Luis hurried into the bedroom and said, “I just need one more thing.” Then he pulled a pair of white athletic socks out of the dirty clothes hamper, shoved them into a brown leather briefcase, and walked back into the living room.
Jase followed him. “What are the socks for?”
Luis put his phone in his pocket and kissed the little dog goodbye. “I won’t get my five hundred dollars this afternoon if I don’t give Derrick my used socks. Would you please be a dear and walk the little doggie in an hour? I always leave the door unlocked. His leash is somewhere in the kitchen. I’d do it myself, but I’m already late. I’ll return the favor to you.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Jase said. “I don’t mind walking him.” He didn’t have anything better to do that afternoon anyway.
When they were out in the hall, on their way downstairs to the front door, Jase rubbed his jaw and asked, “Why would anyone pay you five hundred dollars for a pair of dirty white socks?”
Luis laughed and opened the front door. “They aren’t just any old white socks,” he said.
“I have to wear them for a day before I give them to Derrick. He loves the fact that I’ve worn them.” He shrugged and walked to the curb. “Derrick is into my used sweat socks. I don’t ask questions. I just make him happy, is all.”
“He’s into your used sweat socks?”
“It’s all perfectly harmless,” Luis said. “And there’s absolutely no sex between us. He just likes being with me and he only loves my dirty socks. Go figure.”
Jase ran into the street to hail a taxi for Luis. For some reason, perhaps because Luis seemed so helpless, it felt normal taking control and doing things like this for him.
After three cabs passed, Luis finally walked into the street himself. He stepped off the curb, lifted his right arm, and the first cab driver coming down the street stopped for him.
But when Jase reached down to open the back door for Luis, a tall young man with reddish brown hair and freckles got out of the cab and put his arms around Jase’s shoulders.
“I’m so glad you finally arrived,” the young man said. He kissed Jase on the cheek and rubbed the back of Jase’s neck.
Jase’s face felt flushed and he didn’t know where to put his hands. The guy hugging him was the same guy who had arranged everything for his move to New York. He did interior design work in both New York and Palm Beach. His name was Sherman Liss, and Jase had met him at a party in Palm Beach a year earlier. Though Sherman loved to flirt with Jase, and he was always trying to get into Jase’s pants, their relationship had never gone beyond the platonic stage.
Jase had never been with a man in his life, and Sherman wasn’t going to be his first. It would have been too cliché, not to mention the fact that it would probably have ruined their friendship.
While Sherman’s back was to Luis, Luis smiled and tapped Jase’s arm. “Do you mind if I take this taxi? I’m late and I don’t want Derrick to get all upset. He likes his routine.”
Sherman ignored Luis. He ran his palm across Jase’s cheek and said, “You look wonderful. I’m sorry I wasn’t here to greet you. How on Earth did you get inside without the key to the front door? When I realized I hadn’t given it to you, I rushed over here as fast as I could.”
Jase stepped back and gestured to Luis. “Mr. Fortune was nice enough to let me into the building,” he said. Then he gestured to Sherman and said, “Luis Fortune, this is Sherman Liss, my decorator.” When he said the word “decorator,” his voice stumbled and it sounded disconnected.
Luis shook Sherman’s hand fast and turned away from them. “It’s nice meeting you, but I have to run.” He told the cab driver where he was going, then turned back and said, “You won’t forget about the doggie, will you?”
Jase smiled and nodded. “I won’t forget.”
As the taxi drove away and Sherman started talking about all the ideas he had for Jase’s new apartment, Jase pressed his lips together and took a quick breath. He didn’t care about decorating his apartment. He wasn’t sure how long he was going to be there. He’d only dropped out of his real-life temporarily, to find out who he was and what he wanted. And the only image on his mind at that moment was of Luis Fortune standing in the bathroom doorway, wearing the cream-colored suit and a huge smile.
Chapter Three
After Luis spent the entire Friday afternoon looking at real estate with his older friend, Derrick, they went for a late lunch at a small gay restaurant/bar in Hell’s Kitchen. Luis smiled and lowered his eyelids all afternoon. He ordered a small salad and didn’t bother to finish it.
Eating that late in the afternoon killed his appetite for dinner, and talking about real estate for more than five minutes made him yawn. But he pretended to be impressed with Derrick’s latest real estate listings without saying more than a few sentences each time he spoke. He kept his voice low and breathy, allowing Derrick to control their conversation. He’d learned early that wealthy, powerful men like Derrick had huge egos that needed constant stroking. Though Derrick wasn’t married, most of these men were married and had families. Their wives had grown bored and had stopped listening to them ramble years earlier—Luis knew why. So the more he stroked Derrick’s ego, the more Derrick compensated him for his time.
All this had nothing to do with sex. Luis always made it clear he wasn’t a rent boy and he wasn’t interested in sexual relationships with these men. He’d go out with them, he’d flirt and wear provocative clothing, and sometimes he’d even give them a little tease by allowing them to see him in his underwear—sometimes less. But he drew the line when it came to physical relations. If there was a kiss, it was always on the cheek. If there was naughty talk, it was whimsical and discreet. The men Luis catered to paid him for his time, his good looks, and his personality. Not his body. This was, in Luis’s opinion, the difference between an actual hooker and a professional escort looking for a rich husband.
The men he escorted didn’t seem to mind these restrictions. Most were more than seventy years old and they were past having sex. Some didn’t even have prostates anymore. One sweet gentleman used a walker; almost all of them had handicapped parking stickers. They were more interested in being seen with an attractive young man, sharing his company, and being able to impress other people with their toy boy. For most, there were few people left they could actually impress, and Luis filled the void in their lives by pretending to be genuinely interested in what they had to say. And the fact that he was extremely attractive and knew exactly what to say made him even more desirable. If there were any unusual kinks or quirks involved, like selling his used sweat socks or used underwear, they were as harmless as going to church on Easter Sunday.