[I feel like an 7-11, open 24/7. It feels like I'm nothing more than an animal for show and tell only I'm the piece of ass that guys use to say they did it with a black guy. That's all I'll ever be with 90% of these clients who ask me on a date.]
That's how Oliver felt as he went to sleep. He woke up the next morning and made himself a hot bath with a some blueberry incense before going on with his day. Taking the time to soak in the tub, he thought about his dates and the last time he had a true date that wasn't work related. Cody was fantastic! Single, established, no children out of wedlock and a complete gentleman, but it was still work. Reminiscing on his high school work, being involved on the debate team, the swim team, as well as other community projects...he had to question how the hell he wound up here. After busting his ass to get the best out of life, all he had was permanent reminders of his sexcapades in cyberspace and being slightly above the poverty line. How tempting! After about an hour and his skin starting to wrinkle, Oliver figured it was probably time to get out of the tub and slip on a white tee and a pair of blue jeans.
"Good Morning"
"'Morning" Damon responded. "Breakfast? I'll buy."
"Sure, give me a minute to brush my hair. I also told Claudia I'd take her to lunch. You wanna come?"
"No thanks, y'all do your thing. I gotta go check on my house."
"How about we go check on your home after breakfast? I drive?"
"Okay...."
At breakfast, Oliver ordered bacon and eggs while Damon got hotcakes. Damon ordered a swiss mocha to drink with a cup of water while Oliver ordered an apple juice. While sipping on his coffee, Damon asked him how much his gym was because he wanted to join. "Dude you can just use my info. I can have you in as a guest. Save you the $25." He stated that he needed to start working out so he could get in better shape. "I'm about to start dancing again." Damon could be described as fed up. He wasn't able to work a regular job and he knew he'd be dancing "under the table" rather than working for a club. He wanted to be independent and have control of his own earnings vs a strip club where he'd be giving away 30% of his earnings. Oliver sat there and listened to him and gave it much thought on his own.
"Once you start getting enough gigs, maybe you can bring me on with you. I'm trying to branch away from escorting." Oliver was tired of the agency that he was working. In his own words "the owner doesn't give a shit, fuck, damn, or rats ass about his black employees." In the meantime, he thought about going the independent route. He didn't want to go through craigslist, as too many were coming up killed over this. He thought about asking his clients for additional leads. Logging into the agency website via his cell phone, he put one of his personal email addresses on his page as well as other contact information. He figured that Claudia would have some clout on how to advertise independently so that he could be in control of his own money. In his mind, this income should be tax free, especially when he was putting HIS body, HIS health, and HIS safety at risk.
After eating breakfast and checking on Damon's house, which was in fine condition. After Damon grabbed a couple of items from his home, the pair headed back to Oliver's place to let their food go down. They wound up going to lunch around 1:00 pm, meeting at a bar not far from Claudia's home. Claudia was already outside waiting, having arrived about 10 minutes before Oliver arrived.
Dressed comfortably, she sported a yellow and white sundress and a matching hat.
"It's too long girl, so damn long girl" (think "I've been doing you wrong girl for so damn long girl) Oliver sang as he asked her what was up. "Just applying for jobs. No interviews yet."
"Don't worry, you'll get in"
"What about you?"
For the first time, in a couple of years, Oliver felt somewhat serene. "I'm surviving. I've got a good chance at getting into Grad School in Fort. Lauderdale. I may even be able to get a paid internship while I'm studying."
CLAUDIA-"Fantastic! Where at?"
OLIVER-"The government building downtown. Interning at the Family and Juvenile court"
It was not guaranteed, however the possibility of an internship or an RA or GA job on the campus was more promise than the news he had been hearing for the past year. "Do you know what you wanna drink?"
"I'm going to try this blueberry mojito."
"I think I'll have one too" Oliver said. "What about you D?"
"Just gonna get me a beer. I'm going simple."
[As much as I drink, I really don't need to provide an explanation as to why I spend so much time in the gym. I'd be so bloated.]
Damon, attempting to make conversation, asked what the starting salary was for teachers was. Claudia stated for her field, it would be a little over $40,000 for a beginner. Being certified in English, she decided to look at high schools and junior high schools. She could teach anything from literature (which she had a passion for) or ELA.
OLIVER-"Think you'll still work at the other place?"
CLAUDIA-"Yeah, I'll probably put a couple hours in during the evenings. Teacher's don't make a whole lot."
OLIVER-"What about you?"
CLAUDIA-"I'd like to put in some hours with the non-profit. I've working with them off and on since college and they've been really good to me."
Damon, sat there quiet. He glanced at his watch hoping that the drinks get to their table soon so these two could stop. "I work for my uncle. I handle his clerical work for the construction business."
OLIVER-So none of us are making the money we wanted.
For a moment, Oliver had a flashback to his Junior year of college at a business function. He was admired by his professors, however he remembered a social science organization event that he had attended where his professor was giving him every sort of accolade possible to a state representative. That he was a fantastic student, he was a hard worker. "He's given up much of his free time and his promotion has bought so many majors to our department. He's very ambitious."
"What are you trying to study young man?"
"I'd like to get my MSW at some point sir. Do prison social work, help with the rehabilitation process of getting inmates back into the working world. Perhaps even develop a program that if completed successfully, could expunge them of their records"
"You've given this a lot of thought."
Back at the outdoor table at the bar while eating chips and salsa he admitted that he wished that he had majored in something like Biology or Chemistry.
"I know people who get in those fields and are miserable. I have a friend who is a nurse and she hates it."
That didn't mean much to Oliver at the time, he just knew he was unhappy where he was and he wondered if he had wasted his time. Granted it didn't come out of his parents pockets. Scholarships covered everything except the books. After finishing his third drink and checking out of the bar, he dropped Damon home and decided to call his mother to ask her if she felt that he that what he was doing was in vain.
"Did I do it all for nothing?"
The response from his mom was interesting She admitted to her disappointment when he first chose his major, however she knew deep that he was never going to be a chemist. That said, if she had been footing the bill, he’d be majoring in accounting or finance.
"Thanks....I think"
After ending that phone call, he looked at the status one of his college applications. [Still Pending. Figures]
Making his way to the mall, he caught up with Juanito. His wife had a late day at school while he had a day off. "I called in sick"
"Your luck? Your boss will be right there in the food court."
"I still gotta get an outfit for a business conference. I might even have a matching briefcase." He found a vest on sale in Belk and a dress shirt in Penney's. They took a break so that Juan could get a pretzel before going to Dillard’s.
"So navy pants, navy vest and a soft yellow dress shirt. Dapper"
"You already know, baby. You know Ima go in style."
[No shit, this is the boy who goes to fucking McDonald’s wearing cologne. Uses bottled water to wash his face. Been shaving his legs since age 8.]
They left the mall and went to Ross before parting ways. Oliver headed to an indoor swimming pool while Juanito went home.
At home, Juanito walked in with his dad preparing supper. Steaks and baked potatoes, with a garden salad on the side. He still had a few hours before he had to go pick his wife up from school. To kill the time, he watched old action movies. Once that was done, he took out his certification books and studied for a while. Like Oliver, he ate a healthy diet. Of course, being a diabetic, this wasn't exactly an option for him. In addition to studying to become a personal trainer, he was also in the process of becoming a certified spin instructor. The diabetes comes from his mother's side and watching the pain his mother suffered made him very conscious of the choices he made in his childhood as well as his adulthood.
He strives to go to the gym at least 5 times per week and hoped to begin teaching some of the spin classes there within the next couple of months. As his dad went to put the steaks on the grill, he saw his son sitting there with no TV on and asked him what was on his mind.
"Nada, estudiando"
"You should be ready for that exam, no?"
"Si"
He eventually got up and headed out to pick up his wife. His father advised him not to take too long as the food would be close to ready by the time he returned. On his way to the university building, he stopped by a vitamin store and got one of those powders that one puts in water for the purpose of providing extra energy for a workout. He thought about his own life and what he was doing. While he had aspirations, he had a moment of a insecurity. His wife was on her way to being a registered nurse while he was working long hours at a advertising firm, not even making enough money to live on his own. Was Margo settling for less by marrying him?
When he arrived to the campus, Margo asked him "Where the hell have you been? I been sitting here about 45 minutes."
"Lo siento. Bad wreck on the way."
After returning home and eating dinner, Margo dropped a bomb.
"Your friend?" she said. "You know the one who's housewarming went to?"
"Oliver? What about him?"
"Word is that he gives some of the best head?"
"Where you heard that shit at?"
"Well....In one of my labs, I have a classmate who claims to have gotten one from him."
"And it was from Oliver for sure?"
"Saw his profile and everything. Talk to ya boy."
"I'll talk to him on my own time, you keep quiet about it. You already know how homophobic my dad is."
It made sense why, he didn't want the man he saw Oliver with to meet him. He immediately interjected himself when he reached out to shake Cody's hand. "Oh damn. Well I'm gonna go take a shower."
Juan did go to take a shower, however not before texting Oliver. "What are you doing Tuesday night?"
"Nothin'"
"Wanna have a drink?"
"Sure, just tell me where."
SYNOPSIS
CHARACTERS
PART 12 TO FOLLOW
