PART 9

[You know the saying "prayer changes things"?  Yeah, I say sometimes it's for the worst. I fell for that in the past, but no more. Come to think of it, it was me busting my ass all the time that got me through college. I believed that it would pay off, but in Miami, it didn't. I was talking with a friend of mine who was in college majoring in education. He worked nights as a bartender. He actually made more money as a bartender. He eventually quit teaching because the kids were so damn bad. I saw him recently at a bar. He told me that he couldn't be happier to be back in the bar tending world]

Laying in the middle of his bed, he ignored a text from Damon and put on a movie. Once his movie ended, he spent the rest of the night and early morning drinking and looking at pornography. Not in the mood to socialize the following day, he took a large amount of Melatonin and slept through the first half of the following day. It was approximately 2:00 PM when he woke up. He had a little over three hours to get ready for the seminar. He decided to skip the gym and find an outfit. After a moment self-pleasure, he took a shower and brushed his teeth. He slipped on a white t-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts as he ironed his outfit for the evening. Deciding to answer his phone after not having any contact with anyone the night before, he spoke with Claudia.

CLAUDIA-What the hell happened to you?
OLIVER-I went home and crashed. Didn't get up until almost 2:00.
CLAUDIA-You feel okay? You  still going to the seminar?
OLIVER-Yes and yes. I'm laying out my outfit right now actually.
CLAUDIA-You got time to talk?
OLIVER-yeah, I'm gonna leave at 5:00
CLAUDIA-Good, I'm going to call in Aya and Ziggy
OLIVER-Okay
[phone ringing]
[Aya answers after 3 rings, Zinam answers after 4 rings]
CLAUDIA-Hey ladies
AYA-Hey
ZIGGY-Hello
CLAUDIA-I've got Oliver on the phone
AYA-Hey Oliver
OLIVER-Hey.
ZIGGY-How are you?
OLIVER-I'm okay, I never got to ask if the three of you had a good time at my housewarming.
AYA-I did, you got a nice place.
ZIGGY-Thanks for inviting us
CLAUDIA-Who was that other guy? Black guy.
ZIGGY-To bad he had a woman on his arms.
OLIVER-That was Juanito, we went to high school. He graduated a couple of years before me. He's taken. He's got a wife. Nice girl.
CLAUDIA-How about the other guy?
OLIVER-Cody?
CLAUDIA-Yes, what's the deal w/ him?
OLIVER-College bud.
ZIGGY-Okayyyyyy
AYA-Ladies, we need to look outside of the Miami metro for men. Looks like all the guys in are circle are gay or married .
CLAUDIA-Or both.
OLIVER-I like both.
ZIGGY-No hate, but I can't date a guy that likes what I like.
OLIVER-Double standard much? It seems with girls, it's far more acceptable.
AYA-I'd just be worried that he's thinking about another man when he's w/ me. I'd be worried that I was never enough.
OLIVER-We'll have to talk about that later.
AYA-So, y'all heard? Raja's having a sex therapist as a guest speaker?
OLIVER-What typically happens at these seminars?
AYA-She speaks, there's a cocktail hour, then she opens the floor for questions and discussion.
ZIGGY-Usually about a couple of hours. Well y'all I gotta go. I got anther call.
OLIVER-Later. I'm going to hang up to, finish getting ready.

Raja typically had a speaker, a cocktail hour, and a opening for Q&A. This time, she would have a guest speaker for the Q&A. She was in the process of getting ready for her even which would be in a couple of hours. She left her other novelty items in her hotel room as she planned on having her sale from her hotel room. This affair would be for women only. For this reason, women's invitations were different than the men's invite. The latter did not include any advertisements regarding the passion party that would take place following the seminar.
He arrived around 4:50 PM, wearing a button down and a black vest with a pair of black pants.  "You made it!" Raja said.
"I’m here."
"Glad you came. Well a few others are here, grab some wine and meet some of the guests."
He located Claudia along with a few others who worked in the profession of escorting and mingled for about an hour before the event began. They begin with a moment of having workers talk about previous encounters.

"I was actually supposed to go another conference this year, however it was cancelled due to safety issues" One young lady said. "The agency is in the middle of a lawsuit so I'm trying to find another agency"

[Yep, the story of my life. I'm trying to get out of the agency that I'm in right now. It's run by a racist who really doesn't value those of color]

"Yes, Raja said, we do have to look out for one another during these times. Racism is prevalent. You wouldn't think that it would be in a place like Miami, but when it comes to sex workers of color, people don't care"

[Sweethart, trying being black and in this profession.] Before Oliver could utter the words out loud, Zinam had beaten him to the punch as she whispered to Aya who was sitting next to her.

"I see you whispering Ziggy, what you got for us?"

"Black women are coming up dead or missing at an alarming rate right now and no one seems to care. I'm hesitant to talk about my profession due to arrest and also due to the way I'm viewed. Many of my clients when they get me they assume that I'm there to do nothing more than fulfill their fantasy of fucking a black woman. If I were to come up missing, I feel as if they'd say 'Oh she was a ho' 'She had it coming'. We just had a black female escort dead after vanishing a month ago. She was kidnapped by a former client who ended up burying her alive."

AYA-I rarely have sex with my client's. I'm more of a date and go home type now. That said, when I am intimate with a guy, I check his pockets first to make sure there are no weapons.

ZIGGY-If someone really wants to kill you, they can do so with their bare hands.

AYA-In the end, we need to begin becoming armed. I'm also taking a self defense class to reduce the risk of a partner or a client trying anything on me that puts me in danger.

RAJA-Not a bad idea. We do have to be careful out here. There are a lot of creeps and they know no color. Oliver....you haven't said much. This is a safe sex workshop.

OLIVER-Condoms. When it comes to sex, I always tell people not to do anything they aren't comfortable doing and if one is going to practice anal sex, wear a condom to avoid an infection. I'm an escort right now and there aren't a lot of black guys at this agency. I'm in the minority and being queer, I've been the victim of racist treatment. Some of my clients feel that I'll take anything and everything. I had one jackass who wanted to try a slave master type of thing, I took my shit and got out.

[If I had a nickel. That was a traumatic experience. I didn't sleep that night. I got to his house, he slammed the door as he escorted me in. He then grabbed me by the neck and threw me on the bed. He was quite aggressive when he really didn't need to be. Stripping was difficult, he kept a closet full of kinky shit like handcuffs, a stocking that he tried to stuff in my mouth and then wanted to fuck while I chocked. I kicked him in the face, I busted his fucking window and RAN. Like PSA, I'm not a fucking slave. I'm a person. Just because I'm a sex worker doesn't mean I don't have emotions. It's a job. My job is to please, however this is off limits.]

Oliver went to the meeting but there weren’t many queer guys there. It seemed to be a very female oriented event.  After he listened to Raja's friend speak, he stayed for a little while longer and had some refreshments prior to leaving. Raja's meeting came to an end before she had the ladies at her home for her passion where she sold everything from vibrators to massage oils, finishing the night with a little more than $500 extra dollars sales.  On his way home, Oliver picked up some take out-a chicken dinner and mashed potatoes. At home he turned on Pluto TV to catch a news story while he enjoyed a three piece with the mashed potatoes and fries. His phone begin to vibrate, when he sent a present message stating that he'd call them back in about an hour. He wanted to eat, take a shower, put on something to sleep in. "Umm yeah, I'll call him back in like an hour"

[After I've eaten, taken a shower, jacked off, and drank, might be an hour and a half]

He eventually called Damon back who asked him about the meeting.

DAMON-How was it?
OLIVER-It was okay, not a lot of fellas there.
DAMON-Did you get any vital information?
OLIVER-Very little. Nothing that wasn't already know.
DAMON-Have anything good to eat?
OLIVER-Finger foods. I had to stop and grab some grub on the way home.
DAMON-Definitely not as good as the food at your housewarming
OLIVER-No way [laughing]
DAMON-So what's on your agenda for tomorrow?
OLIVER-Work, then I'm meeting with a friend for a dinner meeting
DAMON-It's not your client is it?
OLIVER-Nah, it's a buddy who works in the same line of work.
DAMON-You and your friends.
OLIVER-I know.
DAMON-Well, I'm gonna head to bed. What you doing this weekend?
OLIVER-Got that date with that couple
DAMON-What the fuck is wrong with you? You going to some random man's house. They could be setting you up to kill you.
OLIVER-If it goes well, they'll pay my car not e for the next six months. That'll save me over $1200 for half a year. I feel like I just got a temporary raise.
DAMON-But like this?
OLIVER-Well when you got bills...……...
DAMON-I gotta go man.
OLIVER-Bye

Oliver didn't have much interest in doing anything else after he hung up the phone. It wasn't long before he fell asleep after lying on the sofa. He put on an episode of an independent news show and fell asleep shortly afterwards.

At work, he noticed Claudia's absence. He concluded that She was either taking her certification exam or she was drowning herself in her tears from failing it. With that in mind, he begin reviewing some paperwork and calling clients to confirm services requested for the upcoming month. After completing that task, he sat in a meeting with his coworkers regarding the last event at the mall.

"Great turnout" she said. "Our next one will be in October, we are going to do something for Halloween for the kids. I'd like to have face painting, refreshments, games for the kids to play, and more. The problem is, we are a bit low on funding for some of what I'd like, so we'll have to think of some alternatives. So the event will be somewhat modified. I'm giving you all a heads up, but I will be updating your guys over the next few weeks to let you know where we are."

"Keep the face painting and the costume party" one worker suggested.

WORKER 2-"How about a candy exchange"

OLIVER-"I don't know about that one. Kids with autism can be very territorial about what's theirs. They might not be ready for this one. If we were talking milder forms, maybe, but some on the farther end of the spectrum may think we are simply taking something away"

WORKER 3-I think the costume party idea would be cute. It's not something we typically do, as it's seldom that we have an event for Halloween.

They talked for about 30 minutes before the meeting adjourned. 

[A Halloween party? I haven't been to one of those things since I was in the 11th grade. I would have loved to have been more engaged but I have a date with a couple this Friday and I don't know if I'll make it out dead or alive. I've got two dates this week back to back and Wednesday and Thursday with clients booked and I have a meeting today with a guy who I met on the set of a porno. It better all be worth it]

He thought about it much of the day, after this week, he'd sleep it out. He had nothing going on next week and planned a date. The conversation with Damon the night before played in his head over and over. It was like a song on repeat only this time, he couldn't turn the song off, couldn't change the channel and couldn't drown it out of his head by playing anything else. As his day came to an end, he drove out to the beach where he'd be meeting his peer. Dante was his name. He could be described as 5'10 in height with a dark complexion. His hair could be described as jet black with a streak of blonde at the left side of the crown. Age, approximately 30 years old. He sported a Hawaiian button down with a pair of dark khaki shorts.

"Long time no see" he said as he reached his hand out to shake Oliver's. Oliver responded followed by a "bro" hug. "Let's grab some salsa from the cantina over there"
"Not a bad idea" Oliver said pointing out a table. "We can sit down"
"So what's up? You still in the adult entertainment industry?"
"How else am I gonna pay off this debt? I'm actually searching around for a consolidation loan"
"Just turn it into a small loan right?"
"When I got out of college man, I thought that I was gonna land a job at the place that I interned at. They were impressed with my work, but then the owner hired his best friends son. Come to find out that he promised him this job shortly after I begin interning for him."
"That's brutal"
"I don't know how I missed it, he was always so salty. I just thought he was a dick."
"But the porn?"
"Well that's a long story, but I can condense it. Playing around on Pornhub, a producer found me. Next thing I knew, I was in Cali. I thought I'd do one video, but one turned into two. Two turned into 10. Then like most, I begin escorting."
"Got a beau?"
"Nope"
"Me either. Though, I'm kind of liking one of my client's we've met one more than one occasion since the job. He's an accountant, about 6'6', mid 30s, no children."
"He sounds fantastic"
"He is. Now he's a white dude, but he's legit."
"So you like a little cream in your coffee"
"I love all colors of the rainbow. What about you"
"Dad being a preacher, kicked my ass out the house around the time he found out that I was dating a kat that I met eating lunch, we only reconciled about a year ago. It's basically the forbidden subject to talk about during family gatherings"
"How long were the two of you together?"
"Two years. Then shit hit the fan."
"You aren't praying hard enough to be out of your circumstances. You aren't trusting God enough"
"I'm digging the sarcasm"
"I heard the same shit growing up"
"Boo, I ditched prayer when I was 23 and I never looked back."
"I'll drink to that one. It will never be my mistake again"
"So you live in Florida now?"
"Yeah, had to get out of South Carolina."
"How the hell are you making the rent? I just had to ditch my apartment. I'm living in one of my aunt's rent houses now"
"I live with my cousin Laura. She's a teacher. We got a little house together. We make it work."
"I'm gonna order me a strawberry margarita"
"I think I'm going to have a beer"
[Another day, another drink. I'm already doomed to roast in hell when I die, so I might as well enjoy the life I have on the earth. At least, that's what I was told growing up. The fact that I dated girls, didn't mean a damn thing. The only thing she heard was "I like guys". She overheard me talking about a guy that I thought was cute and she basically asked me. I had no choice but to come clean. Didn't matter that I hadn't done anything at the point. I mean I lost my virginity when I was 19. All she heard was that I wasn't straight. Anywho…..drinking somewhat eases the pain of the shame I felt as a child. It briefly makes me forget about the delusion that God actually had my back. I've come to the realization that God is going to do what he wishes and not going to do what he doesn't wish.]
"So, any more pornographic films since?"
"Hell no. With the exception of a tickle fetish film or two. Mainly escorting. Trying to get a stripper license"
"Make some good ass money there"
"That's what I've been told. Gonna need the help for grad school"
"You trying to go back to school?"
"Yeah, I wanna get my MSW and a MPA"
"I'm working towards an MBA. I start next summer"
"That's great! Where?"
"I'll be in Tampa"
"Might be a good idea to do your studies outside of Miami. The party life will fuck you up"

After a couple of drinks, they check out of the cantina and exchanged contact info. "You'll have to pass by the house sometime man"

"All I need is the invite"
"You just got one."

He stopped for a lemonade en route to his house deciding to take a scenic route. He thought about Dante being accepted into graduate school, wishing that he had been more ready. He was happy for his friend, but he was dissatisfied with the circumstances of  his school status. Once he made it to his house, he took out some romaine lettuce, half a cucumber, some tortilla strips, along with some grilled chicken and made a salad with his dressing choice being a home made honey mustard vinaigrette that he made three days before. He turned on the TV and nearly lost his supper when he saw the news of a murder within a few blocks down the street from where he lived. "Oh my God!"

"So that's what was going on, early this morning" he said, remembering the abundance of police cars headed traveling on the side street earlier in the day. The victim was described as African-American, female, late 20s. Stabbed more than 50 times. He ate his food, then sent an email to Ziggy asking her when the next meeting was for her foundation stating that he would like to give his support because this is happening way too much. After hitting send, he took a long shower then put on a wife beater and a pair of shorts before going to sit on the porch.

Within 15 minutes, he had received a phone call from Aya regarding the news "I'm watching it right now. It's awful."

"Who? Why? What? How?"

"Me and some girls are going to have a march for her Thursday, I'd love it if you came"
"Count me in". Hanging up the phone, he resumed watching the story on the Twitter app. Police are saying that the stench of the blood would hit like a ton of bricks. This story left Oliver with Avery uneasy feeling the rest of the night. As he lay across the bed, he thought about what her final moments must have been, what she could have been doing in her final moments. She left behind two daughters aged 5 and 6.
Towards the middle of the night, he got up and  vomited. He didn’t sleep much that night and didn’t eat much doing the following day. He called his boss and said that he wasn’t feeling well. Afterwards, he drove out to the pharmacy for some pain killers and a bottle of water. Upon returning home, he took a pain killer and some Melatonin and slept for most of the day. Waking up in the evening, he got up to brush his teeth and call his mom. She asked him if he had seen the story on the news the night prior and he responded by saying that he had. "They are saying that it's her ex."

"Over what?!"
"We don't know, it's sickening. What kind of man kills a woman in front of her children"
"One trying to get out of child support or one who finds out about paternity fraud?"
[Not that I condone this, she asked a question and I answered]

He admitted that he was up half the night from the story. It broke his heart, imagining the woman's final hours, how her daughters are going to get through this. What's going to happen to them? It was a story that he had seen about one time too many and part of the reason that he wanted to get into social work to begin with. He only hoped that they had other family that could take them in.

"I just woke up actually. My sleeping pattern is a little out of wack right now."

"You need to see a doctor?"

"I might. I need to find a low cost one as my insurance is shit"

She ended the phone call to answer a phone call from her sister, while Oliver got up and went out to get some takeout. He prepared for his date the next day. The guy was an construction worker. 6'3', dark, about 215 lbs. He requested a restaurant date.

[I accepted this one as it was a no sex required date. I love a date where I get to know a person and a person likes to get to know me and not just get in my pants. People think that because I work in this industry that I'm about sex 24/7, unfortunately it's one I won't be able to shake.]

He had an idea as to what he'd wear. He took out a pair of white khaki's and a yellow polo shirt. For footwear he, got out a pair of brown boots that he received for his birthday. He planned to Nautica cologne and had high hopes for this date. 

[Dates like this are far and few between for me. Most of them only see us a quick piece of ass. Wanna hit it and quit. But of course, why would I expect differently. After all, some of these guys are in committed relationships and their significant others and/or spouses have no idea what they are doing when they were "working late", the oldest lie in the book by the way. Even if Thursday's date and Saturday's overnight stay doesn't go as smoothly as I like, I just ask that I make it through Saturday alive.]

TO BE CONTINUED WITH PART 10

SYNOPSIS

CHARACTERS