Chase of a Lifetime (14 page)

He figured it couldn’t hurt to go out and
have one drink. Besides, the more he said no the more Cain would hound him.
Cain tended to be aggressive like Len. When he sank his teeth into something he
didn’t let go. “What do you want to do?”

“I was thinking you could come here and pick
me up,” Cain said. “Then we can head out and decide then. No set plans right
now. Man, I really need to get out of here. My dad’s in the worst mood I’ve
seen in years. My mom can’t seem to sit still. It’s like she can’t get out of
the house fast enough and she’s only here because of me. It’s creepy, dude. And
my car’s in the shop so I’m trapped.”

Jim smiled and rolled his eyes. It was the
same old Cain he knew from high school. The only reason he’d phoned was because
his car was in the shop and he knew Jim had a brand new car. “I’ll be there in
about a half hour.” He remembered that Len had told him to stay away from Cain.
He didn’t care. Len wasn’t his boss and he had no right to tell him what to do.
And this would be the perfect way to show Len he didn’t have that much control
over him.

“Come into the house to get me,” Cain said.
“It will make things easier. If they see I’m really with you they’ll be cool
about me going out. There was this little incident this summer. I got into a
fight and ever since then they’ve been questioning everything I do. I make one
dumb mistake and throw one punch and I’m labeled a hardened criminal.”

Jim played dumb. He didn’t let Cain know he
knew all about the incident in
Austin
.
But he didn’t want to go into the Mayfield house and run into Len face to face.
He wasn’t certain he could pull that off without buckling under the pressure.
“I’d rather just wait outside for you,” he said.

“No, come in,” Cain said. Then he hung up
before Jim had a chance to argue the point.

Janice Mayfield opened the door and lifted
her arms in the air in a fake, dramatic way. “Well look who’s here,” she said.
“Come in, Jim.” Then she threw her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek.

Jim forced a smile and walked into the front
hall. The last time he’d been there Janice had been out all night with her
tennis instructor and Len had fucked Jim on the black leather sofa in the den
so hard they’d knocked over a table and broken a candle stick holder. He wound
up wearing Len’s underwear home that night by mistake. Len’s underwear was
still in his hamper.

“Let’s go back to the den,” Janice said.
“I’ll make you a drink and let Cain know you’re here. When I found out Cain was
going out with you, I decided to meet a friend of mine, too. I’m so glad you
guys are getting together tonight. It feels just like old times again.”

Jim’s heart began to beat faster. He could
see from where he was standing in the hallway that Len was stretched out on a
black leather chair watching TV in the den. He’d been hoping Len wouldn’t be
around.

Sure Mrs. Mayfield was thrilled to see him.
It gave her a chance to see the tennis instructor. As they walked to the back
of the house, Jim set his jaw and prepared to see Len for the first time since
they’d quarreled in the hotel room. Janice went to the bar and asked him what
he wanted to drink. Jim walked to the sofa, sat down, and said, “I’m fine, Mrs.
Mayfield. Nothing for me. I’m driving.” He’d forgotten to call her Janice like
she’d asked. She didn’t seem to notice and he didn’t correct himself.

Len sent him a glare. His eyebrows furrowed,
his fists clenched, and his face burned bright red. “Why don’t you have
something, Jim? One drink won’t hurt you. You’re a big boy now. You’re a big
strong man.”

He spoke with such a sarcastic tone Jim felt
like throwing something at him. He looked down at the floor and said, “No thank
you. I’m fine,
sir
.” He called him
sir on purpose, as if to rub in the fact that Len was so much older.

Len sent him a more intense glare, and then
turned away fast.

Janice poured herself a martini and said,
“Don’t force him, Len. He’s driving, remember?” She took a sip and said, “I’ll
go up and tell Cain you’re here. I have to get something in my room anyway
because I’ve leaving right after you guys.”

When she left the room, Jim slid to the end
of the sofa and said, “I didn’t want to come here tonight. Cain insisted we go
out.” He lowered his voice to a stage whisper.

“You promised me you wouldn’t see Cain,” Len
said. He didn’t look at Jim. He gazed at the TV with a blank expression.

“I didn’t have a choice,” Jim said. “You
know how your son is. He’s even pushier than you are.” Then he lifted his head
higher and said, “And you’re not my boss. I can see anyone I want to see and I
can do anything I want to do. So don’t ever tell me what to do.”

Before Len could reply, Cain Mayfield and
his mother called Jim’s name from the hallway. Jim stood up and smoothed his
jeans. The fact that Len wouldn’t even look at him made Jim want to kick his
chair. At first he felt bad about going against Len’s wishes and seeing Cain.
Now he wanted to smile and do a dance in circles around the chair.

“You didn’t pick up when I called you,” Len
said.

“I know. I thought it was best to ignore the
calls.”

“I would have answered if you’d called me.”

“But I didn’t call you and you know why.”

“Fuck you, Jim,” Len said. “I should never
have gotten myself involved with a child. I should have known better.”

Cain shouted Jim’s name again.

This time Jim glared at Len. He had some
nerve treating Jim this way. Len was the one who’d used Jim for nothing but
sex. Jim turned toward the hallway and said, “I shouldn’t have gotten involved
with an old man. Have a good night,
Mr. Mayfield
. I know I will.” Then
he headed out to meet Cain and didn’t give Len a backward glance. But he knew,
as he crossed into the hallway, Len’s eyes were on his back with each step he
took.

 
When
they were outside, all the frustration and torture Jim had endured in high
school came rushing back to him before he even had a chance to duck. Cain took Jim’s
car keys without asking and said, “I’ll drive. I know where we’re going. You’re
going to love this place, trust me.” Jim submitted to his old friend’s
aggressive personality the same way he’d always submitted in high school. He
followed Cain to his car, sat in the passenger seat, and watched as Cain
adjusted the driver’s seat to accommodate his long legs.

Cain drove the same way he’d driven in high
school. They swerved out of the driveway with a screech and Cain hit the gas.
He wore tight low-rise jeans and a black V-neck sweater that hugged every
muscle in his solid torso. His hair had lightened from the sun that summer and
his entire body was glazed with an even bronze tan. When he shifted gears, his
left leg bent at the knee and the bulge between his legs grew rounder. On the
interstate, Cain told Jim about his tumultuous relationship with a girl in
Austin
. He’d met her in
Stanford, they’d been together since his junior year, and they’d been planning
to get married for the last six months. Cain said it would probably be sooner
rather than later now, because he’d just found out she was pregnant. This was
one of the reasons why he’d come home for a few weeks, to break the news to his
mother and father before he went back to Stanford. He also mentioned the girl
came from a poor family, was swamped with student loans, and his mother and
father would have to pay for the wedding.

The one thing Cain mentioned that caused
Jim’s jaw to drop was that his father had been adamant about Cain and his
girlfriend keeping the baby. Len promised he would support his son and the girl
both financially and emotionally. Cain said his father did not support abortion
in any way and it would be the one thing he would never forgive. Len said he
didn’t care about the girlfriend’s rights as a woman or her body; he only cared
about the rights of his unborn grandchild.
 
If Cain and his girlfriend aborted the baby, Len
said he would never speak to his son again for as long as he lived. This
surprised Jim; he would have pegged Len as being more liberal. It made him
frown, too. He realized how little he knew about the man with whom he’d been
sleeping.

While he spoke, Cain weaved in and out of
other cars, blowing the horn and waving his middle finger. Jim sat there
clutching his seatbelt. He remembered how he’d always hated getting into a car
with Cain. He listened to the story of Cain’s life and wondered how long the
marriage to this girl from Austin would last…he gave it two years at the most.
From what Jim could gather, it seemed as though the only reason they were
getting married was because she’d gotten pregnant. But he said nothing and made
no gestures. It was none of his business what Cain did with his life. Besides,
he knew from years of experience that Cain never took advice from anyone. He’d
always done whatever he wanted to do and it seemed nothing had changed.

They pulled up to a bar in a part of Dallas
that was foreign to Jim. The only time he ever went to this part of the city
was when he was passing through. Cain climbed out of the car without giving Jim
a chance to explain where they were or why they were there. He started walking
toward a door where there were tons of people lined up outside leaning into a
stucco wall. Jim followed him without saying a word. He had to walk fast to
keep up; at times he had to jog. He was sorry he’d agreed to go out that night.
He wished he were home, in his bed, waiting to see if Len would call again. Len
seemed so mad now he’d probably never speak to him again.

As they approached a crowd of young men,
Cain reached for Jim’s arm and pulled him toward the entrance. Cain knew the
guy at the door. Cain was the type of guy who knew all the bouncers at all the
clubs. He leaned into bouncer, said something Jim couldn’t hear, and the guy
stepped aside so they could enter. Jim had noticed there were a lot of young
men outside the bar. And when he entered and saw there were only men in the bar
he grabbed Cain’s arm and said, “What are we doing
here
? This looks like
a
gay
bar.”

Cain continued walking toward the front of
the bar. There was a stage and a group of tables near the footlights. He forced
Jim to sit down in an empty chair and he sat across from him. He rested his
elbows on the table and said, “I thought you’d like it here better. I thought
you’d feel more comfortable than the places I would normally go. I know the
bouncer. He used to get me pot in high school.”

Jim felt a strong tightness in his chest.
Music with a heavy constant base began to play and he glanced over his
shoulder. A young man in a tuxedo danced out on the stage. He swung his hips,
rolled them to the point of exaggeration, and kicked off his shoes. Jim turned
back to Cain and said, “Why would you think I’d want to come here?”

Cain rubbed his arm and said, “C’mon Jim. There’s
no need to hide it from me anymore. We’re both adults. I’ve known you were gay
since you were about sixteen. Frankly, I’m a little insulted you never said
anything to me about it.”

This was news to Jim. He sat up straighter
and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He knew his mother hadn’t
said anything to anyone. It was too soon. Besides, she’d never do anything like
that without telling him first. He knew Len hadn’t said anything to Cain. For a
moment, he thought Cain was joking around. He’d done something like this once
before in high school. Cain, along with a few other guys, had blindfolded Jim
and taken him to a gay bar. When they removed the blindfold and saw the
horrified expression on Jim’s face, they all doubled over laughing. Jim had
been mortified, but not because he’d been taken to a gay bar. He’d been
horrified because he thought they knew he was gay. He’d covered his tracks, as
any other closeted gay guy in high school would have done. He played along and
laughed about the “fags and queers” with them that night. He sensed Cain was
doing the same thing all over again.

Cain shook his head. “Stop pretending, Jim. It’s
cool. I don’t mind if you’re gay. I don’t see anything wrong with it.
Seriously, man.”

Jim leaned forward. “You’re really not
joking are you?”

Cain shrugged. “Man, I’ve known since you
were sixteen and I caught you sniffing my clothes one night. You thought I’d
gone downstairs for food. I came back for something and found you sniffing my
jeans and socks and groping yourself. I never said anything because I didn’t
want to embarrass you. But that was years ago. It’s time to come out, Jim.”

There had been so many times Jim had buried
his face in Cain’s clothes he wasn’t sure which night that had happened. He’d
sniffed Cain’s jeans, his shirts, his socks and his underwear. He had no idea
Cain saw him do this. As he began to deny it again, he took a deep breath, exhaled,
and said, “Even if I am gay, it doesn’t mean you had to take me to a place like
this.” He glanced back over his shoulder and saw the male stripper had removed
everything but a G-string. He shook his hips so fast his dick went up and down
beneath the sheer silver fabric.

Cain punched his shoulder. “I thought you’d
like it. Isn’t this what all gay guys do?” He rubbed his jaw and smiled. “Holy
shit, I think you’re a virgin. I had no idea. I would have guessed you’d at
least come out of the closet in college.” He folded his arms over his chest and
smiled. “No one’s popped that cherry yet, have they?”

If Cain only knew. “No, I’m not a virgin,
asswipe. That I can promise you.”

The male stripper continued to bounce toward
Jim and Cain’s table, as if Jim had a target on his back. He came up behind Jim,
squatted, and started to swing his dick right over Jim’s head. As the rest of
the men in the bar cheered the stripper on, Jim felt a pull in his stomach. This
was out of context; not fun at all. He suddenly felt cheap and dirty, as if
they were all laughing at him. Len would never have taken him to a place like
this. “I want to get out of here, Cain. I’m starting to feel very
uncomfortable.”