Eyes Like Winona Ch. 02

"You're a good boy. What's your name?"

I almost said Neil. I saved myself and told him my fake name.

"Well Ryan, tell me if you ever put that ass of yours on the market. Understand?"

I nodded. It was vulgar, and it made me feel dirty, but he was paying me. He didn't have to treat me nice. I had to treat him nice.

He left towards his car. I locked the room and went out. Drake was the only one on the steps. Jose was still with his customer, and Kirk must have picked up one while I was with the college-professor.

Drake stood up with a lank easy grace, unfolding his lean body like a length of wire. He walked with me to Ferdinand's car. "That was the first client on your own, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." I murmured. "I made another ninety."

I smiled wryly. "Correction, I made fifty."

"You got a tip?"

"I got a tip."

Ferdinand opened the window and I took out the mess of crumpled tens and twenties. I took back the five. "That was the tip." I whispered to him. "He... I gave him a blowjob and he gave me a blowjob."

Ferdinand nodded. "Good work Ryan. Do you need a break?"

I wanted one. I badly wanted one. But I shook my head. I needed money more. Ferdinand gestured to the steps, and I walked back with Drake.

When we sat on the concrete, he put his long thin arm around my shoulders. "Are you really okay?" He asked quietly.

I shrugged and looked down at the gritty concrete between my shoes. Celia wasn't the only one who needed new shoes. Mine were torn to shreds. I had duct tape all over the heels to keep the soles from flapping.

"Here. If you want it." He held a small glass object in his hand. I didn't recognize it at first, I leaned in. It was a small glass pipe, clear but with ribbons of blue in it. It looked like a small sculpture, but it had a bowl filled with brownish green stuff.

"Ferdinand lets us have a nug or two a night, as long as he knows that we're smoking it. He doesn't want us to take it and resell elsewhere. It helps to relax."

I looked down at the pretty little pipe, I think they called them 'pieces'. Mom had been on medical marijuana for the last three years of her life. It had come in little red pills. I wondered if the pills had gotten her stoned like this stuff would.

Drake put his arm back around my shoulder. "You don't have to if you don't want to, but it's just weed. It's not addictive. It will relax you, make you feel better. Might make you a little giggly or hungry.

I shook my head. "No thanks." He shrugged and knocked the green nugget of weed back into a ziplock baggie. He put the piece in his pocket.

"I like that about you. You don't just listen to what people say." I felt warmth in my stomach at the compliment. I liked his arm around my shoulder. It wasn't obvious or loud, it was a simple sign of affection.

"Are you kidding? That's all I do." After a moment of not clarifying, I asked him, "What do you do when you're not here?"

He shrugged. "I work at McDonalds, I go to college. Second year of studying for a degree as a Nurse. I'll be out of here soon. I've been saving up." He held up one long finger. "One sec, I got something for you."

He ran inside to his room, the first apartment. When he came back he had a tiny canister. It was a little grey canister covered in black warning labels. The canister was held in a cradle of orange plastic, and it had little metal key-ring dangling from it. It was a tiny canister of mace.

"You never know. I would just feel better if you started carrying this. I do." He brought out a canister that was the twin of mine, only red. "So, carry it? Please?"

I took the canister from his warm fingertips. "Thank you." I whispered, glancing up into his dark eyes and the soft black lashes that haloed them, before looking down at his knees. "I'll carry it." I slipped it into my pocket, and enjoyed the feeling of his arm around my shoulders.

A car came up to the curb and he went up to greet them. I bitterly hated the man in the car for interrupting us. I hated him even more when he took Drake away from me, leaving me alone.

*Hope you liked it! Remember to keep an eye out for my Nude Day submission, 'The Goats'*