Scavengers: August (6 page)

Ira blinked,
his body loosening. “Wha’?”

“You are in my
custody. I’m not letting you do something stupid tonight, as it
would be my responsibility!” James walked up to him slowly, closing
his coat.

“I’m not in
custody!” snarled Ira. He could not believe it! “I didn’t do
nothin’!”

“But if you do,
I’ll be responsible, so you’re going with me,” said James,
arranging his hair in a neat ponytail, before putting the mask back
on.

“I’m goin’
back!” Ira said, moving backwards. “You know where,” he added, not
without satisfaction.

There was a
moment of silence, before Ira heard James’ angry voice, muffled by
the mask. “You’re not going anywhere! Especially not back to your
house!”

“Need to!” said
Ira, gritting his teeth. “Someone’s waitin’ for me!”

“That little
boy whore of yours!?” James spat, straightening his back.

Ira felt a hot
flush of anger pulsing in his temples. “Oh, callin’ ‘im a whore,
eh? Ya betta’ than ‘im?!” he growled through clenched teeth.
“‘Cause ya’ve not done it to fill ya stomach?! Ya bend over just
like ‘im!” He instantly remembered their conversation today and it
made him even more irritated.

James went
silent once again, standing as if frozen to the ground. “I suppose
I am no better,” he said in the end.

Ira let out a
long breath, studying him without a clue how to answer, his eyes
roaming over the leather mask, as if trying to see some emotion.
Somehow, he felt guilty, even though James deserved to hear that.
“He’ll worry if I go,” he finally said, swallowing. “Would be
worried.”

“I
understand... I will just... go within some distance,” James said
in a voice so quiet, Ira could barely hear him.

“Why did you
come?” the older man asked finally, unable to stop his train of
thought.

“It doesn’t
matter really. I didn’t know you had company. Let’s just get
going,” sighed James.

“It matters!”
said Ira, shaking his head and grabbing the other man’s wrist
without thinking.

“Hey! What do
you think you’re doing? I did not allow you to invade my personal
space!” James looked at him from behind his goggles.

Ira let out a
laugh, shaking his head. “So I need ‘permission’ now, eh?” He let
him go, as if he was something filthy.

“You do. You
can’t just touch people however you like and then leave them!”
James said, as they started walking down the street, towards Ira’s
house.

“You don’t want
one like me. Said it yourself.” Ira gritted his teeth. There was
only silence in reply, as they walked the deserted streets. Ira
shook his head, he knew it. “Bigot.”

“Just shut up!”
James screamed at him all of a sudden, abruptly tearing his mask
off, eyes shining with rage. “Just shut the fuck up! I have no idea
what I’m doing here in the middle of the night, so lets just get to
your house and have it over with!”

Someone looked
out of a window, alarmed by the noise outside. “Nobody’s stoppin’
you!” hissed Ira, gripping the front of his coat and shaking the
other man lightly. “Go on! Go if you ‘ate me that much!” He
breathed shakily, angry at himself for even caring what James
thought.

“You know what
I promised the officer,” James muttered, trying to push him away
without much force. Ira knew he had much more strength in him than
that.

He let out a
long breath, looking deep into the other man’s eyes in the dark,
narrow alley, a bile raising in his throat . “You wanted to say
sorry?” he asked.

“I... I wanted
to say, I felt very unfairly treated,” said James, taking a step
back.

“You?” mumbled
Ira, rage rising in him again.

“You were not
the one getting fucked!” he whispered, as they approached Ira’s
house. The other man shivered, looking over his back and following
swiftly.

“I just needed
you savin’ me from fuckin’ pigs! Who d’ya think has more power
here?!” he hissed, grabbing his arm.

“Why do you
care what I think? I am in the vulnerable position here!” he said,
trying to shove off Ira’s hand.

“Are you?” the
other man spat back, hovering over him in an intimidating
manner.

“Am I not?! I
don’t have the freedom you do and I was the one opening up and... I
don’t really want to speak of this anymore!” said James and Ira
observed that his hands were trembling.

Ira brought him
closer, looking into his eyes, all tense. “I was good t’ya! But no!
You ‘ave a problem ‘cause I ‘aven’t been born Christian!” he
hissed, shaking him. The inability to get through to him was
gnawing at his insides.

“Stop touching
me or I will really have to fight back!” James warned. “It’s not my
fault you turn out to be Jewish and have a nice little
Jewish—.”

He must have
felt a sharp pain in his groin as Ira kicked his crotch with an
abrupt move. “Stay the fuck away!” he growled, shaking his head,
“Find another fuck then!”. His heart raced in a furious rhythm.

James let out a
surprised, high pitched whine and grabbed his crotch with one hand,
but caught Ira’s shirt in his fist with the other. “What is wrong
with you!? I am incredibly considerate of your position! And I will
stay here tonight, even if it’s on the fucking stairs!” He must
have been really set on the idea as he didn’t want to let go of it
and go home.

Ira looked at
him in disbelief. “No, you aren’t! There’s nothing wrong with me!”
he shouted at him.

“Of course
there is!” hissed James, pushing him away. “You bed men! You
consider that normal!?”

“I bed’em
good!” the man laughed, shaking his head, suddenly amused. “I like
bein’ close to men,” he added, suddenly lowering his voice as he
caught James’ gaze.

“I noticed...”
he said, taking a step back. “Any men? How many?” James
demanded.

“Men I like,”
Ira breathed quietly. “Don’t know how many... I am 35 y’know.”

James was at
loss of words and looked down at the tips of his shoes. Ira
observed him for a moment, feeling strange, as if he wanted to hug
him, as if he was just a child. “I like you,” he said finally, with
a soft sigh.

James’ eyes
shot up clearly surprised. “It seems you ‘like’ a lot of people,”
he said in the end, without anger.

Ira licked his
lips, their gazes locked... “Why wouldn’t I? They come’n’go.”

“Makes sense. I
think... I’ll just ‘go’,” James sighed walking away. Ira’s hand
shot up in an impulse , taking hold of his wrist again.

“D’ya want to?”
he breathed, tired of all this, but it was hard to let James go.
The man seemed lost and scared and Ira felt responsible. He
couldn’t just let him go. A month ago, on their way back from Kent,
he actually thought he didn’t want to let him go at all. Otherwise,
James’ rejection wouldn’t have hurt or disturb him as it did. A
month passed, yet he still thought about this not-so-virgin toff!
Still wanted him.

“I don’t know
anymore...” James’ answer ripped him out of his thoughts as the man
looked back at him. “Maybe I’ll just stay the night? It would be
safer, right? I won’t disturb you...”

The other man
swallowed a lump in his throat as he looked at James. Slowly, he
came closer, embraced him gently and led him towards his house.
Somehow, he felt he wouldn’t be rejected this time. James longed
for him enough to embark on a search without even knowing his exact
whereabouts. “You won’t,” he promised. Right then, he wondered if
Joshua intended to work that evening.

When they
finally got up the stairs, the door was already open as the boy
must have heard their steps... or their screams in the street. He
seemed surprised at the closeness between Ira and his guest. At
least, this time, the boy was fully dressed.

“Hello.” Ira
nodded at him, noticing that James didn’t fight his embrace
anymore, defeated. They were in a seedy place, and still...

“Hello! I was
worried. Is everything all right?” asked Joshua. The light from the
fire danced on the side of his face. Ira moved away from James and
took off his coat. Conscious of the dirt on his face, he wiped it
with the back of his hand.

“Yeah,” Ira
sighed, slowly leading the listless man inside his home, “Give us
supper?” he asked, reaching out for James’ coat. In a way, he
wanted to spend time with him. He was angry at him for the way he
reacted at the information about his origins, but at the same time,
he realized how things were right now. After all, he didn't stress
who he was either, because there was no denying how it affected
people’s perception of him.

James
hesitated, but finally handed over his coat, not looking up at Ira.
In the light of the fire, they noticed his sleeves were stained
with blood.

“You hurt?” Ira
asked immediately, shutting the door and locking it carefully.
Unable to stop himself, he stroked the other man’s hair. Joshua
watched this with a bit of tension in his body, but moved towards
the fire to get the supper.

“No, it’s
probably just a few bruises,” said James and moved away by a few
inches. He had the same elegant clothes on, he'd had at the
university.

“So... you know
each other,” the boy said, clearing his throat and laying out the
stew and bread on two ceramic plates.

Ira’s gaze
followed him with caution. Now that he saw how James felt about
being left alone, he was feeling increasingly guilty.

“A bit”,
repeated James in a flat tone, sitting at the table and trying not
to look at the young boy. He seemed uncomfortable and tense.
“Smells delicious,” he said, trying to change the subject.

“It does,
doesn’t it!” Joshua apparently wanted to make him feel more at
ease. “Ira buys it in the city.”

The host
sighed, trying to capture his gaze. “D’ya want tea? Ale?”

“Oh yes. I
could use something stronger,” he said, his eyes focused on the
food. “I’m sorry for the intrusion before,” he added, to
Joshua.

“Don’t worry
'bout it,” said the boy with a calm smile, but he kept his gaze on
James.

Ira sat by the
table and invited the aristocrat with a gesture. He didn't know
what to say. Like inviting a peacock to dine with the ducks.

“You both have
a very cosy house here.” James sat at the table and smiled at the
hosts trying to make some small talk despite the awkward
atmosphere.

“He don’t live
here,” commented Ira, smiling at Joshua who put plates in front of
them. The brown stew looked rich and was still hot thanks to a
special storage container.

“Are you saying
it’s not cosy?” James straightened his back, looking up at Ira for
the first time in a few long minutes. The man felt a sudden
tightening in his throat and was unable to look away.

“It’s all
right... just normal,” he managed to say, his hand reaching to hold
James’, but the guest shied away and bit into a piece of bread.
Joshua’s presence must have intimidated him and they still hadn’t
resolved the matter of what had happened at the university earlier
that day.

“But you seem
to like it, right?” James asked the boy.

“Of course I
do! I like being with Ira!” he said with a lot of enthusiasm,
shooting their host a searching look.

Ira smiled at
him. He knew the boy wanted more than what he was giving him, but
he was far too young for his taste. They both enjoyed bedding each
other and spending time together, but he would never consider their
relationship serious. “James stays ‘ere today,” he said.

“Oh. I’ll just
prepare myself some additional bedding after dinner,” Joshua said
with a hint of disappointment.

“Don’t go to
too much trouble!” James said instantly, eating his stew. “It’s
your house after all!”

“No worries, my
bed fits two,” Ira smiled at his guest. In the bedroom, they would
finally be able to talk and maybe he could make it up to him for
what had happened earlier. For that, he couldn’t wait.

“I’m not sure
if that’s the best of ideas!” James said defensively while Joshua
kept silent. He stood up and went over to a small basin to wash the
dishes. Apparently, he had no doubt about what was going to
happen.

“Stop.” Ira
shook his head. “Drink yar ale.”

James complied,
scratching his cheek and drinking, all tense and thoughtful. “The
police seemed to know you...?”

“They do.
Everyone does,” answered Ira, eating his meal. Meat and sauce had a
calming effect on his nerves.

“Just before,
someone I stopped in the street guided me here,” James continued,
looking up at him with a hint of a smile.

“See?” Ira
laughed, reaching out to brush a strand of hair behind the other
man’s ear. When he saw him looking up, all he wanted was to kiss
him.

“See what? That
yar a very well known figure?” James leaned in a bit, continuing
with the stew. He must have understood the situation well enough to
relax in Joshua’s presence.

“Yeah.” The
other man smiled, letting his hand roam over the back of James’
neck. It felt hot against his palm.

“I am gonna
visit Angelique today,” said Josh, drinking ale from a clear glass.
Ira’s eyes shot up at him and he gave the boy a smile.

“Good. Greet’er
from me,” he said. He and Joshua’s current Madam knew each other
rather well. She owned a freehouse where men like him could meet
lovely boys like Josh.

“Is this
because of me? You really shouldn’t have to!” said James, emptying
his glass.

“No, of course
not!” lied Joshua, coming over and taking a seat by the table. He
sighed, stealing a look from Ira, but then shrugged. “You... know
each other long?”

“I wouldn’t say
‘long’ is the right word for it, unless you consider my imagination
experience,” James smiled slightly, looking into his glass.

Hearing that,
Ira swallowed, smiling in appreciation. He must have been thinking
about him all the time and now, he revealed it just like that! It
made him feel special that a man like James... kept returning to
him, even if only in his thoughts. “Same here.”