family. And you better pray it stays that

way.”

I nod, wondering if I’ve been found out in more ways than just my

sexual orientation. I try to play it safe, though, and I chuckle. “Yeah,

let’s keep the taste in men between you and me, okay?”

Nick’s solemn expression turns into a smile and he kisses me. I

expect it to be rough and aggressive, but I’m wrong. His lips are soft,

and although he looks clean-shaven, he’s got the typical masculine

stubble. He doesn’t try to invade my mouth, but as soon as I return the

kiss he becomes more adventurous, and I get a real taste of him until

he pulls back but leaves his forehead resting against mine.

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“So what you’re saying is that you have your eye on me?” I say

after a tense few moments of neither of us talking. I’m still not totally

at ease around him, but I know he’s in as much danger as I am of

being found out. “Giancarlo obviously knows about you.” Nick nods.

“Does his brother know about Giancarlo?”

“No way. His priest would go nuts. If Catholic priests actually

went nuts, that is. Besides, Giancarlo has the best cover.”

“He does?” I ask.

“He’s got a perfectly fine miniature of a trophy wife,” Nick replies

as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.

“Don’t tell me she knows about his extracurricular life?”

“I doubt that. She’s the naive kind who only complains that he

never takes her shopping like he does the ‘guys he works with’. ”

“Let me guess. She’s not talking about his goons. He takes his

boys shopping but not her. I can imagine that would get her riled up. I

can also imagine that would make her suspicious or even jealous.”

Nick shakes his head. “As long as she hasn’t reached the limit on

her Gold card, he should be safe.”

“Women,” I sigh.

“Oh, I know my fair share of kept men,” Nick says with a smile.