HOLA PEEPS!!
You asked and here it is. I hope you enjoy this one as must as you did the first.
As always, I'm up for a chat, so shoot me a line at liciousryan@gmail.com
Stay safe, Ryan
SLENDER BEGGAR CHAPTER TWO
With both hands on the steering wheel I tried my level best to comprehend what his...very handsome man next to me just divulged to me.
"Slender? That's your name? You sure about that, man?"
The homeless beggar that was currently inside my car, only this time without the sickening smell or should I say, stench, that he had clinging to him a week or so ago, solidly threw his head back and choked back an almighty laugh.
"It's true! That's what I've been called ever since I can remember. I've always been tall and scrawny like you see me here now. Like I said, Maria and I have never known our real parents. We were literally dumped at a garage toilet, they obviously didn't have the means to look after us. We've been on the streets our whole lives."
There was a moment of awkward silence in the car, as I continued to drive to the hospital as fast as I possibly could, to see if Phil was okay. Last chapter, after we were both just coming out of our local pub having celebrating pulling in the mother of all advertising deals for our company that we co-owned, Slender's fellow beggars decided to thoroughly assault said pub with bricks and other tools...I didn't even wanna know what else they had used...but as luck would have had it, Phil got struck with a brick on the side of his head and it was Slender who came to our rescue after my buddy had a seizure as a result.
Slender, the very same beggar that I had given a massive R200 to when I had met him at an intersection about a week ago, and the very same beggar who was currently beside me in my very expensive BMW. On paper he should have been feeling more out of place than a fart inside a bloody perfume factory.
He had demanded to come with me to hospital to see if Phil was okay, since he believed it was partly his fault that the attack had happened in the first place.
Lets just say those beggars didn't take it too well given the fact that the owner of said pub had given Slender and his sister Maria jobs as security guards, but in the same breath, made the BIG mistake of chasing the rest of them away when they also wanted employment. They searched for and got their revenge unfortunately, good and proper with my fucking best friend getting hurt in the process.
"You must have a good job to afford things like this..." Slender said once more, looking around the car like a small boy would inside a candy store.
"Me and Phil are co-owners of a advertising agency. I've known him for...wow, my entire life. We have known each other since kindergarten. Oh, here we are..." I replied before turning into the parking lot at the nearest hospital where ambulance and paramedics on duty had taken Phil.
It was a private hospital and I really shuddered to think that even with Ribbed now confirmed as our new permanent clients, what the bill for all of this was going to be.
Slender got out of my BMW and I had to smile as I saw how careful he was not to somehow hurt the car door as he closed it. I wasn't sure if the hospital security was actually gonna allow him inside, looking like he was, with his hand me down ripped jeans and his dirty t-shirt he was wearing...not to mention the fact that he was skinny as hell with overgrown blond hair hanging over his face...but I decided to cross that bridge as we got to it.
"He's with me," I said emphatically to the dark skinned guard before he scanned me for possible weapons and then, it seemed, he took his time with Slender, ordering him to empty his pockets, scanning him several times and asking his questions in a threatening manner...but what infuriated me the most, was that he called Slender a "mlungu" which even I knew was a very, very degrading word that black South Africans called the Caucasian folk living in the country.
I didn't fancy getting arrested for obstruction of justice or some shit like that, so I just kept quiet, but I sure as hell felt the sheer crappiest that I have done in a bloody long time. When Slender finally joined me, he just shrugged his shoulders, as if he was sadly used to this sort of treatment from others and walked with me towards the nurses station.
They told me that Phil was in Intensive care and they didn't even want me to see him without me being a blood relation or a family member. I actually lied and told them that he was my brother. Slender nodded, in conformation, wanting to assist.
We were only really able to see Phil through the window in the ICU unit, which as the nurse explained, meant he was stable, yet critical. I pressed my hand palm against that window and as things were when someone you know and love were in grave danger, all those times that we had spent together, from the very day we had met when we were a mere five years old, shooting our shit in primary school, learning all about the harsh reality of this world in our high school days, being there for each other as we were mercilessly bullied by the jocks of said high school...before we finally managed to get out of that town, that era, that stigma...and eventually got our University degrees, and started this company that we now co-owned.
All the times that I could have confided in my best buddy that I was in fact gay...that I was living a lie with marrying Jane, that I ached... yearned for a male body in my arms at night.
All the times I wanted to come clean and I didn't.. and now, right then at least, I didn't know if I would ever get another change to be honest with him.
I felt a hand on my shoulder.
For a moment I was so lost in my morbid thoughts that I didn't quite realize where I was and therefore I spinned around and bumped straight into Slender. If it wasn't for his tall posture and lanky arms to stop me and my turbulence, I would have solidly fallen on top of him.
For just a moment...a single split second...
My god. His eyes. They were blue. Royal blue.
Jesus.
"I'm sorry. Damn, did I hurt you?" I asked, slurring my words slightly.
What just happened? There was a little twinge earlier in the car as well when we were talking and he looked me straight in the eyes...even then, even more so, with the afternoon sun reflecting inside them...his eyes...they were so.. so beautiful.
Slender chuckled and held me upright before placing me back into my normal standing position.
"It's gonna take a lot more than a little bump to hurt me," he said and once more...his entire face lightened up as he smiled.
I had to get out of there.
Fast.
But no...I couldn't leave before I knew for sure, a full one hundred percent at that, that Phil was gonna be okay.
And since I had driven Slender here with me it was after all only fair that I gave him a ride home, wherever that was, for him and his twin sister, Maria.
Sigh...it was gonna be a long few hours...
**
"Jane! You came!"
My darling wife came running out of the elevator about an hour after me and Slender had arrived in the first place and she about threw herself in my arms. Poor Slender stood aside with a slight smile on his dirty face as Jane demanded to know if Phil was going to be okay and what exactly had happened in the first place.
Before I could tell her exactly what had happened with the beggars and all, her eyes fell on Slender, who was still watching us.
"Max...who is...that?" Jane whispered and I felt a shudder go through her as she spoke those words.
I gently released her from the hug and motioned for Slender to come a little closer.
"Max! He might be dangerous!" Jane shamefully hissed before I could even stop her.
That wasn't even the worst. Slender had heard her. The look on his face had said it all. Those eyes...those beautiful blue eyes that I had gotten lost in before was now suddenly a grayish green.
"Don't worry, Mam. I'll just go."
Something inside me broke. No...
"Slender...look, Jane, lets just all chill for a second. Jane, he was the guy who helped us rescue Phil from the intruders. He's on our side. He just wanted to come with me to see of Phil was gonna be okay. Nothing more, nothing less.
Best not to tell Jane that it was Slender's acquaintances who had trashed the pub...
Slender smiled shyly and looked towards the elevator before looking back at me.
"It's okay, Sir. Don't worry, I'll be on my way. I know that Mister Phil is in good hands here. Good night, Sir. Good night, Mam."
Why did I wanna stop him so badly? Why did my heart ache when I saw him leave, step by step, eventually reaching said elevator and then him finally getting inside...was the security guards going to be giving him yet another hard time...was he gonna be okay getting back to the pub and back to his sister...?
"Jane, wait here. I can't just let him go like this..." I whispered and stormed after Slender.
Somewhere in the back of my mind a small voice was asking me what the fucking hell I was doing, what I was playing at, leaving my wife behind to run after a beggar...
When I reached the ground floor I saw that he was way ahead of me, already heading out of the hospital, his hands buried inside his pockets. It was nearly early evening, and it was getting colder and colder the more later it got. You wanna tell me he's gonna walk all the way back the way we had come with my car...NO!
"Slender, wait up!"
I saw him turn around and once more, his eyes lit up immediately as he saw me running towards him. I was exhausted the moment that I reached him...I keep telling myself I'll go to the gym one of these days but I just never can find the time.
"Sir...?"
"Okay...you gotta stop calling me that. My name is Max. Look, I can't let you walk all the way back. I'll go drop you off and then get back to the hospital. Come on, dude, it's the least I can fucking do."
Slender took a deep breath, his eyes riveting fleetingly upwards to where Jane was still waiting with Phil in the ICU area...and then back at me.
"Your wife...she's not gonna like this..." he said slowly, before blowing his breath on both of his hands in the form of a fist, for extra warmth from the cold.
How do I explain to him...she might be my wife, but at that moment and time I was more attracted to him...to a mere beggar who until recently, lived on the streets...than I was to Jane? Granted I had been gay long before I had met either of them...but still.
"Look, I'm dropping you off. I brought you here and I'm taking you back," I hissed full of determination, and walked to my car, not bothering to look if Slender was actually following me.
I knew that he did eventually, as I heard him behind me. I sent Jane a quick text to say that I was taking Slender back to where I had found him, and that I would be back at the hospital as soon as I can. By the time I had Slender in the car and I had turned the car key into the exhaust, Jane still hadn't replied.
End of story.
**
"The wife...she's a looker, I have to say. You did well, Sir...I mean, Max."
I heard laughter in Slender's voice as he spoke. He was once more staring out of the window, sort of as if he was savoring every second he had left inside my BMW.
"You think so? I bet you have loads of girlfriends all after you as well," I joked back enthusiastically.
It was just so easy to talk to him, a virtual stranger who I had given money to at a busy intersection, our paths crossing yet again through tragedy. It literally felt as if I had known him for years.
Slender was suddenly quiet.
Way too quiet.
It took me a fair few seconds to realize that he wasn't responding to what I had said.
"You okay? Hey...talk to me," I urged as he got nearer and nearer to what was left of the pub. The rooms at the back of the small rooms where Slender and Maria was staying was, too my knowledge, unharmed and they should thus still have a place at least to sleep safely for the night at least.
Slender sniffed and then he turned towards me. I saw a tear rolling down his cheek.
It was like an avalanche had disintegrated my heart.
"Fuck sake...dude...I didn't...I mean..."
"Don't worry. It wasn't your fault after all. It happens when you live on the streets."
His whole demeanor had changed. Gone was the friendly, smiling man I had gotten to know all afternoon, and in his place was this shivering, sad human being.
"What happened? Please tell me..." I said softly, as if I was talking to a child.
Slender turned fully towards me and it seemed like he was seeing and relieving painful memories inside his mind's eye. Something, some dark moments that only he could divulge into.
"Max, your wife is waiting for you..."
"I don't give a shit, please tell me."
His eyes flickered.
Alarmingly.
Only I realised just what I had uttered.
Fuck. Fuck!
What was he thinking of me right now? After THAT?
Oh, he's gonna steer well clear of me now that was for damn sure. The fucking weirdo with the BMW and the sexy wife. Yeah...well done, Max.
But then, he licked his lips, he hovered...before...
"I told him not to get involved with them. I told him, over and over and OVER. Ricco just didn't wanna listen. He just kept going back..."
Again, he stopped. He spoke almost like... mechanically. As if he wanted to be sure of EVERY detail.
But who was he talking about?
Deep breath, and I did the only thing I could think of. I placed my hand on his shoulder. He shook with emotion. Whatever he was going through, whatever he was seeing in his mind...it was causing him unbearable pain.
"Who is Ricco?" I dared to ask.
Slender cleared his throat and coughed once.
"My...my boyfriend..."
**
"I told him. I told him, I said, stay away from Rambo and his drug dealers. We were happy, even times when we had nothing to eat at nights, before Rambo got his claws into him. He was never the same after that. Seeing you and Mister Phil this afternoon, him just laying there and not opening his eyes...it brought everything back. Ricco overdosed on meth. He simply couldn't take this life anymore and I nearly damn well joined him. His parents threw him out for being gay, years before and he could never get over that, no matter how happy we were or how hard he had tried. Rambo...well, Ricco thought that he could help us, financially, if he did Rambo's dirty work. In the end, it killed him. Nothing is ever free in Rambo's world. The meth had to be tested before selling it. And guess who was the guinea pig? Got him hooked on the stuff, the worthless piece of shit."
I knew I had problems in my life with my company and me being gay, and now with Phil being in hospital...but that was NOTHING compared, in fact, it was jelly tots in comparison to what Slender had gone through in his short life.
I took my hand from his shoulder and together, we sat in my car in front of the virtually destroyed pub and grill, in the dark.
Just us.
Neither of us made any moves to actually get out of the car or to leave the other.
"You gonna be okay?" I whispered, so softly that at first I wasn't sure if Slender had heard me.
He sighed, before patting my leg with his hand.
"I have to be. Maria and the kids need me. Hey, life's not all bad! We have a place to sleep tonight and we have a little money to keep us going. Don't even think about giving me some..." Slender warned, his angelic voice rising a few notes as he saw me reaching for my wallet in my jacket pocket.
How did he know...of course. It was in the exact same place where I had taken it out that fateful day I gave him a R200 cash when I had nothing else on me.
"Not even a R50? At least?" I genuinely asked, and he even more genuinely shook his head as no, one more time.
"Keep it. You work hard for it. Well, I guess I gotta go. Hey..."
There they were again. His eyes. His beautiful...beautiful blue eyes. They were sparkling in the moonlight. Or so I thought. Who cared? And it was then that I once more thought...what was he doing on the streets?
He was the most...handsome man I had EVER seen...unfortunately poverty didn't worry about your looks, when it came around in life.
"Yeah?" I answered.
I hoped and prayed he didn't see right through me. Confusion was busy fucking with my brain and heavily so. If you told me one day long ago I'd be attracted to a homeless guy...I'd have fucked you up good and proper.
Slender looked down and for a moment...I would seriously have thought he was leaning in to kiss me and god knows I WOULD have kissed him back...
...but no. He smiled and got out of the car.
"Better get a shower in whilst the water is still hot. You never know with these places. I'll see ya!" he said before carefully closing the door and quickly jogging off towards the back of the pub where he and his sister was staying.
With the pub trashed...who knew for how long they would be allowed to stay here?
Jesus.
All I could think about as I spent some ten or so minutes simply existing their in the darkness, and I was flabbergasted at how one person can come into your life and simply mess with everything you thought you knew.
I didn't even know how this happened. I'm sorry but when you think of sexy, virile and hot men to sleep with...I mean, homeless beggars simply didn't form part of that equation!
I felt like shit.
I grabbed my wallet yet again and checked inside. I had two R50 notes stuffed between numerous credit card receipts. Like I had said in the previous chapter, I really didn't like to actually have cash on me, as Cape Town did unfortunately have a huge crime rate. But...call me selfish, call me weird. Call me nosy.
I honestly just meant to help.
Before I knew what I was doing I got out of my car. I didn't actually give Jane a second thought. With the money squeezed tightly in my hand...I kinda planned on leaving it on the inside of the back room where they were sleeping in, or at the very least, give the cash to Maria, Slender's twin sister, if he refused to take it.
Don't ask me what was going through my head, all I knew was that I HAD TO DO SOMETHING. I hated, HATED just driving away from here when I could have helped them.
**
As I carefully entered the room, I once more saw that although it was very, very small, that everything was neat and clean. I wondered where Maria and her two children was...they had to be in here somewhere...it was freezing out side.
Well, this was going great, wasn't it?
Screw this, I'd simply place the money on the table next to their small kettle. They were bound to find it there. Coffee was essential.
The moment I had placed the two R50 notes down...
...was the exact same moment that Slender appeared from the inside.
Lord almighty.
He was only wearing a towel.
His chest...it was ripped beyond belief. His six pack abs were fully on display as he had probably just come out of the shower. His thick blond hair was dashed across his head, leaving his face open and clean. His biceps were muscular and firm. He smelled like soap...the most amazing aroma that can elicit from another man. His chest was hairless and each and every one of those six blocks that formed part of his stomach was quite literally BEGGING to be touched and even tasted...
"Fuck..."
The word was out before I could stop myself.
Slender looked down at his body, and then back at me...and suddenly it was like a light had been switched on inside his brain.
It was the way his eyes widened and especially the way he slowly swallowed...probably in sheer disbelief.
Oh god...oh god...he knew.
He KNEW!!
WHAT THE FUCK DO I DO NOW??
**
THANKS FOR READING!!
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