“How are we doing on the count, Paulsky?” Michael asked him as he walked from the empty kitchen to the near empty living room.
Michael always had a hint of mischief to him. It was a glimmer in his eye, the lift at the corner of his lips, or the tinge of amusement in his words. It gave the impression he was always laughing inside at his own private joke. It was one of the things that drew people to him.
“We’re out, man, except for what we’ve got for our heads,” Paul smiled back at Michael. It was clear he was happy with the news.
“It was a crazy ass weekend, man!” Joey exclaimed, laughing.
Vinnie nodded silently with a fake smile on his face, his wound was still fresh from the pretty blonde’s words. He hated that it still bothered him. He tried to fuck it out of his system, but the pain was consistent, like a finger being jabbed in it.
Michael sat on the other end of the ugly brown tweed couch, clad in jeans and a white T-shirt, with his bare feet propped up on the 1970’s style coffee table in front of them. The little television rambled on in the background, and was probably never turned off.
“You didn’t mix up the money from the stuff with the other money, did you?” Michael asked Paul as he lifted the soda to his lips.
“No, I’m not that stupid,” Paul snapped.
“Sorry, bro, just asking. How much was there, do you know?” Michael asked.
“About $2,300, give or take,” Paul answered.
Which wasn’t bad at all for a $1,200 investment over the course of a few days.
“Ok, and everybody got a little for their own heads, and some to give a taste with…,” Michael continued, while thinking out loud.
“Yeah, the six of us,” Paul commented, confirming what Michael had said.
“Did you split it like we talked about?” Michael asked him.
“Yeah, it’s all there.”
“Let me get it,” Michael said, sitting up, and extending his hand towards him.
“Here,” Paul replied, as he placed the brown paper-bag holding the cash in front of Michael.
“Thanks, man,” Michael handled the rubber-banded bundles while not removing them from the bag.
A feeling of satisfaction settled over him. He fingered through the bills. He had $500 for himself from a night-out worth of work.
Finally, he was starting to accumulate some money in his pocket. It was a good beginning.
“This is for you,” Michael said, as he handed Vinnie and Joey a stack of twenties. It was a $100 each. “A little something to say thank you.”
“Holy shit!” Joey spat out.
Joey’s eyes popped out of his head. He had it tough, growing up in a family with five kids and a single mother, the family always struggled to make ends meet. He was working in a thruway rest-stop, and a $100 amounted to approximately what his weekly paycheck was.
Vinnie, on the other hand, was used to having money in his pocket and had been selling pot on the side for a while. This sort of thing was nothing new to him. But he’d never made this much money with the little he’d done this past weekend. He was a little surprised as well.
“Thanks man,” Vinnie said appreciatively, but quietly, as he tucked the money in the pocket of his jeans.
“It’s nothing,” Michael replied, rolling up the bag, and leaving his money inside.
“We’re going to have to get more,” Paul announced, as he leaned back against the couch and picked up his cup of instant coffee.
“Yeah, I know,” Michael grimaced inwardly.
A tightening gripped him as he was thrust right back into that closet. Fear and disgust washed over him as he broke out in a sweat. He pushed it aside, because he knew he didn’t have a choice.
Not if he wanted to change his life.
“Can we come?” Joey asked excitedly, like a little kid.
“Are you crazy? Hah! They’d use your skinny little country ass like a toy!” Michael laughed at him.
Paul spat out the coffee he’d sipped.
“Oooh, ouch, he popped my cherry!” he laughed, squirming and wiggling his hips.
“I don’t want to go,” Vinnie laughed as well.
“I don’t want to go either. I hate that fucking place, but I have to,” Michael tried to joke, but there was no denying it was the truth.
Everything within him, the tiniest remnants of what was left that was good and hopeful repulsed at the memory. But he couldn’t let Paul do it. He was careless and couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Michael knew if there was any chance at getting out of the shitty situation he was in, of making a future for himself, he had no one he could rely on but himself. He was changing, he could feel it, he was losing himself to that self-indulgent, arrogant, selfish alter ago. It was robbing him of everything good, even time with his son, as it swallowed him up further and further. It already had almost destroyed any possibility with Natalie. And there was nothing he could do to stop it. He needed that man to succeed in what he had to do.
That realization gave him the courage to do whatever he had to. Even go back into hell.
“Natalie’s going to the city this weekend,” Vinnie gritted out.
“She’s not going back to see that douchebag, is she?” Michael retorted.
Possessiveness roared within him as he remembered the night they’d recently shared. He didn’t want anyone else to have her. She belonged to him.
“I don’t think so. She said she was going to see our cousin in Queens,” Vinnie answered.
A plan began to form in Michael’s mind. They could take the ride with her, then after they’d made their pick-up, he could leave Paul in Brooklyn and take Natalie out. This way he could make sure she didn’t go see Mr. Playboy at the same time.
A sudden knock at the door made them all jump.
“I’ll go and see,” Paul said as he got up.
Michael stood and scanned the room quickly to assure nothing was out that other eyes shouldn’t see. Then, after putting the bag of money away, he walked into the bedroom to do the same thing.
“It’s Pamela and her husband,” Paul stated, with his eye pressed to the peep-hole.
He stood back and looked at Michael. They were both surprised.
“Let them in,” Michael said, with that mischievous smirk quirking his lips again.
Paul pulled the door open. “Hi, what a nice surprise, come in,” he told them, and stepped back to let them enter.
Pam’s husband Robert came in first, with his wife close behind.
“Thanks, I hope its ok we came by,” Robert said a little tentatively.
“Hi boys,” Pam greeted them. She looked sexy in a skin tight dress and high heels, with every curve of her body visible beneath the clingy fabric.
Robert was a plain but attractive man, with nothing intimidating about him. His clothes shouted ‘sensible’, but his face told them he was nervous.
“Sure, come in, make yourselves comfortable,” Michael said smiling as he came out of the bedroom. “We just moved in,” he added, suddenly embarrassed by the lack of furniture in the apartment.
Joey was already sitting on the floor. Vinnie lifted himself from the couch to give them a place to sit and joined Joey on the floor.
“Thank you,” Pamela purred, shrugging her jacket off, giving them a better view of her breasts, the lack of a bra obvious with her hardened nipples.
She settled herself in the center of the couch while Robert remained standing, as he held his hands clasped tightly in front of him.
Michael stood a few feet back looking back and forth unnoticed between Pamela and Robert, reading their body movements and gauging their expressions. Michael’s eyes didn’t miss the hint of an erection in Robert’s pants, and the way Pam’s nipples stayed hard.
He knew they hadn’t come by for a cup of coffee.
“Paul, why don’t you go keep Pamela company on the couch,” Robert suggested. The nervousness in his voice was barely audible.
A trace of amusement sparked in Paul’s ey
e.
“I’d love to give your beautiful wife some company,” Paul replied, remembering what Michael had said the night Joey had danced with Pam at Havanna’s.
He moved to the couch and sat himself so close to her, their bodies were pressed together. He snaked his arm over the back of the couch and rested it on her naked shoulder.
A flush crept across Robert’s face as he swiped his tongue across his lips.
Michael noticed Robert’s erection was growing.
“How do you always look so beautiful, Pam?” Paul asked as he stroked her bare skin.
“Me and Robert wanted to make sure I looked good coming to see you boys,” she cooed suggestively.
Paul stole a glance at Robert. The look on his face told him everything he needed to know. There was hunger in his eyes. He was getting aroused watching his wife with another man.
Paul palmed his crotch and rubbed it, helping the hard-on that was already starting to grow.
“Paulsky, why don’t you show Pam and Rob the rest of the place,” Michael suggested.
He’d known what they’d come for as soon as they walked in the door and noticed Robert’s state of arousal.
Robert wanted to watch his wife fuck another man.
“I think that’s a great idea,” Paul answered.
He stood, with one hand extended for her to take, and the other rubbing his dick.
“Come on Robert, I think you’ll like what you see,” Paul told him smugly.
“Joey, why don’t you go with them, just in case they need anything else filled in,” Michael added.
“Hell yeah,” Joey answered eagerly, jumping up, his erection already protruding from the front of his pants.
The four of them left the room and closed the bedroom door behind them.
“Let’s smoke a joint, bro, I think we’re gonna need one,” Vinnie said, as he shook his head and laughed in disbelief.
***
“Hey Natalie, I have to go over to Paul’s and Michael’s. Do you want to take a ride with me?” Sylvia asked her sister.
Natalie hadn’t seen Michael since he surprised her the other night. A familiar nervous tremor rippled through her, the same one she always got the instant her eyes meet Michael’s.
“Sure, give me five minutes and I’ll be ready.”
‘And I can see if that bimbo, or anybody else, is there,’ she thought to herself. The idea of finding a woman there filled her with dread, but it didn’t stop her.
When Sylvia and Natalie approached their apartment door, the murmurings of male voices filtered out from behind the wood. Sylvia pressed a long-nailed finger to the doorbell, as her other hand clutched a bag of clothes. Natalie stood behind her, shuffling nervously from one foot to the other.
‘I shouldn’t have come,’ Natalie berated herself, because she was afraid of what would be on the other side of that door.
“Stop fidgeting. It’s good to show-up unannounced sometimes, it keeps them on their toes. And,” Sylvia’s expression softened as she looked at Natalie, “I know how you feel about Michael.”
Natalie’s face turned beet red. But there was compassion and understanding in Sylvia’s face. Natalie’s smile told her how much she appreciated that.
The door flung open.
“Hi baby,” Paul said, with a huge grin on his face.
“Hi,” Sylvia answered him with a coy smile.
Sylvia pushed passed him and walked into the apartment.
“Come in, Natalie,” she called behind her.
Natalie tread in cautiously, afraid of some imagined minefield that might blow once she set foot inside.
Michael sat up on the couch, and Natalie could see he was surprised and happy to see her.
Natalie’s reservations melted away with the look on Michael’s face.
“Hi, what a nice surprise,” Michael said looking at Natalie, his eyes warm and his smile big.
“Thanks,” Natalie said quietly.
“Come and sit with me,” he patted the empty spot on the couch next to him.
“I brought some clothes you left at the house,” Sylvia stated, turning to Paul.
“Come on, let’s bring them inside,” Paul took Sylvia’s hand and led her to the bedroom and closed the door.
“Jesus, don’t those two ever get tired?” Natalie rolled her eyes as she sat next Michael.
“Not Paul,” Michael chuckled. “I’m glad you’re here, I was going to call you.”
“Oh. Why?” she asked him, trying to hide her surprise.
“Yes, but I’m always glad to see you,” Michael leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.
They heard Sylvia’s raised voice coming from behind the closed bedroom door, and she did not sound happy.
Michael glanced towards the door as he continued, “Vinnie said you’re taking a ride to the city this weekend. We’ve got to go too, we need to pick-up some things. Can we catch a ride with you? Then maybe after we get what we need, you and I can hang out? I’ll take you somewhere,” he looked at Natalie hopefully with a smile no one could resist.
Natalie’s heart soared. She and Michael would get a chance to spend some time together, away from everyone, and they wouldn’t have to hide.
“I’d love that,” she told him, and was sure he could see the happiness she felt.
“Me too,” he replied and kissed her again.
The door to the bedroom flew open.
“A fucking pair of women’s panties on the floor, Natalie. Let’s go!” Sylvia shouted as she stormed out.
Natalie looked at Michael, shock written all over her face, but she hoped with everything inside her that they weren’t there because of him.
“I’ll call you later,” Michael was saying as he stood to follow Natalie, and his expression shut down.
“Sylvia, the guys come here too, I don’t know where they came from,” Paul was pleading, right behind her. “And they could be Mike’s. Hell, he probably has a collection of women’s panties.”
There was a silent atomic explosion in the air surrounding everyone. Natalie was pushed back with the force of it as she felt her face blanch. All eyes turned to her. All her fears, everything she’d always felt but had never known for certain, were solidified in that statement.
Michael was furious. The pain etched in Natalie’s face tore his heart out. He knew there was nothing he could do to remove it. Mostly because it was true. The ravenous beast inside him demanded to be fed and he was helpless to fight it.
“I’m sure they belong to Pam when she and her husband came by. She needed to change before they went out,” Michael said calmly, trying to hide his fear.
The fact that some of that statement was true didn’t stop it from being a lie. And couldn’t take away the damage that had already been done.
“Yeah, Mike’s right,” Paul quickly agreed, looking back and forth between Natalie and Sylvia.
“Shut up, Paul!” Sylvia shouted, grabbing Natalie’s hand, and leading her out the door, pulling her away from Michael.
***
Natalie fought with herself the rest of the week. Even though what had happened confirmed what she’d always suspected, she decided to take the trip with Michael anyway.
8:00 in the evening on Friday and Michael was pulling her car up in front of her aunts building in Astoria, Queens. Michael had suggested leaving after rush-hour so when they arrived in the city, the traffic would be thinned out.
Michael, Paul and Natalie all got out of the car. They moved to the rear as Michael unlatched the hatch to remove their bags.
“What are you doing?” Natalie asked.
“I’m taking the bags out. Paul, stay with the bags while I take Natalie up,” Michael said turning to Paul.
“Take the car, it will be faster than having to wait for trains,” Natalie told Michael as she pushed the hand he was extending towards her holding the car keys back at him.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“Yes, absolutely.”
“I’ve got your aunts phone number, I’ll call you later. Paul and I have to go see some people in the Manhattan, then I’ll take him to Brooklyn. After that, I’ll come back and get you, then we can go out. Me, you, and your cousin could go to a club I know that’s not too far from here, The Lemon Tree. I know you’ll like it,” Michael was saying in a rush. “I want to hurry and get back here, I can’t wait to spend some time with you.”
“Me too, Michael, it’s still early,” she answered, as her stomach did a flip and her heart raced looking forward to tonight.
Astoria was a nice neighborhood, it was clean and full of families and locally owned businesses. Hardly anyone ever hung out on the streets, and the pedestrians that did pass by were all dressed in business attire, or were senior citizens.
When they arrived at her aunts third floor apartment, Michael kissed her hard and fast, before knocking on the door.
“I’ll take care of your car for you, so you don’t have to worry about it getting a ticket or vandalized,” he said quickly as the door opened.
The stocky, little old-man dressed in a ribbed sleeveless T-shirt, khaki pants with suspenders, horn rimmed glasses perched on the end of his nose, as he still clutched the Daily News in one hand and the doorknob in the other, waited for them to say something.
“Hi Tio Pepe, como esta?” Natalie asked him.
“Natalia, entra mi amor, quien es su amigo?” he greeted Natalie, while lowering his face the three inches to hers and scratching her cheek with his stiff mustache with his version of a hello kiss. His lips had never touched her cheek in all the times she remembered him doing that.
“Michael, Miguel, Tio Pepe,” Natalie turned to Michael, “This is my Uncle Pepe.”
“I like how you speak Spanish,” he said to her quietly and smiling, then he greeted her uncle, “Tio Pepe, mucho gusto a conocerte.”
“El gusto es mio,” her uncle replied, smiling his tight little smile. “Entran,” he said, moving to the side, making room for them to pass by.
“No puedo senor, tengo que irme,” Michael answered, declining his invitation. Michael turned to Natalie and squeezed her hand. “I’ll call you later.”
He turned and ran down the stairs, and left her alone at her uncle’s door.
The Rooster Club_The Best Cocks in Town Page 17
