Paul Pulls Through. - 1. Chapter 1

Paul Pulls Through.

Chapter One.

Was it that white Ford van again? He was sure he'd seen it a few times lately. No, it couldn't be the same one. It was just some weird coincidence. White vans were everywhere though it did have tinted windows like the one he'd seen when he was running at the Park yesterday.

Paul started walking, his day-pack slung over his shoulder, his mind on the ice-cream he was going to shout himself when he reached the shopping centre, and conscious of the $90 cash folded in his jeans. It should have been nice to receive this weekly pay from the gym, but he got no real lift as nearly all of it would go to his sis. Why couldn't she get a job instead of taking his money?

His train of thought was interrupted when he noticed that the white van had its indicator on. He watched it pull onto the road, drive slowly past, then park again a hundred metres further on. Weird!
Just as he was drawing close to it again there was the chirping sound of his mobile phone. Well it wasn't really his. It was issued by the halfway house and he hardly ever used it, let alone have someone ring.

"Hello?"

"It's Paul Harris isn't it?"

"Yes, who's this?"

"Call me Johnno. I want to have a talk with you."

"Are you telemarketing?"

"No, but I have got a good deal for you."

Paul hesitated for a moment.

"No thanks."

He hung up and almost had the phone back in his pack when it rang again.

"Hello?"

"Paul, we hadn't finished talking."

Paul didn't say anything. It was that same voice again.

"You there, Paul?"

"Yes, I'm sorry. If you're selling something I'm not interested."

"I want to talk to you about your Gaycheck membership."

Paul nearly dropped the phone. That was one of his secrets. No one could know about that.

"You must have the wrong person. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yeah? How about I talk to your supervisor instead then?"

Paul's thoughts raced as he tried to figure what was happening and he realised he'd hesitated too long before he answered.

"What's this Gaycheck you're talking about?"

"Good, I thought you'd be sensible. Come on over."

"Over? Over to where?"

"Over to the van. Just across the road."

Paul's head swivelled to the white vehicle parked thirty metres away on the other side of the road.

"Ah! ...I don't think that's a good idea."

"No problems. I'll meet you at Roklin instead then."

Paralysed, Paul tried to figure what he should do. Run, that was what he wanted, but that guy knew his name? He knew where he lived? He even knew his mobile number?

"I'm not getting in the car."

There was a laugh, distorted by the extra volume.

"What? Do you think I'm going to kidnap your or something? You don't have to get in the car. I only want to talk."

Paul stood, indecisive, his instincts and thoughts clashing. He didn't want anything to do with this weird contact, but he also didn't want this guy talking to anyone at the halfway house. If he talked from outside the van he could run if he needed to.

"All right, as long as it's just talking."

There was no answer. Paul held the phone to his ear till it cut off. He packed it away, secured the catches on his day-pack in case he had to run fast, made his way across the road and approached the van from the rear on the passenger side. The window wound down and he could see the guy leaning over.

"Hi there Paul. I've got a really good deal for you."

"What's this all about?"

"Some modelling work. It's really easy and you get $200 for a couple of hours."

"I don't want any modelling work."

"Yes you do. You'll be really good at it."

Paul didn't say anything and watched the guy writing on a piece of paper.

"Here, turn up at 7:30 tonight or I'll have that talk about your Gaycheck membership with someone at Roklin house. It's your choice, but I'm telling you it's a good deal."

The piece of paper protruded from the van and Paul took it very dubiously. The window wound up, the van started, then accelerated away, leaving troubled eyes perusing the address written in red biro.

***

"Paul, come on in."

His heart pounding, Paul followed the van guy down a hallway and into a living room where another guy was sitting on a sofa. There was all sorts of gear, cameras, lights and a big computer against one wall.

"This is Johnno. He helps with the cameras and computer images. It's all high-tech stuff."

"Ah! ...What do you expect me to do?"

"It's all easy. We're just going to take photos of you."

"What sort of photos?"

"All sorts, but mostly in underwear. That's why you get the $200. Here, take this now."

Without waiting for Paul to say yes or no, two crisp hundred dollar notes were slipped into the nearest pocket of his jeans. Paul pulled them out again.

"I came round to find out what this is about. What's this Gaycheck business got to do with me?"

"Get real, Paul. You use that web site whenever you get the chance. You even cheated to get your membership. Sit down and relax a minute. Johnno, get Paul a drink. You want a beer?"

"Um! No thanks."

"What? Orange juice? Cola?"

"Cola."

The cola was brought. The van guy picked up a large fancy looking camera and carried it over for Paul to have a look at.

"Ever seen a camera like this? It's digital. The old film stuff's way out of date nowadays. Here, put the strap round your neck and take a photo of Johnno."

Paul knew about digital cameras, but he'd never really used one and despite his unease couldn't help being intrigued.

"How do I work it?"

"Easy, I've set it on automatic. Just press the button."

Paul did that, heard a whirr and a click and a blurry picture appeared on the back.

"No, try again. Hold the button softly till it focuses, then click."

After a couple of tries Paul had the knack of it. It really was easy.

"Okay, let's see a couple of you."

He took the camera back, quickly clicked about a dozen shots, then started looking through them.

"What do you reckon Johnno? He's going to come up well. Let's have a look on the computer."

A little gadget came out at the camera, plugged into a slot on the computer and in a moment Paul was looking at his face larger than life on the big monitor. The two guys were nodding at each other.

"That's looking great. Stand on the mat while Johnno gets all the lights going. Be ready for them though. They're bright. Face this way so they're not directly in your eyes."

The lights went on and Paul was dazzled till his eyes adjusted.

"What do I do?"

"You spend a lot of time at that gym, so how about some exercises?"

That was easy. It was part of his job to know all sorts of exercises and he went straight into a standard routine. For three or four minutes the camera clicked.

"Great. Here, Johnno."

He took the little gadget out of the camera and clicked another in.

"Try that again Paul, this time without your top. Lose the runners and socks too."

That wasn't hard. Half the guys at the gym worked out without a shirt and Paul was quite used to that. Again the camera clicked, almost non-stop. How many pictures was he taking?

"Fifty or sixty each time. Johnno loads them into the computer and we're ready for just as many again."
He went over to a low cupboard and returned with a plastic bag containing some light blue material which turned out to be running shorts.

"You'll really look the part this time. Slip these on while I change the memory card."

Paul looked at the shorts and saw they were the kind with a built-in support. That meant his boxers would have to go. Feeling awkward, and watching to see if they were perving, he changed while they fiddled at the computer. The shorts were tight but the material was soft and stretchy so they were still comfortable. The guy came back, had a good look, then told the other one to bring a second camera, saying he wanted side views.

"You're the fittest looking model we've worked with. Do you work out at that gym all the time?"

"Um! ...Yes. I do a lot of running too."

"It's paid off. Can you keep exercising for another five or ten minutes?"

"Yes, these are easy exercises."

"Well, don't push yourself. There's a couple more pairs of shorts still to try after these, with different colours."

The cameras clicked almost non-stop, catching every move and position till the van guy signalled he'd run out of memory.

"This is going really well, I want you to slow down. We can't keep up with your quick movements."

Another plastic bag was produced, this time with a pair of bright red shorts, which Paul quickly donned before the cameras returned. They were even tighter and quite uncomfortable.

"Um! ...They're the wrong size."

"You can put up with them for five minutes. We haven't got any other red ones tonight."

The camera started but this time there were more instructions. Turn that way a bit. Lie on the mat and do something. Look at the camera more.

"Okay, one more set and we'll take a break."

Paul took the plastic bag and again changed quickly before the guys came back. It was a light blue pair this time with a white edging and it wasn't till he was pulling them over his knees that he realised there was no inner support. God! They were a thin silky kind of material and very short, with cutaway sides like the ones athletes wore at competitions. This time they were loose instead of tight. Too loose. The van guy was back and nodding his approval.

"That looks very sporting. You're a real Gym Boy aren't you? Okay, let's go."

This was the largest set yet, and this time Paul was following instructions rather than his own choice of exercises. The loose shorts made it awkward to move without feeling like he was going to pop out and it was a relief to finish.

"What sort of drink? Another cola or something different?"

The drink was welcome, as the powerful lights were making the room warm, and they told him to have a drink whenever he felt like it.

"You're a good model and tonight's going to be a success. It's easy work isn't it?"

Paul didn't really want to agree as he knew it was a kind of ploy to make him part of it all, but he nodded reluctantly. It was easy work.

"We're trying four sets of underwear before we finish so let's get going."

Paul was used to seeing guys in their underwear from his work at the gym, keeping the shower room tidy and helping in the sun room, but this was very different and the whole time he was conscious of the cameras clicking away and focusing on his package as they referred to it. To his surprise, after a busy twenty minutes he was dressed and being shown to the door.\

"Next Tuesday Paul. The same place and the same time. We'll be working with swimwear and you were excellent tonight."

"Again? You want me again?"

"Of course! For four more sessions."

The door closed leaving Paul with almost all his questions unanswered and he turned everything over in his mind as he headed for Roklin house. The doors closed at eleven o'clock on week nights and that was still two hours away, so there was no hurry. He often walked at night. For some reason it was a good way to think about things.

He didn't like those guys, particularly the main one. He still didn't know his name. That had been the first weird thing. He called himself Johnno on the phone then said it was the other guy's name. They were putting on an act, friendly when they didn't really mean it.

Paul closed his hand round the money in his pocket. It was so much. The gym paid him $10 an hour and he had to work there three afternoons a week to get his $90. Four more times they wanted him? That would be another $800 if they paid him the same amount. Even if he gave half to sis he'd still have $500 altogether. He could get a CD player for his room. Not too good a one because good things often got pinched.

How could they know about Gaycheck? No one knew about it. The only time he looked at it was on the computer at his sis's flat and then only when she and her two flat-mates weren't there. They even seemed to know he'd said he was eighteen so he could join up. Tomorrow was one of his busy days with both school and gym but he should be able to see his sis in the evening if he timed it right and caught her before she went out. He'd give her $180 then. That meant he'd have to think of a story about where the extra came from. That sucked. She kept a close eye on what he was doing but wouldn't say a word about herself.

Paul was nice and fit and liked it when people commented. It impressed the other guys at Roklin as well, even if they were too much of losers to get fit themselves. It was important to have things to impress them with or they'd give you a hard time and Brian couldn't care less unless things got too bad. He should never be
supervisor in a halfway house. How he'd been chosen for the job was a mystery to Paul. At least he was better than the one from last year who was too clueless to know what was going on right under his nose. Not one of the other guys at Roklin had any sense, except Tony, and you couldn't trust him an inch. They'd all be there tonight too, most probably. It was weekends and Friday when they found other things to do. God, if they found out he'd been posing in underwear who could say what would happen. If there'd been girls involved they'd think he was a hero, but not the way it was tonight. Well it didn't matter. None of them would even ask where he'd been.

The walk took twenty minutes, though if he'd run it would have only been half that.

"Hi Paul, you're in early. Been to see your sister?""Hi Brian, yeah! Is there any bread?"

It was Brian's job to provide meals, but he wouldn't cook anything unless you told him you'd be there. That was fair enough otherwise too much food would get wasted. He did put aside a couple of loaves of bread in case anyone wanted evening snacks and this was what Paul was looking for.

"There should be, unless Ray and Mark got into it."

Paul headed for the kitchen and was in luck. He toasted a couple of pieces, slathered margarine and vegemite all over them, went to his room and locked the door. Brian had a key, but no one else did.

***

This was the class that Paul liked most, though unless he changed his mind he'd only be here for another couple of weeks.

There wasn't much point to school. They made you learn a ton of junk you'd never use again. And look at his sis. It hadn't helped her, top of most of her classes and now she couldn't get a job. Well, she'd had a few, but none of them suited her. He was only here now because it was one of the rules for getting welfare payment. He had it all worked out though, and as long as you attended for four or five weeks you could leave and say the subjects didn't suit you and then you'd be free until the next semester. He'd chosen this subject, Info-tech, himself and the other two, English and Life Maths, were compulsory. That made up his three days at this special Tafe College.

Was Arthur here today? He couldn't see him, which meant Paul would be working by himself. He liked Arthur. He was friendly and made you laugh. He knew some cool things on computers too and it was through him that Paul had found out how to look at porn sites without leaving any traces. Not that Arthur knew Paul was gay. He commented about homos sometimes so Paul always did his normal straight act.

The lecturer came in and started on the PowerPoint program. Easy stuff, and he and Arthur were way ahead in the tasks they had to do. What a pack of losers! Paul counted nineteen students in the class out of the thirty-two who'd started three weeks ago. How could anyone say this was hard? He knew that was why they'd left because he'd heard them whingeing. More of them would go too.

An hour later he had to ask the lecturer for some extra tasks. It always paid to get in good with the lecturers even when they were useless. This one wasn't though. He was friendly and helpful and Paul quite liked him.

The city was next. There were three hours before his gym job and he wanted to check out CD players. That involved a train, a tram and quite a bit of walking. At the third Hi-fi shop he found what he wanted. Well, it was much better than he'd planned on but the salesman was a friendly guy and gave every bit of information and advice you could possibly need. Paul explained his $250 budget and they worked out the best deal in the shop near that price.

"It's a $300 player but if I give you the twenty percent discount it just fits in with your limit."

"How much is twenty percent?"

"$60, which brings it down to $240."

"$60? That sounds like a lot."

The guy pointed at a blurb sign hanging behind the counter which proclaimed there was a twenty percent storewide discount for this week only. Paul had a really good look at the player. It sounded just what he wanted and the salesman started showing various features. It had a good radio and clock as well as the CD part which was also impressive.

"Is the sound very important to you?"

"Yes. That's why I'm getting a good one."

"Well, it's a pity you didn't have a bigger budget because I could show you the best bargain we've had all year. It's not portable like this player but it's got terrific sound."

Paul couldn't resist asking why it was so good.

"It's a mini sound-system with detachable hi-fi speakers. They've been selling for $800 but the new model's come in so it's going out at half price. Here, look at the new model. It's priced at $999.95 and all they've done is change the style of the case. I bought one last year and it's the best sound you can get without going to the $1500 range. If I'd known they were going to reduce it so much I'd have waited."

A thousand dollar system for four hundred! Paul was getting hooked. They looked at the new model and after he'd listened to a couple of music tracks Paul was totally impressed.

"Are you sure it's the same?"

"Absolutely. I'll show you if you're interested."

Paul surely was and the guy went out to the back of the store then returned with a sealed carton. He pulled the system out, set it up rapidly and let Paul listen to the same tracks. Paul couldn't tell any difference.

"Look at the specs. That's the best proof."

He got the manuals for both models, opened to the specifications pages of each and showed Paul how everything matched up. All the numbers were the same.

"Could I get it on Lay-By?"

"No, with these one-off sales you have to pay outright. The other player you could though."

Paul had forgotten the other player by now and his heart was set. If he put it on his credit card he'd be under his limit and with these modeling sessions he'd be able to pay it off before the interest was due. The new model really was priced at $999.95 and this one was $600 cheaper. It was too good to miss. The salesman demonstrated the radio operations while it was set up, and showed how to attach an extension aerial to get a much stronger pickup and extra stations. Next he fiddled with a few things on the graphic equalizer, which sounded pretty hi-tech, but Paul could hear the difference, especially between the treble and bass.

He walked out of the shop with the carton under his arm and feeling very excited about his bargain. It cost $480 altogether because he ended up with headphones, a free extension aerial and a free music CD. He held the carton on his lap for the whole train journey home and then was relieved when Brian was the only person in. He'd have to forget about a new pair of jeans and runners for a while. It would be nice to have enough money to get what he needed. If only sis didn't waste it all.

***

"Hi Alan!"

"You're late."

"I'll make it up. The train was held up."

Alan was a good guy and Paul really liked him. He had to. He was the main boss at the gym.

"Mick's complaining he's had to do everything himself, so hurry."

Alan wasn't really worried. Mick was always complaining and no one took much notice. Five minutes later Paul was in his uniform and apologising to Mick.

"Lazy sod! You can clean out all the change rooms to make it up and then spend an hour spotting in the weights section."

"Yes sir!"

"Cheeky sod! Want a clip over the ears?"

Paul ducked away, pretending to be scared and rushed off. It was fun working here and he got on well with almost everyone. The locker room cleaning was his normal first job anyway and took nearly an hour to do at the standard Alan demanded.

An hour spotting? For all his bluster Mick must be in a generous mood, because he knew this was a job Paul liked. It involved helping anyone working with the weights, loading the bars for them, watching for any potential mishaps, and of course the actual spotting. He got on well with mostly everybody though there were always a few arrogant guys who treated you like dirt.

Smile, smile, smile. That was the rule from Alan and Mick, and Paul was very good at that. If someone was particularly bad it was Alan and Mick you spoke to, no one else. The gym had a reputation for being friendly and helpful and they had their methods to keep it that way.

This afternoon there was a newbie at the weights who needed lots of attention. Paul quickly worked him out and dismissed him in his mind as a loser. Well, not a loser, he sounded like he had everything he wanted, more of a dead loss to the world. Good-looking, strong and expecting everyone to think he was king or something. It was a pity too because he really was good-looking. When he was in the showers Paul would have to replace towels and put out a few extra cakes of soap.

Work finished at six o'clock, well 6:15 tonight, and after a hurried shower Paul headed for his sis's flat. As he suspected she was annoyed at his timing and didn't want him coming in.

***

"Paul, how many times do I have to tell you not to turn up in the evenings. It gets on Jenny's nerves. I don't know why she doesn't like you."

"Because she's a bitch! That's why."

With some alarm his sis shooshed him. She didn't deny it though.

"Don't I even get a hug?"

She gave him a hug. A really nice one, which made Paul feel happy and kind of sad at the same time.

"What's happened? Why are you here to night?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to know if I can use the computer tomorrow afternoon?"

"You know you can. As long as you leave by five o'clock."

"Um! I've got a letter for you too."

This was the code they used between them for his gifts of money. He handed it over and watched the frown grow. Every time it happened, as she battled to say she didn't want it. One day she'd refuse, that was the wish in Paul's heart. Not tonight though. She opened the flap for a quick count and her eyes widened.

"Paul, where did all this come from?"

"Alan gave me a couple of extra days and I sold a radio at school for Ray."

Did she believe it? He could hardly ever get away with telling her fibs.

"For Ray? ...You idiot. Don't you ever do that again. I couldn't stand it if you got into trouble."

Yes, she believed it. After another hug they parted and Paul rushed to Roklin for an evening of experimenting with his new sound system.

***

www.gaycheck.com.au. It had to be typed in every time because he couldn't put it in the favorites list. There it was. The smiling guy in the arms of another smiling guy.

Runnerboy9. - Password accepted - and Paul was logged in.

The door was locked and he had the bolt across as well, so not even sis could surprise him. It was nearly two weeks since he'd last visited and there were a few things to catch up on. First, any private messages, yes, five of them. Was that all? Well, three of them were ones he liked hearing from. It took twenty minutes to answer those.

Next in interest was the new galleries. Yes, there were two new guys in the twinks section and one of them was really good looking. Paul slipped his jeans and boxers down while he clicked from picture to picture. Wow, it would be nice to be with that guy. What a boner!

Choosing the two pics that he liked best, Paul flicked back and forth between them for the next few minutes while he let his fantasies run free. He played with his own boner and nearly lost it, then opened the directory with his two all time favorite guys and this time did lose it. His body shuddered, he closed his eyes till he was back in the world again. Did he want that new guy in his secret folder of specials? Yes he did. With a couple of clicks it was saved and the secret folder re-hidden with the program he'd learned from Arthur.

What was the time? Three p.m. It was a bad time of day for the live chat section but there were a dozen guys online and he spent half an hour chatting happily. Some times it was nothing special and sometimes it was great. The best of all was the private chat when you got someone who was on your own wavelength.

Four o'clock. That went quickly. With a last quick check for any new messages Paul logged off, cleared the history folder, cleaned the cache, spent another half hour with general surfing, then was out of the flat by a quarter to five.

By a fluke the fib that he had told sis about the extra days turned out true and he ended up working at the gym on Friday and Saturday.

The end of chapter one.