Marie Sexton - Coda 02 - A to Z (5 page)

Heavy Metal
. You never noticed?”

I shook my head.
“You gotta pay more attention to your regulars, man.”

“If he always rents the same movie, why did he spend so much time here?” I asked, trying not to sound defensive.

Angelo smirked at me. “’Cause he couldn’t ever find it. Said you put it in a different place every time. He thought you were doin’ it to fuck with him. I told him you were just clueless.”

That explained why Justin always seemed pissed, but I wasn’t sure being known as a dumb ass was much better.

I stopped on the way home and picked up sushi for myself, teriyaki chicken for Angelo (because the look he gave me when I mentioned raw fish wasn’t very enthusiastic), and a small bottle of sake.

We settled on the floor around the coffee table, and he put the movie in. It was
Seven
, with Brad Pitt. At least it was in color—and had Brad Pitt.

“That was seriously disturbing,” I said when it was over. He just laughed. “Kevin Spacey kicks ass as a bad guy, doesn’t he?”

I split the last of the sake between our cups, and then I remembered that he still had to work. “Are you going to get in trouble for drinking before your shift?”

He shrugged. “As long as I’m not shit-faced, nobody will even know. Nobody there but me and the customers, and they don’t notice anything.”

“Doesn’t it bother you, working so much?”
“What else am I gonna do?” he asked lightly.
“Do you have family around here?”
He hesitated a minute, then said, “No, man. No family.” “No family
around here
, you mean.”

“No,” he said with just a hint of annoyance in his voice, “I mean, I got no fuckin’ family.”

 

“How can that be? Are you an orphan or something?”

“Or somethin’.” He kept staring at the TV, even though it was just credits rolling, but when he realized I was still waiting, he sighed. “My mom was Indian. Not like… from India but American Indian. She married my dad in New Mexico. She said he was Italian.”

“And his last name was Green?” I asked skeptically.

He gave me his lopsided smile. “Apparently. Not like I ever met the guy. All I know is, they moved to Denver before I was born. And then a year later, my dad split. And then when I six or seven, my mom left me with the neighbor, and she split too. After that it was foster homes ’til I turned sixteen and dropped out of school and started takin’ care of myself.” He looked over at me, and I was trying to not look too horrified. “It’s not a big fuckin’ deal, so don’t go all after-school-special on me, all right?”

“Sure.” But I had to look away from him, in case my face betrayed me. My family had been stereotypically Cleaver-ish. My homosexuality was the worst thing that had ever happened to them, and even that hadn’t shaken things up too much. I couldn’t imagine growing up without their rock-solid support.

He looked down at the cup of sake in his hand. “This shit must be stronger than I thought, if I’m tellin’ you ’bout my parents.”

“It can sneak up on you.”
He glanced at the clock, sighed and said, “Gotta get goin’.” “Hey, Angelo?” I said just as he was going out the door. He stopped. “What?”
“You want to hang out again sometime?”

“You think I got nothin’ better to do?” It was that impudent tone again, and I didn’t know if I should be offended or not. “It was just a thought,” I said, trying once again not to sound defensive. “Never mind.”

“Yeah.”
“Yeah, what?”

“Yeah, I wanna hang out again sometime.” I wondered if I would ever get used to these convoluted exchanges. “See you tomorrow, Zach.”

…Angelo
C
AN
’
T
believe Zach didn’t know ’bout me bein’ queer. All those

times I was tryin’ to flirt with him, tryin’ to get his attention. Guess he just thought I was bein’ extra friendly. Talk about clueless. It makes me laugh.

Surprises me when he invites me over. It’s cool, though. He actually wants to hang with me and isn’t just aimin’ to get laid. Can’t even remember the last time that happened. Still, not sure why I told him ’bout my parents. It’s not somethin’ I generally tell people. Hate seein’ that look on their faces—that same look Zach had—part horror and part pity. It gets old real fuckin’ fast. Zach at least did his best to not let me see it.

He invites me over again two nights later, and we spend another night sittin’ on his livin’ room floor, watchin’ a movie and eatin’ takeout Thai food. When I leave I can’t help hopin’ he’ll ask me over again. Sure beats sittin’ at my place by myself.

Workin’ at A to Z is a trip. First, there’s the neighbors, crazy Ruby on one side and Jeremy on the other. Ruby told me my first week ’bout a vision she had of me tryin’ to choke a chicken. Resisted the urge to make the stereotypical masturbation joke. Have a feelin’ she wouldn’t have laughed. Jeremy wants me to register as a Libertarian. He says Republicrats are the stooges of the corporate empire. Whatever the fuck that means. Nero Sensei keeps tryin’ to sell me supplements, and his students are always runnin’ ’round the parkin’ lot in their gis, kickin’ trees and yellin’ like banshees. Then there’s the customers. The guy in the Hawaiian shirts used to be a lawyer. Now he’s a bartender. He definitely shops at Jeremy’s shop on a regular basis, and he loves tearjerkers. He was embarrassed at first, but why should I care if the guy digs chick flicks? Justin only rents
Heavy Metal
. The movie’s not that good, and I can’t help but wonder why he doesn’t just buy a copy of the damn thing. And then there’s Carrie, the girl with the pierced lip. Would have figured her for a vampire freak. Turns out she plays cello and sings in her church choir. Loves musicals.

Never had so much fun at a job as I have with Zach. Look forward to seein’ him every day. I’m surprised how we seem to get along so easy. I feel bad for him, though, waitin’ ’round for that dickhead Tom. It’s clear as day that what Zach’s lookin’ for is a real relationship. It’s equally fuckin’ obvious that Tom isn’t interested in anything of the sort. Zach’s always countin’ the hours ’til he gets to see Tom again. Tom cancels at least half the time and shows up late the other half.

’Course who am I to talk? Like I said, I don’t do relationships. Still, I don’t think my way is quite so despicable. I would have shown Zach a good time and then never seen him again. I wouldn’t have pretended to date him and strung him along like Tom’s doin’. It’s the dishonesty that makes it so disgustin’. Got to remember, though, that it’s none of my business.

Couple weeks later Zach calls and asks me to open without him. Says he’s runnin’ late. That’s not just a phrase for Zach. He actually runs every mornin’. Sometimes a mile, sometimes a few. I don’t get it. Runnin’ isn’t my idea of fun. But it does explain why he still looks so great. Anyway he was runnin’ late and then still wanted to shower, too, before comin’ in. I told him to take his time. Wednesday mornin’: no reason for us both to be there.

That’s why I’m alone in the store when Tom comes in.

I gotta be honest. Tom creeps me out. Not sure I can explain it. Maybe ’cause big jocks like him made my teenage years hell. Maybe ’cause a jock like him tried to rape me four years ago. That guy gave off the same bad vibes I get from Tom. I been pretty happy he never noticed me. ’Til today.

He looks around the store, obviously lookin’ for Zach, but sees me instead. Then his eyes change. Can’t explain it no better than that. Gives me chills.

“Hey,” he says. He walks over to me, where I’m rearrangin’ movies on the shelves in the corner. “Zach here?”

 

“Nope.” I don’t look at him. Just keep doin’ what I’m doin’. “I’ll tell him you stopped by.”

’Course I’m hopin’ he’ll be happy with that answer and be on his merry fuckin’ way. But I know right away it’s not gonna work. He’s still standin’ there, lookin’ at me, and when I glance over, I see a little smirk on his face that makes my pulse kick into overdrive. Not in a good way. Worst part is, he’s got me blocked in the corner.

“Zach must be smarter than I thought,” he says suddenly, “keeping a pretty little thing like you around.” I’m not sure which part of that comment annoys me more—bein’ called a “pretty little thing,” or hearin’ him imply that Zach’s stupid. “Tell me. Does he let you fuck him, or is it always the other way around?”

“Not like that,” I say. I’m weighin’ my options. I’m not afraid of him. I learned a long time ago how to fight big guys like him. Question is, how much trouble will it cause afterward? Just have to bide my time, play it cool, hope nothin’ happens before Zach shows up.

“You expect me to believe that Zach keeps you around for your excellent organizational skills?” he asks sarcastically. I shrug. “Have to ask him.”

He moves closer. I don’t back away. Not gonna give him the satisfaction of seein’ me back down. “Come on now,” he says seductively. “Let’s play nice. I bet you’re worth the effort. Why don’t you give me a little of what you’ve been giving him? I’ll even make it fun for you.”

“Not givin’ him anything. Not givin’ you anything either.” “You don’t have to keep denying it. I don’t mind that he’s got a little action on the side.”

 

“You’re delusional.”

He laughs, like it’s all a game. Guess maybe it is—to him. Then he reaches up and tries to brush my hair out of my face. I move before I even decide to, knock his hand away, and turn to face him. “Don’t you fuckin’ touch me!”

His eyes get darker, scarier, and he says in a low voice, “Be careful, pretty boy.” It’s obviously a warnin’.

 

I refuse to be intimidated by him. I keep my eyes on his, keep my voice quiet and even. “Or what?”

“Maybe I’ll tell Zach that his little pet offered me a blow job in exchange for some extra cash. I don’t mind sharing him, but somehow, I doubt he feels the same way about sharing me.”

I’m tempted to call his bluff. Zach would never believe him anyway. But right then Zach walks in. And I hate how he looks so happy to see Tom.

’Course Tom’s good at what he does. He immediately steps back, away from me, and he’s got a smile plastered on his face before he turns ’round to face Zach.

“Hey, baby,” he says, “I was waiting for you.” He walks over to Zach and starts to reach for him.

I can’t fuckin’ watch this.
“Zach, I’ll be back in twenty,” I say.

I don’t even look over. Just put my head down and head for the door. I know Zach won’t object, though, and sure enough, I hear him say, “No problem,” just as I’m walkin’ out the door.

Don’t even know where I’m goin’. Just had to get out of there. Can’t decide if I should try to tell Zach ’bout Tom or not. First, I think I should. I’m his friend. That’s my job, right?

But the more I think about it, the more I realize it’s a stupid fuckin’ idea. Zach’s a big boy. It’s his business. What am I gonna say, anyway? “Your big jock boyfriend creeps me out?” Maybe “Tom hit on me.” No. If I tell him, it will just put him in the bad position of havin’ to choose between me and Tom. I don’t want to do that to him. Despite what Tom thinks, Zach isn’t stupid. Clueless and naïve, maybe, but that’s not the same thing. At some point he’s gonna figure out Tom’s a dickhead. No need to ruin our friendship in the meantime.

Zach…

I was pleasantly surprised to see Tom when I came into the store. “Hey, baby. I was waiting for you.” There was an extra button undone on his shirt today, and I couldn’t keep my eyes off of that little triangle of skin and the curly hairs there. He walked over to me and started to reach for me.

“Zach, I’ll be back in twenty,” Angelo suddenly said.

I assumed he was just trying to give Tom and me some privacy, although there was something weird in his voice. He wasn’t looking at me, though, and he was out the door before I could say more than, “No problem.”

“You should fire that punk before he robs you blind,” Tom said as soon as Angelo was gone.

I bristled at that. I wasn’t sure when I had stopped thinking of Angelo as a punk, but it definitely annoyed me to hear Tom talk about him that way. “Angelo would never steal from me,” I said with conviction. “I trust him unequivocally.”

That answer obviously didn’t please him, but he shrugged and then gave me that incredible, sexy smile. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around. We’ve been so busy.” He put his arm around my waist and pulled me against him. “I’ve missed you, though.” That low seductive voice—just hearing it made me hard. He kissed my neck, and I relaxed against him. “Do you forgive me?”

“Of course.”
“Good.” He kissed me, his mouth soft but insistent, took my hand, and led me to the office. He opened the door and pushed me through, closed it behind us, and then he was all over me. He pushed me up against the wall and kissed me hard. His hands were squeezing my ass again.

“I don’t have much time,” he said breathlessly in my ear, “but I really wanted to see you. I’ve missed you so much.” He kissed me again and ground his crotch against mine, and then he pulled back to brush his thumb over my mouth. I put my tongue out and licked it. His eyes went a little wide, and he breathed, “God, I love your mouth.”

I smiled at him. “How much time do you have?”
“A few minutes.”

“It’ll be enough.” I turned us around so that he was against the wall. I kissed him again as I undid his pants and then dropped to my knees in front of him. I pulled his briefs down and licked the head of his cock.

“Oh yeah, baby, that’s right,” he murmured huskily. “I need it bad.”

I took him in my mouth as deep as I could. I had never mastered the art of swallowing somebody all the way, so I used my hand on the lower part of his shaft. “Oh God, that’s good,” he said. I sped up. I grabbed his balls with my other hand, squeezed them gently. I worked my tongue over his slit whenever I reached the top of his cock.

“Oh, baby, that’s it.” His hips were starting to thrust in and out, and one of his hands grabbed the back of my head. “That’s so nice. Your mouth is so hot. I’m close already. Just a little more.”

My own erection felt like it was pulsing in time with his thrusts. I would have used my hand on it, except I didn’t want a huge wet stain on the front of my pants for the rest of the day. I sped up and hoped he was planning to return the favor when I was finished. “Oh God, Zach. A little more. Just a little more.” His fingers clenched in my hair, and that was all it took.