“It’s all we have,” said the dark-haired guy. “I swear. I thought I had more but I don’t.”
Harlan pointed to his wrist and said, “Give me your watches.”
The guy with the curved dick and receding hairline seemed stunned. He shrugged and said, “This watch was an early graduation gift from my mom.”
“I don’t fucking care if it was a gift from the fucking pope,” Harlan said. “Hand it over.”
This tugged at Treston’s heart and he stepped forward. He spoke in a soft tone and said, “Harlan, let them go. If that’s all they have it’s fine. I believe them.” He couldn’t take a watch someone’s mom had given him.
Harlan threw the wrinkled cash they’d given him onto the floor and he walked over to where Treston was standing. He grabbed Treston by the back of the neck, gritted his teeth, and said, “You shut the fuck up, whore. I’m the one in charge here and these little fuckers aren’t going anywhere unless they pay up. I told them I’d get them the best tranny ass in town and I did. Now it’s their turn.”
When Harlan used the word tranny, Treston’s stomach tightened. The word itself offended Treston in about one hundred different ways, and he wasn’t even a transgender. But he knew when Harlan got into one of these violent moods the best thing he could do was try to calm him down. So he reached up, caressed his cheek, and said, “Sweetie, they’re just kids. They paid almost the right amount. Let them go now. It’s okay.” Treston wasn’t much older than they were. But he didn’t talk about his age openly. The day he turned twenty-five and realized he wasn’t considered a twink anymore he swore he’d never tell the truth about his age again.
Harlan squeezed his neck harder and shook him a couple of times. “You shut the fuck up, or I’ll rap you right in the mouth. I want my fucking money.”
Before Treston could say another word, the guy with the darkest hair grabbed Harlan’s arm and yanked it off Treston’s neck. “Let go of her,” he said. The other two clenched their fists and stepped up behind him in a show of support.
It took Treston a moment to realize they were talking about him when the guy said, “Let go of her.” For a moment, he wondered if a woman had entered the room because he’d never thought of himself as a her.
Harlan turned fast. He tried to break free from the guy with the darkest hair, but the other two moved forward and grabbed his other arm. Harlan glared at them. “Let go of me or I’ll kick the shit out of all of you.”
The dark-haired guy twisted Harlan’s arm behind is back and said, “I told you to let go of her and I meant it, pal. Now if you want, here’s what we’ll do. We’ll leave quietly and go to a cash machine and get you more money. But you’re not getting our watches.”
Treston turned to the guys and said, “Just let go of him and leave. Please, guys. We don’t want any more money. Just please go. I don’t want any trouble here.” The last thing he wanted were his neighbors to find him dressed up this way, not to mention the police knocking at his door. He had a feeling this could get ugly and he wanted to avoid a scene.
Harlan said, “Let them get the rest of the money and come back.”
“I’ll give you the rest of the money myself,” Treston said. “They’re decent guys. It’s over, Harlan. Let them go.”
Harlan tried to break free one more time but they only held him with more force. They seemed to have sobered up fast. When Harlan seemed to realize he wasn’t strong enough to take on all of them, he stopped trying to fight them and said, “Okay. I’m finished. You can go now.” He glared at Treston and said, “But I want the money from you.”
The way he glared made Treston wish he hadn’t removed his dark glasses yet. Treston nodded and said, “I told you I’d make up the difference.” He smiled at the young men and said, “You can let go of him now. It’s okay.”
Before they released Harlan, the guy with the darkest hair sent Treston a glance and asked, “Are you sure you’re going to be okay with this asshole? You can come with us if you want. I feel funny leaving you here all alone.”
Though unexpected, and about as far from the reality Treston knew as real life, this single gesture from the nice young man made his chest cave in. He smiled and said, “I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself.” They seemed to have mistaken him for a real woman and he wasn’t sure why. He’d have to think about this later; maybe he should start lifting weights even more, and taking steroids like the other male strippers to build up his body.
The guy glared at Harlan and said, “Can I trust you not to hurt her when we leave? I hate guys like you who think they can treat a helpless woman that way.” He smiled at Treston and said, “You know what I mean, honey. I know deep down you think of yourself as a woman and that’s all that matters.”
Harlan laughed. “But she’s not a woman, asshole. She’s not even a fucking tranny.”
Treston pulled off the wig and shrugged. He spoke with his deepest voice. “I’m really not a woman.”
This seemed to be too much reality for one night. When they saw Harlan without the long blond wig, it freaked them all out so much their jaws dropped. They released Harlan and practically ran for the door. Treston hated to shock them, but they’d known all along he wasn’t a real woman so he didn’t think he’d done anything wrong.
When they were gone, Treston tried to put his arms around Harlan and kiss him. But Harlan pushed him away and said, “Go take a fucking shower. You look like a goddamn freak standing there.” Then he turned his back on Treston and went to the sofa to pick up the money he’d thrown on the floor. As Treston turned, Harlan sent him a backward glance and said, “And don’t forget you’re making this up. I want the rest of the money they owe me by tomorrow afternoon.”
Treston smiled and said, “I can get it to you in the morning, sweetie. I’ll go to the bank first thing.” He didn’t mind doing this because the money was going toward their future as a married couple, to pay off the credit card Harlan had maxed out. So what if Harlan had a few quirks and a bad temper? He didn’t mean half of what he said. Treston continued to make these excuses all the way back to the bathroom. He told himself everything was going to be okay from now on because he’d finally found the right man with whom to spend the rest of his life.