Breakdown - 4. 03 Ball And Chain

The next day, Cam was sitting at Jared's on his low, broken couch. It was a comfortable old thing; low-slung and grey. It had a few blankets draped over it, and Cam was pretty sure that Jared slept here some nights, falling asleep in front of the static on the TV. Cam had his hands in his pockets of his green coat and his legs spread in front of him. He was wearing his tight, low-slung jeans and a dark shirt. The same attire that Aziel had seen him in earlier that morning.

Cam stared at the litter on the table in front of him and thought about the encounter. The sex had been amazing, Cam really couldn't have denied that even if you threatened him with death. The way his body moved, the way they had moved together... Unlike what Cam had first surmised, they didn't stop after one. And the man had paid exceptionally well.

So well, in fact, that Cam was sitting at Jared's instead of walking the street tonight.

He thought of the man's cool gaze, as he tilted his head back and closed his eyes. His eyes were like deep holes in some unforgiveable arctic, hypothermic blue. Accompanied with the man's steady, unshakable confidence... It gave Cam the shivers. Was it completely wrong that he had found his john so incredibly erotic?

"Ya want rum in that?" Jared called from the dismal little kitchen. Cam's eyes snapped open and he let the image of Aziel fall away.

"You promised me vodka," Cam replied.

"I promised you vodka like a week ago," Jared said. "It's rum this week."

Cam laughed. "Fine, whatever will do," he said. He tilted his head back again and looked at Jared's back in the small kitchen. He hadn't told Jared why he was taking the night off; just said that he had come into some money and felt like keeping his legs closed for an evening. Jared had laughed it off, agreeing to spend some time with his friend.

Times were tough; it was getting harder and harder to hang out. Cam wondered where his youth had fled to; what dark corner had stolen away his childhood? The image of Derek under the white sheet oozed across his mind's eye, but he roughly shoved it back. No, not now. Not ever again.

Jared came over and sat down beside Cam. He handed him a tall glass that was brimming with fizzing cola. Cam smiled at him and took a sip. He winced.

"Jesus, Jared, how much did you put in this? Like half and half?" Cam asked.

Jared laughed. "Close enough. You seem like you need it. Been a rough week on you." He slapped Cam's thigh affectionately and then settled into the couch with his own drink. After a brief look around, he noticed that the remote was no where near him, and so tried to bring it closer with his foot. When that failed, he grumbled something about monkey feet and bent over to pick it up. Cam choked down three gulps of his drink before he set it aside.

"What did you want to watch?" Jared asked, clicking the channels as he asked.

"I dunno, just look for something," Cam said. His boss had been overjoyed that Cam had produced his quota after such a slow week. Cam had thought about going out again tonight, just to put some icing on the cake... but it just hadn't seemed worth it. The sky was threatening rain and...

Jared stopped on a channel that had some old British guy talking about the mating habits of bees.

"This?"

"Dude, I'm so not fucking drunk enough for that yet," Cam said.

Jared continued flipping. "So what's with your boss? Giving you a night off?"

"Yeah," Cam said, taking another sip of his drink. He decided to spill; if he couldn't tell Jared, who could he tell? "There was this guy that picked me up last night, must have been loaded. Took me to some upscale hotel in the west."

"Nice," Jared said, genuinely impressed.

"He was hot, too, which almost never happens," Cam said, sinking a little lower into the couch. "Usually it's some fat sweaty guy that wants you to ride him and tell him how big he is."

Jared was quiet, taking another drink. He'd heard enough about Cam's job to know that what Cam did was difficult, degrading, and most of the time, disgusting. He often wondered why Cam didn't get into something else... like dealing drugs... instead of offering up his body.

"Anyway, he was hot, and he was great in the sack," Cam replied. "And to finish it all off, this morning he gave me triple of what a full night would have cost."

"Triple?" Jared asked. He raised his eyebrows. "So you told your boss you only got some of it?"

"Hell yes," Cam said. "That's also why I chose to stay in. If I stay in, I'm less likely to get caught."

Jared raised his glass. "To good fortune?" he asked.

Cam smiled at him and clinked his glass. "To good fortune and long friendships."

They both raised their glasses to their lips and drank deeply, tasting the burn of liquor down their throats.

"Thanks, Jared," Cam said, looking down at his glass.

"For what?" He asked.

"For coming to get me... after I was at the coroner's."

Jared's face sobered and he squeezed Cam's shoulder. "No problem, man. Friends are there for the good and the bad."

"That was awful," he said thickly.

"I know Derek was a friend of yours," Jared whispered.

"Well, not really," Cam said, looking at Jared. "Just a work friend, you know? Someone to share the corner with, shoot the shit while we weren't busy. Someone to have your back, right? I just... I can't believe he's gone. And I can't believe it was so horrible."

"He got into something he couldn't handle," Jared said with a shake of his head.

"But it happened so fast," Cam said. "I mean, one day he was there, and the next he was missing, and then he was all fucked up and drooling all over my arm."

Jared was silent, looking at Cam intently.

"I don't want that to happen to me," Cam said severely.

The other smiled, squeezing his shoulder again. "I don't think you have to worry, Cam," Jared said. "You've got a good head on your shoulders, and you've been in the business a lot longer than he had been. You know your shit, and you know how to handle it. Maybe Derek just wasn't cut out for the lifestyle? Maybe he was tempted by things he should have stayed away from."

Cam was quiet a moment, and then turned to look at Jared straight in the face. "You didn't ever deal to him, did you?" Cam asked.

Jared shook his head. "No way, not once."

Cam looked away, chewing on his lips. "I wonder where he got it from then," Cam whispered.

"I don't sell to friends," Jared replied. "I don't want to see what I have go into someone I know."

Cam smiled a little, comforted despite his disgust with the subject. "Thanks, Jared."

"No problem. Finish your drink, I found TeleToon." Jared tilted his head. "And you seriously need a laugh or two."

The next day...

Aziel lay beside Mark, listening to his breathing. It was quiet, smooth, still. He let it guide his own breath, inhaling and exhaling as his lover did. He was staring up at the ceiling. He had been lying like this for at least an hour, the cool breeze from the open window playing over his naked flesh.

Mark's body was nude beside him. The silver highlights of his flesh dipped and blended into shadow with the curve of his form. Aziel found it quite pleasing; even more pleasing was the fact that it belonged to him and no one else. At the same time, it was quite annoying.

Mark's fingers were resting on Aziel's chest. They curled slightly in his sleep, brushing against the smooth skin of Aziel's sternum. Aziel opened his eyes when they curled, looking down at them. They were so different from his own; talentless and clumsy. Innocent.

Mark had welcomed him home eagerly, practically leaping into his arms. Aziel had at first brushed off the extra attention, but Mark was insistent. They had made love numerous times, in numerous places in the penthouse. Mark had chattered excitedly about work (he worked as a waiter at a fancy restaurant up town) and told Aziel what had come for him in the mail while he was gone. It had been less stressful than his work, but Aziel found it exhausting.

He tenderly stroked his fingers over Mark's forehead, looking at the ceiling and thinking about the semen that he had left behind in Chicago. Cam. Blonde, good build. From his expertise, he'd been at it for a while. He seemed clean of drugs, which was good. Less chance of being sick. Did he get tested?

Aziel pursed his lips slightly, wondering how he could get the semen tested before the next encounter. Because certainly, there would be more than one.

Yes, Cam would be perfect.