Page 9 of Colin

With a huff, I grabbed the box cutter and got to work, trying not to think about it.

At the end of my shift, I went to the front to tell Andy I was leaving. I waited as he served the last customer in line, and then he turned to me with a sad face. “I have bad news. Well, good news for the long run, but not for you right now.”

“What are you talking about?”

Andy sighed. “Afterglow is closed. I mean, not permanently. They’re doing renovations, fixing it up, but it’ll be closed for the next few weeks. That means no hunting for you.”

I rolled my eyes. Of course, that was how my life seemed to be going. Downhill fast. “Is there anywhere else we can go?”

“Maybe.” Andy bit his lower lip. “Might not be as good. I don’t want to take you to a seedy dump. Afterglow is classy. Nicest place I know of.”

“But I can’t wait. I can’t end up with Vick. He makes my skin crawl.”

“He’s notthatbad.”

“Then you fuck him.”

“Shh…language, Turtle.” Andy glanced around the café. There were a few people at the tables, but none of them were paying attention to us. “I’ll figure something out.” He flashed his fancy watch again. “Come by at five when I get off. We’ll go to my place and figure out a game plan.”

“Okay, fine. See you then.” I waved and went out the front door. I had a few hours to kill and figured I better keep looking for another job. If it came down to it, Andy might let me crash at his place temporarily. But I didn’t want it to come to that.

I got a lovely surprise when I arrived back at Koffee Kraze. Since I wasn’t working and arrived early, I went through the front doors. Levi was at the counter ordering drinks for him and his friend. Levi used to work at Koffee Kraze with us before he got a daddy. And…my lightbulb went on. I could totally ask him how he got his daddy. After Andy made Levi’s drinks, I grabbed them and took them over.

But the conversation was disappointing. Levi reminded me that he got his daddy by accident, and his friend, Danny, said he met his daddy at Afterglow. So I was back to crash and burn.

I waited around in back, feeling stupid and low, until Andy finished and closed up. “Okay, Turtle. Let’s head to my place first. We have a few choices for where we can go. Right, most have go-go boys, and you do not want to compete with that. So, I think Magnolia Underground is best. And it’s in Ybor, so not too far. If we want something better, we’d have to go across the bridge.” That meant into St. Petersburg, which was a no on a work night. And on most nights. It had to be a special occasion to go that far.

But it wasn’t like I’d been to any of the clubs. I had no idea why Magnolia Underground was better or worse than any other. “I’m not exposing my ass.”

Andy clucked. “Don’t judge. Get in, loser, we’re going daddy shopping.”

I huffed but got in his car anyway. It wasn’t anything fantastic. Certainly wasn’t what Rourke drove, but any car was better than what I had—no car. And Andy kept it nice and clean. And it drove well, all the way to his place. Where we once again played dress up with Andy’s clothes which were too small for me.

Andy searched his closet, muttering, “Blue, blue, blue.” Then he grabbed something and turned. “This is perfect.” He flung the shirt at me—if it could be called a shirt. “It’s a tease. Like peek-a-boo. Come on, put in on.”

It was lace and mesh in a neon blue. I pulled off my tee and put on the fancy shirt. It wasn’t as snug as what I expected Andy to give me, and the lace parts hid a lot, including my nipples. “It’s got a button thing here.” I held up my hair so Andy could do up the little buttons at the neck.

“Okay. Turn around. Let me see.” He looked me over while I spun. “You need leather pants with those, but I don’t have any that will fit. Oh, I know. Georgie!” He ran out of the room while I examined my reflection in his full-length mirror.

He came back with his roommate, Georgie, who was more my size, though his bulk was from muscles rather than pudge. He held out a pair of black leather pants. “These aren’t real leather, but they might look good. You’ll probably want to go commando.” He handed me the pants and raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah.” Self-conscience nerves threatened, but we all had the same equipment. I swallowed hard and stripped off my jeans. And boxers. Then, slipped into the faux leather. They were tight, but not as tight as the other shit Andy made me wear. And in fact…they hugged my ass nicely, making it look better. “I still only have my sneakers.” This outfit begged for something else. Chucks would not do.

“Wait. Uh, what size?”

“Nine and a half or ten, maybe?”

Georgie rushed out and back quickly. “Try these. They’re Carl’s but he said it was cool, as long as you bring them back. Same goes for the pants.”

“Of course. Thanks.” The shoes were some type of oxford in black and fit about as good as they could for being someone else’s shoe. “This work?”

Andy fluffed my hair behind me, then turned me around and swatted my ass. “Looking good, Turtle.”

Georgie finally cracked a smile and nodded.

“Thanks, y’all.”

Then Andy pulled on a black mesh top with tight black pants and his combat boots. He added a silver chain that hung across the top of his pecks. He looked good. He finger-combed his short blond hair and sprayed it with some product. “You totally don’t need any of this. You have the best hair.”

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