Lexington Black (18 page)

'Considering what I've just told you, you're
being very calm about it.'

'It was ignorance, that's all. You're a nice
person, Rob. I've only known you a couple of days, but I can't
smell any BS on you. And my BS detector is highly-tuned.' She
looked outside. 'We're here. I don't suppose you want to come in
for a coffee?'

'I'm knackered, to be honest. I'll call for
you tomorrow morning. Thanks for everything, Caressa.' They hugged
tightly. Caressa cut a forlorn figure on the sidewalk as Ty drove
away.

The following day was uncharacteristically warm, even for the
middle of May. Rob went back to Caressa's apartment, and as the
door opened, he came face to face with a tall, lean man with
thinning, sandy hair, dressed in a neatly-pressed Oxford striped
shirt and cream cargo pants. Devoid of make-up, he had high
cheekbones and full, sensual lips. He looked like an extra from
Brideshead Revisited.

'I'll get my wallet,' he said, and left Rob
in the middle of the room.

His apartment was not especially large but
furnished with a mixture of antique and modern furniture, one wall
completely taken over by bookshelves. The walls had been painted
cream to offset the heavy furniture, and the whole effect was
tasteful and comfortable. He was surprised at how well-read Caressa
was. James Joyce, Evelyn Waugh, Chaucer, Dickens, together with Lee
Child and Patricia Cornwell. There were European authors from the
1930's and other books that looked a lot older. He wondered if some
of them were first editions. They looked pristine, as though they
had never been touched.

When the man came back into the room, Rob did
another double-take. He could not get over how different he looked
in plain clothes.

'What do you keep staring at?'

'You! You look ... amazing.'

His expression softened. 'Do you really think
so?'

'Absolutely. And I'm a bit relieved, to be
honest. I was afraid your wig would blow off on one of the
rollercoasters.'

'Oh, so was I. And the heels kill my bunions
but don't tell anyone. If Victoria Beckham can deal with it, so can
I but not today. Let's go and play.'

'But ... what's your real name?'

'It's Peter. Didn't Lex tell you?'

'No.'

'That's typical of him, especially when his
mind is in his dick.' Peter ushered him out of the apartment. 'It's
so lovely to have you all to myself. When he gets back, I won't see
either of you for dust.'

They took the subway down to the ferry. By
the time they reached Coney Island, Rob had told Peter practically
everything there was to know about his life. Not that he had
anything to hide. Hiding was for cowards. Despite the rocky road
ahead, he felt a sense of almost giddy excitement.

For most of the day they wandered around,
eating ice cream, chatting, riding the coasters. They had lunch at
a burger restaurant, watching the boats drift along the Hudson. The
weather was perfect, with a sun-drenched, endless blue sky.

'It was great of Lex to offer me the
apartment,' Rob said in the afternoon. 'I still don't know what
I've done to deserve it.'

'He's besotted with you, my dear. So many
people fawn on him because he's so wealthy, so when he finds
someone who doesn't care about any of that, he likes to look after
them.'

'Is that why he doesn't do
relationships?'

Peter grimaced. 'I guess. He keeps things
pretty close to his chest.'

Rob had the feeling there was more Peter
could have added, but he was being discreet and loyal to his
friend. Fair enough.

Peter's mobile chirped. He looked at the
incoming text. 'Speak of the devil. He's reminding us to be at his
apartment for eight tonight. That reminds me, do you have swimming
trunks?'

'I didn't pack any.'

'You mean you've been staying at that lush
penthouse and not swum in his pool? What's wrong with you?'

'It scares me a bit, to be honest, the way it
drops off the edge.'

Peter rolled his eyes. 'Good grief! We need
to get back into Manhattan and get you kitted out.'

'Again? For God's sake, at least let me pay
this time.'

'Certainly not.'

Rob knew he had no choice but to comply.
Meekly he followed Peter back to the ferry and they took the subway
to 5th Avenue. It was almost six by the time they got there.

'Between you and me, the shopping is better
in Jersey. Less tax. It's not the same, though. No-one in this city
wants to admit they hunt for bargains.' Peter marched into Saks,
towing Rob by the hand behind him, and headed for the elevator to
the mens' apparel department.

Rob picked up a pair of flowery board shorts
and nearly dropped them when he saw how much they cost.

'No, no, no,' Peter said, back in
hand-flapping queen mode. 'These, darling.' He thrust a pale blue
pair of trunks at Rob. They looked ridiculously small. 'Try them
on. They're very James Bond.'

Obediently, Rob did as he was told. As he was
pulling them up, Peter rapped on the door. 'Let's see them.'

'Um... they're too small.'

The door opened. Peter gazed appraisingly at
them. 'They look fantastic. If you don't buy them, I will.'

'But ...' Rob looked at himself in the
mirror. They sat low on his hips and were tighter than anything
else he had ever owned before, showing off his package to
perfection. He smoothed his hands over his backside. He could get
used to them. He peeled them off again, aware that Peter's gaze was
glued to his underpants.

'It's what everyone is wearing, darling.
Board shorts are for Californians.'

'What are you wearing?'

'Something totally obscene.' He snatched the
trunks out of Rob's hand and went away, leaving him to dress.

By the time he found Peter again, he had
bought five pairs of white Calvin Klein briefs.

'The state of your underwear is appalling,'
he said tersely, thrusting them at Rob.

It took a further half hour before Rob could
get Peter out of the store before he bought him another whole
outfit. His generosity was outstanding, but he didn't want either
him or Lex to think he was taking advantage.

As he walked back to his apartment, he
realised how much he had enjoyed the day. Peter was a generous,
warm and funny human being. Caressa was his dark side, vulnerable
and unpredictable. He wondered who would turn up later at Lex's
apartment. If it was Caressa, he was curious to see what she
intended to wear in the pool.

When he entered Lex's penthouse apartment
again, the tinted bi-fold doors were open, allowing a spectacular
panoramic view of the city. Outside, the pool shimmered invitingly.
There were plenty of people around, but Lex was not in sight.

A pretty waiter wearing only a black bowtie
and a snowy white apron to protect his modesty approached Rob,
offering him a glass of champagne. Peter padded past him in
translucent bikini briefs.

'Why aren't you wearing your trunks?'

'They're under my trousers.' Together they
joined the other men by the pool.

The sun deck looked as if Barbie and Ken had
decided to throw a party but Barbie had forgotten to show up.
Bronzed men and boys draped like panthers over every chair, soaking
up the sticky city heat in the smallest of swimming costumes. A bar
stood in the corner, behind which a good-looking bartender sliced
fruit and made cocktails to order with a showmanship that made
everyone gasp. It was just the right side of tasteful. From what
little he knew of Lex, Rob presumed it had all been prepared with a
certain amount of irony.

He hoped so, anyway.

A tanned, stocky man with a pelt of silver
hair on his broad chest lounged on a double sun-lounger next to an
even more tanned, much younger man in a tiny white thong. The
younger man's muscles were impressive, as if he had swallowed a
load of baseballs earlier that morning. He had a beautiful, calm
face and gentle brown eyes. As Rob drew nearer, he heard them
conversing in Spanish.

'Justin, darling, meet Rob,' Peter said.

The older man turned and smiled, then stood
up. He was wearing small, revealing red bikini pants and nothing
else. Rob shook his hand, trying not to stare. Each bulge he cast
eyes on seemed bigger than the last.

'And this is Philip, my friend for the
evening,' Justin said, motioning to the young man, who gave him a
shy wave.

'Philip is everyone's friend, for a price,'
Peter said with a saucy wink. 'Isn't that right, Philip?'

'Not everyone can afford me,' Philip said
good-humouredly, in a thick Spanish accent. Rob noticed the heavy
gold watch on his wrist. It looked like a Rolex. Philip saw him
looking at it.

'A present from one of my clients,' he
said.

'I'm in the wrong job. What do you do?' Rob
ignored Peter, who was chortling behind him.

'I'm an escort,' Philip replied, and Rob
finally understood. He was at a loss to know what else to say.

The heat of the day had built up and grown
heavy, making skin glisten and the air thicken with the scent of
coconut oil and testosterone. Rob could not remember the names of
the other men but he counted at least ten of them, as well as
Peter, Justin and Philip. Lex still did not appear. He hoped when
he did, he would be wearing something a little more decent than the
cock-enhancing scraps of material sported by everyone else.

'Oh, FYI, Rob is a newbie, so don't scare
him,' Peter said to the group. 'Until a month ago he thought he was
straight.'

Justin looked at him with interest. 'Is that
right? Well, it looks like you've just walked into the lion's den,
doesn't it, lambkin?'

'I feel perfectly safe,' Rob lied
smoothly.

'That could be fatal, darling.'

He sensed they were all waiting for him to
get his kit off. Not that he had much to impress them with. He
doubted that his white, skinny body would hold anyone enraptured
for long.

He dropped his trousers and took off his
shirt before sitting down on a large circular mattress, aware of
their gazes. Peter nodded approvingly.

At that moment, a balled-up piece of paper
landed on Rob's lap, making him jump. Puzzled, he unfolded it and
read a hand-written note.

He looked up, and saw Lex leaning on a
curvaceous clear glass balcony, talking on his phone. He wore a
white linen shirt and narrow yellow swimming trunks. He gave Rob a
brief wave. At the sight of him, Rob relaxed slightly. He did not
feel quite as vulnerable and out of his depth, knowing he was
there.

Whilst they waited for Lex to appear, the
conversation was easy and relaxed. The talk was of business and
Peter's gallery, of the latest show to hit town and local gossip.
Most of it went over Rob's head as he listened and admired the
view. It seemed as if every skyscraper in the city were visible
from the rooftop. The sounds of sirens and horns floated up from
the street below but seemed to belong to another world
entirely.

Justin whispered something in Philip's ear.
Philip languidly rose from the chair. All eyes were on his
impressively muscled torso as he stalked to the pool and stood on
the very edge, buttocks clenching and relaxing.

'Very nice, though I like my men a lot
hairier,' Peter said with a suggestive look at the supremely hairy
Justin, who inclined his head and raised his glass to Peter. Rob
watched their flirting with interest. With every passing moment,
the heat between the two men grew more intense.

Philip dove into the water and swam two
lengths before emerging again, shaking droplets from his hair and
smoothing it back from his face. Again, there was a collective
sigh. In profile he was like a Greek god, the impressive bulge
jutting out way beyond his muscular thighs.

'Now do backstroke,' Justin called out.
Obediently the young man slipped back into the pool and carved
elegant strokes up to the end and back again, that mighty cock
lifting out of the water. The other boys jumped in and began
throwing the ball back and forth with whoops of laughter. After a
while Rob noticed that they had all dispensed with their small
bikini bottoms, including Philip. As he leapt out of the water to
catch the ball, they were given enticing glimpses of young, healthy
manhood. For a while all talk ceased and everyone watched with
barely concealed lust.

Lex slipped onto the mattress next to Rob
almost without being spotted, as everyone's attention was on the
action in the water. Rob felt the heat of his body next to his and
turned to look at him. Close-up, his body was lean and lightly
tanned, toned rather than overtly muscular.

'Sorry about that. I've just spent fifty
million dollars on a company in New Jersey. Now I can relax,' he
said, smiling behind dark Ray-Bans. The waiter brought over two
tall glasses of Pimms, furnished with mint and a strawberry. He
gave one to Lex and one to Rob.

'To make you feel at home,' Lex said, as the
waiter took orders for more drinks from the other guests.

'Thank you.' It was the quickest way to get
totally bladdered, as far as Rob's experience went. Mentally, he
advised himself to be cautious. He didn't want to make a complete
tit of himself.

'Why not go in for a swim? You won't be able
to after we've eaten,' Lex said.

By then the pretty boys were all draped on
towels by the pool, seemingly exhausted by their exertions in the
pool. The water was calm and inviting, though the drop at the end
looked terrifying.

'Come on. You've got those sexy new swimmers
to show off,' Peter said, patting his leg. 'I chose them,' he said
smugly to the others. 'And just so you don't feel scared, I'll go
in as well.'

Lex seemed happy to watch, as they all jumped
in the pool. Rob sat on the side, hesitating, his feet dangling in
the water. Peter clambered onto an inflatable bed and sighed
happily.