Eriq
I sit naked, my balls freezing as this man pays me to pose for him. How are we in the same profession, but he can pay someone while I can barely afford rent?
“Higher, lift your leg higher,” Pavlo instructs me.
“This is the highest it can go, Pavlo,” I tell him. He scowls, gets up and walks over to me then leans in.
“Hey, hey, no touching,” I remind him.
He smirks. “Having fantasies about me, Enrique.”
“It’s Eriq, asshole; you’re the one paying me to look at my ass,” I glare at him.
“True, your body is a work of art. Now spread it wider,”
“This doesn’t feel right; I already feel a cold draft on my balls,” I tell him.
“And what Magnifique balls they are,” Pavlo says.
I want to punch him in his face, but I’m two months behind on rent, my paintings aren’t selling, and I don’t want to ask my parents for money again. So I clench my fist but follow his instructions. He nods, then returns to his seat and continues to paint. Another hour of torture, then we’re done.
“Splendid!” he exclaims finally an hour later. Relief fills me as I quickly get dressed. I head back to him as he stands before the painting, examining it.
"You're good," I say as I examine it myself.
"Of course, I am the best with the body." He says as he grabs my shoulder. I shift out of his grasp.
I should get going," He nods and hands me a check for $500. Two hours of posing for $500? Not bad, even if I had to pose for this creep.
“Any other painting jobs, Pavlo?” I inquire.
He purses his lips. “Not right now, no...”I nod, disappointed, and turn to leave.
“I am looking for a pool boy with benefits, though.”
“F**k you!” I yell at him without looking back.
“That was just an idea,” he adds. I slam the door on my way out as if I would plow him for cash. I’m not homophobic, but I’m not into men, and even if I was, prostitution isn’t my style. I walk out of his building and head to my bike. I ride the short trip home.
I park my bike, then jog upstairs. I look at my door for an eviction notice but find none. I haven’t paid rent in two months, yet I haven’t received a letter or a phone call. Is the owner so wealthy they don’t miss the money or dead? Either way, this means I can get some food and buy a couple of art supplies. I drop my keys and head straight to my art studio. Posing for Pavlo made me want to paint.
I take off my shirt and walk to the easel to work on my latest piece. I paint for about five minutes when I hear a loud bang outside, then car horns. I grab my shirt and run through the door. Once I run down the steps, I see a car lodged into the side of the house. I scan the front, my bike, where’s my bike? I start to panic looking everywhere for it, but it’s nowhere in sight. I begin to fear the worse as I hurry in front of the car. Sure enough, my bike is lodged under it.
“F**k!” I shout, kicking the car
“Hey, watch it,” the driver tells me.
“You better fix my fucking bike, or so help me; I’m going to beat the shit out of you.” I storm over to him.
“Oh no, I feel faint; where’s the ambulance?” He cowers away.
“Fucking coward,” I mumble, marching back my bike. I pull it out from the rubble. Okay, so it’s not so bad, maybe it won’t be expensive to fix. I sigh, hopeful I won’t have to find thousands of dollars to fix it.
*****
“Five thousand dollars,” I repeat the price on the invoice.
“What, you can’t be serious, Vin?” I scream as I follow him.
Look, the bike is almost totaled; it will take a lot of work,” Vincent explains.
“Vin, we’re family,” I tell him.
“We’re friends, and it’s because we’re friends I’m giving you the lowest price. That's just for parts, no labor,”
“I bought it for Ten thousand.”
“Well, you’ll need another 5 to fix it, or you can say goodbye,” I sigh, running my hands through my hair. The bike is special to me; it’s the first thing I bought with the first significant painting I sold. I’ve had it for five years. It represents my independence that my work is valid. I can’t part with it now.
“I’ll get the money.”
“I’m sorry, Eriq,” he tells me.
“Not your fault, Vin. I’m the idiot, didn’t collect the insurance information for that jerk.”He pats my back and walks away. I groan, looking at the bike. Where the hell am I going to get five thousand dollars?
****
Thirty minutes later, I take a cab back to my place. I jog up the steps and see someone standing at my door.
“Hey”
“What are you doing here, Glen?” I scowl as I push the key in the door.
“It’s been a year,” he answers.
“Oh, is a year the timeframe to forgive your best friend for fucking your woman? Guess what, it’s still f**k you.” I unlock the door and push it open.
“Man, I’m sorry. You can’t throw away 25 years of friendship for that woman,” he replies.
“It’s not about her; it was never about her, Glen; it’s about you. Why would I trust a friend who would do shit like that behind my back?” I tell him.
“You’re supposed to have my back Glen; I would have done anything for you.”
“I would, too,” he responds.
“Top on your list is taking my place in her bed,” I walk in and slam the door shut.
“Come to one, Eriq; we have to get past this,” I frown.
Like heck we do. I take off my shoes, walk to the kitchen and grab a beer. Then plop down on the sofa; he’s still outside talking.
“I hear your bike was totaled.” Of course, he heard about my bike the same way he has my new address; those people can never keep their mouths shut.
“I have an idea where you can get the cash,” he continues.
My hand stops midair as I hear those words. Can he get me the cash? Where? I wait for him to continue, but he doesn’t say anything else. I jump up and run to the door, hoping to catch him. But he’s still standing at the door; his face has his signature goofy grin.
"I knew that would do it.”
“Whatever dickweed, you said you had away to get me the cash? What is it? I hope it isn’t illegal; I have enough fucking problems,” I tell him.
“It’s one hundred percent legal and has gotten me out of a couple of tight situations when I was cash strapped,” he assures me.
I look at him confused; what the hell could he be talking about? He reaches into his pockets and hands me a piece of paper. I take it a reach the first two words.
“Sperm donation?!”
Amaija “Are you sure about this?” Brin asks. I nod as we scan through pages of information about sperm donation. Krystel emailed me a couple of days ago. It’s been two weeks since I’ve decided I wanted to have a baby. So far, I’ve only told Brin. “I’m positive, Brin; stop asking.” She sighs. “And what if you meet Mr. Right, but you’re pregnant by some stranger?” she prompts. “If he’s Mr. Right, he won’t care,” I respond. “What man wouldn’t... Frederico!” Brin calls her fiance, who pops his head out of the kitchen. “Si Belleza (yes beauty)” He comes in and kisses her long, passionate kiss. Why did I even come here? I should have told Zara we could wallow with ice cream and N*****x in our singleness. “Miele (honey), would you care if I was pregnant by another man when you met me?” “Of course not, Belleza. You are my soulmate. Even if you were pregnant, you were mine.” “ahh,” Brin says before they ki
Eriq I grab the painting and head for the door. I have to meet the buyer in ten minutes. I should have already been on my way, but I was up all night completing it, and I overslept. “F**k!” I grab it and dash out of the house as Glen walks up the stairs. “I don’t have time for the shit today, Glen; I told you no.” I walk past him down the stair to my car. I open the door of my beat-up old 98 Charger. It was my dad’s car until he gave it to me when I was sixteen. I was so proud of my car; I drove it everywhere until I got my bike. I still love it to this day, but I miss the rush that comes with riding my bike. I place the painting in the backseat as he walks up to me. “Come on; it’s easy money.” “For you, but I don’t want a bunch of kids running around with my DNA that I don’t know.” Having a kid is something special to me. I can't do it carelessly because I'm low on cash. “The likelihood of someone selecting you is low.
AmaijaOne month ago“We’ve been looking for a month. I don’t know why you’re so picky with picking a donor when you aren’t that picky with who you sleep with.” Brin says. I roll my eyes as we pull into the parking lot of the latest bank.“I am making a human, not just getting myself off. I have to pick the perfect man,” I say.“There is no such thing as the perfect man,” Zara says as we all exit the car.“Trouble in booty call paradise?” I ask, amused since she’s been singing a different tune for the last couple of weeks.“Your brother is an asshole. Can you believe he wants to sleep with other women?”Zar says.“He’s my brother, so yeah, I can believe it. He’s a great son and an even better brother, but a good boyfriend he is not. You knew this when you went in, though.”I say.“I know, but I tho
Eriq I catch the woman as she falls, and we tumble to the floor. She’s on top of me but quickly gets up. Amaija What damages? Are you trying to extort me, you piece of shit? Did you plan this after you found out who my family was? I clench my fist as my anger builds the never of this woman. "Last night, you tried to sexually harass me." "Sexually harass?" She says, furrowing her brows. "Yes, first you called me your baby daddy, then you tried to kiss me. Then you fainted; I could not find anyone who knows you, which means I had to leave work early and let me tell you, something woman, I need all the money I can get." "I…" "I’m not done talking. So after
Amaija In the three weeks since my insemination and subsequent run-in with my donor, I have been unable to forget him. I can’t forget his chiseled jawline, his deep hazel eyes, or his chestnut hair. He’s gorgeous and is the father of my child if I am indeed pregnant. For the third time today, I stare at the pregnancy test on the countertop. I have been putting it off because I am too scared to know for certain if I am pregnant or not. Assuming I am pregnant, then I’ll be a single parent, which is scary, but if I am not pregnant, I’ll be disappointed. The day has finally come to find out either way because I finally worked up the courage to take a pregnancy test. The only thing left to do is take it. I reach for the box slowly as my heart beats fast. Ding, Dong. I catch myself at the sound of the doorbell. Who could it be? I wasn’t expecting anyone. My eyes glance back and forth
Amaija “Ami,” he says my name, making my heart thunder while my insides melt. He knows it’s me. How does he know it’s me even though I’m wearing a mask? What should I say? I didn’t plan on speaking to him when Gwen asked me where I wanted to go. I didn’t even know if he was still working here, but I hoped he was and I hope I would see him again just one more time so I could always remember the father of my child. But the minute I saw him when I walked through the door, I know seeing him alone wouldn’t satisfy my curiosity, so I bought out the VIP and got him to be our server. Now, seeing him up close, I don’t know what to say. My heart feels like it is going to explode out of my chest. "Ami?" He says again, pulling me from my thoughts. My eyes shift to his. We stare at each other in silence for a moment before Gwen breaks it. “Amaija, you didn’t tell me you know such a sexy bartender,” Gwen says while giving him bedroom eyes. I push the bitter fee
Eriq I expected her to push me away or slap me, but she melts right into my arms. Her soft lips move against mine, and I feel my heart pounding in my chest. I want her in a way I never wanted anyone. I was afraid to admit that before seeing her tonight. Afraid to admit it because life never gives me what I want, but the moment I saw her, it didn’t matter that I was poor and worthy of her. I knew I had to have her. My hands find her waist, and I pull her closer to me as our kiss deepens. She moves her hand down my chest to my pecs, to the top of my boxers. No, I can’t do that with her. Not her, not like this. I grab her hand and break the kiss. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. You kissed me and I..” she mumbles. She is so cute when she is nervous. I take her hand and kiss it. “You have nothing to apologize for. I just want to ta
AmiI’m on the couch with a pillow on my stomach and a laptop resting on it as I work on my latest video game design. While video chatting with Vector, our other game developer.“V, we should move the launch date. Looking at where we are currently. The game should be ready in a month.”“I think we should keep it the same. In case of any bugs, we need to fix.”“We can fix them during testing.”“Not if there’s a major problem.”I purse my lips and think for a moment. I want to launch this game as soon as possible. It’s a first-person shooting game I designed for women who like guns. They can upload images of their cheating boyfriends and shoot them. You know, get out the anger without jail time. It was inspired by my last cheating ex and then him, who dumped me without an explanation, but I don’t have any pictures of him I