Club Lights - 1. Chapter 1

No one said a word. After all, we were in the Incline District, the gay community. I was surrounded by my people. They all were relieved to see someone standing up to the homophobes. Fifty gays standing on a street, and it takes one kid with a gun to do something about the homophobe. I swear to god they are all sheep.

I'm not sure when I moved past homophobes. It was either when the west-side blacks or the Cangelosi family decided to steal my business plan. But the Incline district was mine, and it only took a few dead gangbangers to prove it. Every now and then, though, one had to be added to the list as a reminder. After three years, the reminders were starting to get tedious.

"What does it take with you people?" I said in a low, resigned voice to the tied up 'pimp'. "How many of you have to disappear? Wise up. Use craigslist."

"Man, fuck you, I gotta get my girls where the action is."

I paused in the middle of rubbing the bridge of my nose and put my hand out, palm up, in a 'what the fuck' gesture. "So you bring them HERE? To the GAY neighborhood?"

"Faggots aren't the only ones who come around -"

I shot him in the leg. He screamed, I shook my head in resignation. Its not that he had upset me enough to shoot him, its that I cared so little about his existence. And his use of the f-word annoyed me.

Now his blood was on my true-religion jeans. I was supposed to wear them over to Bill's tonight to meet the two boys he had over. Or three. However many there were this time. So I would have to go home and change.

I was going to be late. Awesome.

I turned to Johnny and Robert, the two bear bouncers that I had brought along. "Take care of him please? I have to run." They nodded and I heard Robert pull his pistol out as I turned to walk away. "Oh, and hey Robert?" I said, turning back around.

The 'pimp' looked at me with hope. Robert lowered his pistol. "Yeah, chief?"

"Stop by Sam's club and pick up some window cleaner. Jane says the windows by the front door of the bar are getting dirty, and you know she's too butch to clean."

Robert nodded and they waved goodbye. I was two steps out the door when the gun went off. I should've felt something. I used to feel something. But I don't, really. Not anymore.

I walked through the back of the abandoned warehouse, and took the freight elevator to the back entrance of my fourth floor loft. It didn't take me long to throw on some new pants and head down to the garage.

The metal door creaked open, and I went flying out in my BMW. I pressed the button on my overhead visor, and heard my garage door begin to slide close again. With a squeel of tires, I shot down the side street exactly like most young guys would in that beautiful sports car. With the press of a button, Pink began blaring a fast paced rock song through my car speakers.

I wove through traffic going much faster than the speed limit. Even at eleven pm, the interstate through the city was fairly crowded. And even for a young guy in a BMW, my driving was reckless. But what was the worst that could happen? A speeding ticket? Money wasn't anything. I craved that thrill that I used to feel when I first saw those city lights.

That thrill never came anymore. In my pursuit of it, I was becoming more and more reckless. I really didn't care.

I finished what should've been a half hour drive in half that time, speeding-ticket-free. The neighborhood I now drove through was a fitting place for a car like mine, much more so than the abandoned warehouse district I lived in. Small, well groomed trees and shrubs lined the sidewalks. The townhouses were large, painted beautiful colors, masked in a veil of flower beds. Snow was sticking on some of the bushes and beginning to coat the ground, but the road remained as black and sleek as ever.

I parked my car on the side of the street. Just before shutting off the engine, I gave it a good rev for the hell of it. Still no thrill. I threw open my car door in agitation and, after getting out, slammed it back closed again. "Whatever," I said to the silent snowflakes swirling around me.

The wind began to pick up, biting at my skin through the kashmir scarf and designer peacoat. I walked up to the door of one of the townhouses and walked right in, not bothering to knock or ring the bell. The foyer I stepped in to was tastefully decorated and large. To my left was my friend Bill's office, where he did work that didn't involve a bedroom. I had a similar one in my loft. To the right were stairs leading up to the bedrooms. I had a feeling I would end up there before too long. Ahead was a small hallway leading to the living area, and I could hear voices. I took off my coat and scarf, hung them up, and headed down the hallway.

The hall quickly opened in to a large room with vaulted ceilings. To my right was the den, with its bar, flat screen tv, couch, and chairs. On the couch, three people were facing away from me towards the Wii Bowling that was on the screen. The one in the center, much older than the other two, was Bill. I didn't recognize the younger guys, but I knew they would be here.

I walked to the bar, and Bill turned to look at me as I got closer. "Aiden!" he said with a big smile, and the two young guys turned to look at me. "This is Tyler..." he said, motioning to an innocent looking gay boy who gave me a shy smile. "...and this is Sebastian," Bill finished, pointing to the feminine, plastic looking hispanic boy next to Tyler. Sebastian was glued to one of those sidekick cell phones and barely looked up at me.

"Charming," I said dryly. "Sebastian you said?" I asked as I began to make a drink. Bill nodded. I began to hum 'Under the Sea'.

I made my gin and tonic with lots of gin and barely any tonic. It would make things go better as the night progressed. As I made my way past the couch to an arm chair, Sebastian finally looked up at me. "You're younger than I expected," he said. I caught the slight look of hurt that passed on Bill's face from what Sebastian had accidentally insinuated.

I fought back the urge to say something sarcastic. It certainly wouldn't make Bill feel any better. "I get that a lot," was all I said. An awkward silence took over the room.

"So what do you do?" Sebastian asked, in another attempt to break the ice.

I took a long swallow of my drink. "I own a business or two," I answered after a few moments.

"How old are you?"

I pursed my lips. "Twenty-three."

"The youngest millionaire in the city," Bill said proudly.

I slammed my drink on the side table. "Jesus, Bill."

He looked at me, clearly confused. Sebastian, on the other hand, seemed to have a hungry gleam in his eye that wasn't there before. The other boy, Tyler, just seemed awe-struck.

"The sharks already smell the blood," I said to Bill. "Don't need to throw any more in the water."

He frowned at me. The other two seemed completely clueless.

"Do you come from a rich family?" Sebastian asked.

I was starting to get annoyed with how personal his questions were. He was nothing more to me than a one night trick, a walking fleshlight. "No. I just decided early on that I'd make my own success instead of leeching off someone else's," I said, looking in to my cup. I took another drink.

Bill's grip had tightened on his Wii remote. "Can I speak to you in the kitchen, Aiden?"

I stayed quiet long enough to be difficult. "Sure," I said finally, setting my drink down and standing up. I followed him out of the den area, through the dining room, and in to the kitchen. Even though it was all just one large room from den to kitchen, we were far enough that I knew they couldn't hear.

"What has gotten in to you?" Bill asked, his voice more concern than annoyance.

I shrugged. "Just need another drink I suppose."

"Like hell you do. You were like this at Blake's party last week, too, and when you got drunk there, you just went off on your own and disappeared."

I shrugged again. I didn't know what to tell him.

"Is it drugs?"

I looked at him incredulously. "Me? Drugs? Just because I was smart enough to have my boys sell them to moron fuck-ups doesn't mean I want to become a moron fuck-up too."

"Well, look. You don't really need to like Tyler or Sebastian. We'll just fuck them tonight and I'll have them on the first flight back to Vegas tomorrow."

Story of my life, I thought dryly. But I just nodded and headed back to the den with him. About two hours and five drinks later, we were headed up the steps with the two boys in tow.

The thrill still wasn't there. About halfway in to messing around with Sebastian, I grabbed his hand and moved it off of my body. Getting up, I started to put my pants on.

"Aiden?" Bill asked from the other side of the room where he was plugging away at Tyler.

"I'm done," I answered, heading for the door.