Mr. Jaguar (6 page)

James sighed. “I don’t care much for paintball anyway, but we’ll see.”

Mike’s eyes went wider, and he gave Rich a vicious grin. “Paintball? Bring it! Jamie, why didn’t you tell me there’s gonna be paintball? So cool.”

Savannah paced over with two pairs of shoes in her hands. Her legs were so long she really did seem like a gazelle on the savannah. “My, my!” She grinned at them with a set of teeth as white as Richard’s.

James cleared his throat and pushed down the shirt, covering Mike’s hands. “Nice to see you again. Are you enjoying yourself?”

Savannah hugged her husband’s arm. “It’s going to be insanely boring, but he knows how to convince me to come with him.”

“I heard the hotel has a spa and sauna,” Mike said even though he had no idea if it did.

“I know, right?” Savannah chuckled. “We could go together.”

“I just need to buy some swimming shorts for the pool. Unless you wanna go skinny dipping.” Mike grinned at her and stepped a bit closer.

Richard pulled his wife back by the arm. “You can go skinny dipping with me. We could go now.”

Savannah giggled and hugged him. “Let’s go, but first, you pay for my shoes, sweetie.” She kissed his cheek.

Mike exhaled. For a moment he’d thought Richard wanted to go skinny dipping with him.

“See you later,” said James and squeezed Mike’s hands where they were placed over his rock hard stomach.

Richard sighed and stepped back. “Enjoy your shopping trip.”

“See you, Rich,” Mike said with a grin.

James bristled up. “See who I have to deal with?” he hissed as soon as the couple got out of hearing range.

Mike pulled his hands away and picked up the clothes. “Yeah, he seems like an ass, but now you have an extremely cool boyfriend, so nothing to stress out about.”

James sighed and turned back to him, stuffing his shirt back into his pants. “Yeah. You don’t need much training, do you?”

Mike smirked, straightening up with pride. “Told you I could do it. I can even do a British accent actually.”

James frowned, his plump lips moving like a dream whenever he said something. “You can?”

Mike cleared his throat for effect before changing his accent. “Yep, I love James Bond. I’ve seen all the movies, some of them a lot more than once.” He looked at James to see if it had an effect. And as stoic as James tried to be, his eyes became very dark.

“You’ve changed,” said James eventually.

“Huh?” Mike wasn’t sure what to say to that. It wasn’t what he expected. “What do you mean?”

James shrugged. “You’re far more… socialized than I expected.”

Mike switched to the English accent again. “What you mean, dear James, is that you expected a savage, yet you got the perfect gentleman.”

James rolled his eyes. “Pushing your luck there.”

Mike sighed and turned away toward the fitting rooms. Always fucking shot down. “Yeah, I’m probably still drunk with that expensive wine.”

“You seem pretty sober to me.” James shrugged. “Good job with this asshole by the way.”

“I’m not gonna let him make you feel like shit for no reason,” Mike said as they walked into the fitting rooms. “What’s his problem, anyway?”

James followed him over the polished floor. “Bullies thrive out of high school too?”

Was that a dig at Mike? “I don’t get it.”

James snorted. “Just look at him. The popular kid twenty years later. Still picking on the geek.”

Mike walked into one of the large cubicles, closed the door behind them, and took his top off. “I don’t get you. You’re hot and rich, why would you care? Even if you are a fag or weird.”

James blinked. “Look who’s talking.”

Mike bit the inside of his cheek not to spit out curse words. Heat crawled up his spine. He turned around, pretending he was choosing the shirt to try on first, but really he didn’t want to look at James all that much. Talking seemed like a minefield. Mike was just trying to keep it real. “Whatever, be the victim then.”

“I’m not a victim, and I won’t be called a ‘fag’,” growled James, pacing behind Mike’s back.

Mike took a deep breath and counted to ten in his mind. “Sure, sorry, baby.” He pulled on the expensive shirt. It felt smooth and soft against his skin, even though it smelled of nothing.

“There are more people like him out there, so we need to be wary during the conference.” James cleared his throat, and Mike saw him behind himself in the mirror. He sat down in a chair in the corner, his gaze running up and down Mike’s body. It was embarrassing and exciting at the same time.

“We’ll be fine. This was a good test drive.” Mike quickly buttoned up his shirt and turned around, spreading his arms. “This all right?”

James bit his lip and brushed his chin with a finger. “It’s all right,” he said, but with his eyes shining as they were, it was clear to Mike that the audience enjoyed the spectacle.

Mike unbuckled his belt in front of James, just to check out his reaction. He pushed his shoes off and unzipped his jeans. A part of him already fantasized about getting a blowjob here and now. He did good with Richy Rich after all.

James looked down at his wristwatch, all flustered. He then pulled out his smartphone and started browsing through it.

Mike huffed with frustration and put on the pair of smart brown pants which would go with the white shirt. A nice semi-casual style he’d never choose on his own. Maybe he should be more out there with his advances? If James was so socially inept, maybe he didn’t notice the signs? The fucker paid to watch Mike jerk off but wouldn’t look at him now?

“Are the pants good, baby?” Mike tried, playing along with the boyfriend experience.

James’s thumb stopped on the touchscreen, and he slowly, very slowly, looked up. There was slight tension around his eyes, but he smiled. “Maybe a bit too tight around the crotch? We should ask for a different size.”

Mike took a step closer, so his hips were just inches away from James’s face. He put his hands on the wall, over James’s head. “Or maybe I’m just packing too much?” he whispered.

James drew back fast, and he looked up, into Mike’s face. “Don’t. We’re here to buy clothes.”

Mike took a deep breath and backed away. “Okay, okay. So fucking boring. I just thought it’d be entertaining to have a quickie here,” he moaned and started undressing.

“Public places aren’t ideal for having sex,” uttered James, clutching the phone in his hands.

“So, why don’t you have a boyfriend? I bet guys hit on you all the time now.” Mike changed into the other pants he’d brought.

James shrugged. “I’m busy. And you never know what people are after once you change your lifestyle to fit your earnings.”

“What do you mean?” Mike put on a tie he took into the fitting room just for kicks. The last time he’d worn one was a good four or five years ago, for a job interview at Walmart. It had been nothing as classy as the silk one he now held in his hands.

James leaned back, turning the phone in his fingers. “I don’t want someone who is interested in my bank account, or just in how I look.”

“I think that’s why we fell in love so quickly after we met, Jamie. We started talking, and there was just no way for me not to fall for your personality. You’re so kind and giving. Makes me horny.” Mike smirked to himself in the mirror. So maybe he wasn’t classy, but this suit certainly was.

****

Chapter 4

Mike couldn’t believe it when they left the department store with several bags full of clothes, shoes, underwear, and accessories that he couldn’t have afforded in a million years. After James’s declaration of what they needed to buy, Mike did not expect him to pay for everything that fit Mike, including a few very casual bits of clothing. James then took an overwhelmed Mike out for dinner, and had no qualms about paying for expensive food, so Mike had lobster, caviar (which turned out to taste shitty), venison, and downed it all with champagne. James took care of it with a platinum credit card. Mike found that over good food, even conversations with a weirdo like James weren’t a chore. They easily slipped to the topic of cars, and James confessed he only got the Jag because the Mini Cooper he was driving last year had not been appreciated as much as he had wished. Which translated to James being discreetly mocked for his car choice. He learned to love the Jag, but that was no surprise, it was a fucking
Jaguar
.

The hotel was a far cry from the seedy motel Mike had left only hours before. With marble floors and elegant leather chairs in the lobby, it was like something out of a movie. There were even artworks on the walls. Not posters. Actual paintings. In his new suit, Mike felt like he could own the place. The tired old duffel bag he’d brought didn’t suit him anymore, so he got the bellboy to take it to their room. All he needed was a martini, and he could be James Bond himself. A gay James Bond. He liked that.

The bellboy opened the door for them, and James pulled Mike into a large living room decorated in creamy colors. A set of leather furniture stood next to large, floor-length windows. Between two armchairs was a small table with a vase of fresh flowers, and Mike also spotted a modern painting hanging over a bar. There was even a large flat-screen television.

Everything was of such overwhelmingly good quality that Mike could hardly believe he was here. He walked up to the window and put his hands on the glass. For a while he just stood there, looking down at the bright lights of the city at night.
Suck this, Vega.
Mike didn’t even know when instead of looking through the glass, his gaze started following James’s reflection. Like a spy for the CIA, watching his target in secret.

James pressed a bill into the bellboy’s hand, and the man left them alone in the gorgeous apartment. This wasn’t even all of it. Mike’s eyes followed phantom-James until he disappeared into the adjoining room with just his small suitcase.

Mike smiled to himself and turned around to follow him. If this wasn’t the time to get all hot and bothered, Mike didn’t know when that time would come. He bet a place like this had a Jacuzzi in the bathroom. He posed himself by the door frame and smirked at James. He knew he looked better than ever, and felt like a million dollars in his leather shoes. “Hey there.”

James smiled at him, meticulously putting pairs of folded underwear and socks into a drawer that faced a single king-sized bed. “You look great. I can’t wait to see their faces tomorrow.”

Mike supposed it was a good start, so he walked into the room nonchalantly, with his hands in his pockets. Champagne was still bubbling in his head. “Wanna check out the Jacuzzi, baby?” The huge bed with a leather-covered headboard looked almost equally tempting.

James blinked. “You can go if you want to relax.”

Mike loosened his tie. “I’d rather spend some quality time with my boyfriend instead,” he said and walked up closer to James. Did he really need to spell it out to James? ‘S-E-X’. ‘A-N-A-L’.

The drawer slammed shut, and James glanced at him, narrowing his eyes. “Mike, we seem to have a misunderstanding here. Sex is
not
part of the deal, you don’t have to pretend anymore, and you’re free to have a good time while no one sees us.”

Mike bit the inside of his cheek, unsure what to say. James had this way of making everyone uncomfortable. “Why do you have to treat me like trash, huh?” Mike growled in the end and took off the suit jacket, which all of a sudden felt fake. Like he was playing dress-up.

James crooked his head. “I don’t understand. I asked you to be my date for the conference. That doesn’t include sex. I’m not having sex with random guys.”

“Something wrong with me? You wanted to watch me jerk off, but you don’t wanna touch me? I don’t get it.” Mike spread his arms with growing aggravation.

James took a step back, but his face remained stoic. “That doesn’t mean I want to do anything else. I don’t understand why you keep suggesting we need to have sex. I don’t know you as anyone but a guy who kept putting me down back at school.”

Mike hardly believed what he was hearing. “That was years ago! Who cares? You were hot for me then, you’re hot for me now, so it only made sense to me that we’d have sex. Look at me. What kind of fa— homosexual are you?” Mike pointed to his body.

James’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he looked away from Mike. “It matters to me. Just… go use the Jacuzzi if you want.”

Mike pulled off the silk tie and threw it on to the bed. “You think you invented some fancy-shmancy machine, and you’re so much better than me?” He could feel that tingle of anger simmering in his veins.

James snorted and shook his head with a dismissive gesture. “Really? Well, it was me who invented it. All those people who came here for the conference, all they can do is market it. That’s it. Is that not good enough for you?”

“I’m not the one avoiding sex, so I suppose it’s good enough for me. The Jag helps as well.” He gave James a crooked smile, but the moment he said that, James’s eyes turned icy.

“Why would
you
be good enough for me then? What have you achieved in your life?”

Mike was so shocked by the attack, that he actually took a step back and stalled. He wanted to say something about being hot, but it got stuck in his throat when he remembered James had already told him Mike was just one of many pretty faces. “I— I can do shit,” he uttered.

“You can fix cars, probably.” James shook his head. “But you couldn’t secure a related job that would actually pay reasonable money. I worked my ass off after high school to get where I am. What did you do?”

Mike swallowed the bile rising in his throat. This was beyond unfair. “I wanted to do stuff,” he hissed. “You have no idea what I’ve been through! And I
can
fix cars. And other stuff as well.”

James took a step closer and spread his arms wide. “‘Stuff’? I wanted to do stuff too, but I had too much work to party all the time.”

“Oh, I bet you had no time to party at the university your parents paid for. You live in a fantasy world. It wasn’t like that for guys like me!” Mike took big breaths, feeling attacked in the most personal of ways. In a way someone like Vega could never reach him.