Page 37 of Still Bruised
Jude chuckled.
“Rich bitch just looking for some rough trade, that’s all it is. We’re too different for it to be a real thing,” Anton muttered. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Tomorrow or the next day, he’ll forget I exist.”
“Who knows? Opposites attract.”
Anton shrugged, shaking his head.
“You and he already…?”
Anton nodded. “Met him in a club a few weekends back. His dick is…” Anton pinched his fingers together in a chef’s kiss symbol. “It hit all the right places. I haven’t come that hard in a long,longtime.”
“I didn’t need a full debriefing,” Jude grumbled.
“You said you didn’t want to see it. Nothing was said about hearing,” Anton said, grinning. “If I can’t talk about this shit with you, who can I?”
Jude eyed him. “I suppose.”
They rode along in silence for a few minutes, the click-clack of the subway car soothing to some degree.
Anton elbowed him gently. “This is our stop.”
Jude looked at the sign. “77thStreet? Where the fuck are we going?”
“Upper East Side,” Anton replied.
Jude shook his head.
Anton gave him a pointed look. “I said he was rich. I meantrich.”
Jude’s eyes widened. “Is it too late to back out?”
Anton dragged him to his feet and pushed toward the subway doors. “Yep. It’s too fucking late.”
They got out near the corner of Lexington and 77thand were soon walking along clean, tree-lined streets filled with older high-end apartment buildings mixed in with some fancy high-rises. At the bottom of all those buildings were upscale boutiques, restaurants, and posh offices. As they approached Park Avenue, Jude was sure they were out of their depth. He glanced down at the shorts he’d probably picked up at Old Navy and his Yankees tee. It was too hot to dress much differently, but still. He could’ve worn something a little nicer had he known they were headed into that neighborhood. “I wish you’d told me where we were going. I’m not dressed for this.”
“Not like the clothes are staying on long,” Anton replied.
“Still, I gotta walk in the door. We’re gonna end up stopped by some uppity doorman saying we don’t belong.”
“It’s fine,”Anton said, leading them down the street. He waved a hand over himself. “I didn’t dress up.”
Jude shook his head, wondering what Anton had gotten them into. But then, Antonhadsaid they were a different crowd. More like a different universe. When Anton led him toward the front of a building, the doorman did in fact give them the once over along with a glare.
“Can I help you gentlemen?”
“We’re invited to a party in 25-B,” Anton said.
The doorman eyed them both again before spun around and walked away.
“I said we didn’t look the part,” Jude muttered under his breath.
“Stop,” Anton said. “I’m nervous enough without you adding to.”
The doorman stopped at a podium inside the doors and returned with a tablet in his hands. “Name?”
“Anton Belanov.”
The doorman scanned the tablet before looking at Jude. “You?”
