Chapter 2: Cheaters and Lovers-2
1036 Words
Gary’s flat was spacious and comfortable. There was a kitchen, living room, and bathroom area, all of which were tidy. The furniture was clean, there was no dust, and everything looked as if it had a place of its own, leaving no clutter. The windows overlooking Shellton Street were open, and a summertime breeze wafted inside. The scent of strawberries also lingered, which Jax thought derived from a Partylite candle.
Jax’s ankle was never elevated. Nor was there ice put over its twisted area. Instead, they talked, drank, shared some more talk, and continued to drink. Jax learned that Gerald Mason Bent was thirty-one years old, owned a bike repair shop on the other side of town, refused to move to the south side of the city because then he couldn’t bike to work and exercise. The guy was originally from Buffalo, New York, and had moved to Eastwind a few years ago.
He said over shots of honey whiskey, “I moved here because of a guy. His name was Matt. I was madly in love with him. Too bad he was madly in love with a number of other c***s besides mine.”
Talked. Drank. Talked more. Drank more.
Gary, as Gerald liked to be called, came from a large family, and had three brothers and four sisters. His father worked in a paper mill in Buffalo, and his mother was a nurse. His family did not come from money and worked for everything they had. Caitlin Bent, his mother, died of breast cancer the previous year. His father still lived in Buffalo with Gary’s older brother.
“I think Bill is taking good care of my dad.” Gary didn’t go to college, although he had always wanted to do so. He confessed to Jax, inebriated, “I’m lax about running my business every day, if you want to know the truth.”
And…
They talked. They drank. Talked more. Drank more.
Jax asked, “When was your last boyfriend?”
“Frank was his name. Another biker. I dated him on and off. He didn’t really call me his boyfriend, although I wanted him to. We dated, messed around, and dated some more. I had more invested in the relationship than he did. Eventually, we stopped dating and messing around, and a new biker came along. Someone who was more interested in me.”
“Too bad for you about Frank.”
Gary shook his head. “Not really. It just meant that he wasn’t the right guy for me.”
“Of course. I get that.” Jax told Gary about Will Gramm and how he intended to break up with the sportscaster.
“Will Gramm is your boyfriend?” Gary asked with surprise.
Jax nodded.
“The guy is really hot. Love his eyes and hair. He’s a pretty boy when I watch him on the evening news.”
“Let me tell you, he just happens to like sports more than me. If I were a football, he may just sleep with me.”
“He’s not the right guy then, huh?”
“I never really thought he was. He’s handsome and smart, but not into me.”
“The right guy has to be into you. I know it sounds cliché, but it’s the truth. Frank and I have been through that.”
“Indeed, it is cliché.”
And there was more talk, and more drink, until Jax yawned a few times as two hours slipped into three hours. He felt light-headed.
“How many drinks did we have together?”
“Too many to count,” Gary said.
“I’m getting drunk.”
“I think you’re already there.”
Jax hiccupped, chuckled, and hiccupped a second time. “I’m on my worst behavior.”
“All’s good. No problem. I like it when a man is himself. You’re kind of funny this way.”
“You like funny drunks?” A wave of intoxication swam throughout Jax’s body, hitting his head, which ached and caused him to feel dizzy.
“I like funny men.”
“They are kind of nice, aren’t they?” Jax asked, watching the room spin in wild circles, vanish, reappear, and continue to spin. His vision waved from left to right, back and forth, without stopping. He laughed for no reason and nodded. “I should know where I am, but don’t. You want to help me out with that?”
“No need. You’re in good hands, Jax.” Gary was calm, cool, and collected.
Jax didn’t mind the situation at all, maybe because he had felt that the two men were already friends, clicking almost instantly during and after the bike accident on the street.
Jax playfully sang something from The Little Mermaid and laughed. “I should be going. My welcome has ended. Your hospitality has been most kind.”
* * * *
“You’ve had too much to drink,” Gary said, but he knew that Jax couldn’t comprehend what he was saying. “I can’t let you leave like this. How do you feel about spending the night?”
“How do I feel about Fright Night, the movie?” Gary watched Jax wiped his bottom lip and blinked his glassy eyes.
Gary laughed, blitzed, but not as blitzed as his new friend. “You’re loaded and don’t know what you’re saying. Forget what I said.”
“That was a movie, right?”
“What?”
“Fright Night. It was about aliens or something. Or the Amish? I don’t know. I can’t remember.”
“Yeah. Of course. It was about aliens and the Amish.” Gary didn’t know what the man was mumbling as he helped Jax stand and walk into the bedroom, which was only fifty feet from the living room. Once there, he flicked on the bedroom’s dim light, filling the room with amber-gold illumination that felt rich and warm.
“Bed,” Jax whispered, pointing at the bed.
Gary figured the man probably felt limp and safe and lighter and dizzy and numb and invisible, if his own past experiences were anything to go by.
“Bed,” Jax said again.
“Yes, bed.” Gary awkwardly peeled Jax’s clothes off, making the man more comfortable. He dropped the clothes to the floor in a pile and studied his guest’s chest, thighs, and legs. To his surprise, Jax removed his underwear and added it to the pile. Gary checked out Jax and said, “Not bad. Not bad at all.”
“Who’s not bad?” Jax asked, climbing on the bed, unable to slip beneath the sheets.
“Never mind. Go to sleep. You’ll be safe here.”
“Safe…bed.” Jax rested his head on a cotton-filled pillow, already closing his eyes.
Before Gary knew it, the naked and handsome guy was asleep, snoring. He let Jax be, of course. Why would he bother The Little Mermaid singer? What was the point?
Gary turned off the light and exited the bedroom. He then decided to have another drink.
“One for the road,” he whispered to himself.
Then, about forty minutes later, he stripped out of his own clothes because he hated to sleep in anything, trapped inside any material, and climbed on the bed with Jax. He snuggled close to the man and fell asleep, ending his day.
- Writer
