Baby Boy drove their stolen dark green 2002 Nissan sedan toward Indio, California. Both he and Rex sat in silence watching the dry Southern California landscape rush by. Both guys had their windows open. The hot desert air was needed to wash away the smell of anxiety that otherwise filled the car.
In Indio, Baby Boy navigated the car to the Greyhound bus station. From there he drove the mile that while walking on foot had made him think he was going to miss the second leg of his trip to Mexicali. And when he spotted the abandoned looking warehouse where he stashed their bags, he was relieved. Initially walking past the buildings they all looked gray and rectangular so he worried that he wouldn’t be able to identify the building once he hid the bags. But the window crack that made Baby think there wouldn’t be a security guard patrolling, glared out while driving as much as it did on foot.
Rex leaned forward to better examine the location. “You left my bag here? Is this a storage place?”
“No, I stashed it out back,” Baby explained pushing aside his mop of blond hair that threatened to cover his eyes.
Rex shot Baby a look of displeasure that Baby refused to acknowledge. And when the car was parked, Rex was the first one out.
“Where is it?” Rex said scanning the property.
Baby led Rex to the area of the fence where the bottom was turned up, showing Rex how to slide under. On the other side, both boys jogged to the air conditioner unit to find a sheet of cardboard jammed between it and the wall.
“You left it outside?” Rex asked annoyed.
“Greyhound didn’t have lockers. What else was I supposed to do with it? You said we weren’t going back to our apartments, and you said not to bring it to Mexico.”
“That’s because Jose would have suspected something if you arrived with all of your possessions.”
“And this was the only place I could find in the 25 minute layover,” Baby replied as annoyed as his friend.
Rex yanked back the remnants of the cardboard box and found his green military duffle bag less than half full of stuff. Without hesitation, he untied the bag and dug inside for one thing. When he found it he pulled it out. A sense of calm shone on Rex’s face as he stared at the picture of him and his mom smiling on the cover. It was still a mystery to Baby why Rex would look so fondly on that picture seeing it was his mother that arranged for his clients when his father pimped him out.
“You remembered it,” Rex said with a sense of relief.
“You wouldn’t let me forget,” Baby said remembering the amount of times that Rex had stressed it while relating their plan.
Confident, Rex threw Baby his duffle bag and headed back toward the fence.
“So, where we going now?” Baby asked throwing his bag over his soft shoulders.
“Remember the first time you came with me to pick up a car and my Dad stopped by my place?”
Baby didn’t need to be reminded of that. That was the night that he lost his virginity to a man that paid him $1000 for the privilege. He had purposely set out to lose it because Rex refused to touch him with his innocence intact. Naked afterwards with his cock still hard, he had knocked on Rex’s door only to meet Rex’s father. Rex, not wanting to reveal their mutual attraction, told his father that he was Baby’s pimp. Rex’s father then took ownership of Baby and sent a string of Johns that wanted a taste of his hairless, soft 20-year old body and thick 10 inch cock.
As challenging as the work was, Baby did earn a lot of money doing it. And as an added perk, one of his last clients before heading to Mexicali was Zach Pitt, a married international movie star that had called him only hours earlier to invite him to lunch and a friend’s party.
It was Zach that Baby thought about when Rex announced that together they would escape to his beach house in La Paz, Mexico never to return. Baby had only just begun the openly gay life that his small Nebraska hometown wouldn’t allow. He wasn’t sure that Rex’s seemingly emotional distance and his sexual ambiguity was worth giving up his new life for.
Baby returned his attention to Rex.
“Between the times we picked up the car and Dad picking it up from me, I took it to this guy who’s looking to buy what we were delivering. He told me that if I ever had more of it, he could pull apart the car and take it off of my hands.” Rex looked back at Baby. “Well guess what? We now have more.”
Both boys slid under the fence and headed back to the car.
“Where is he?” Baby asked wondering how far away from Zach they would go.
“Azusa.”
“Where’s that?”
“About forty minutes outside of L.A.,” Rex said climbing into the driver’s seat.
“What about Jose?” Baby asked trying to put Rex’s plan together in his mind.
“Jose was arrested at the border. So either he’s sweating in some jail somewhere or he’s so far behind us that they will never be able to find us again.”
“And your Dad?”
Rex was silent as he started the car and headed back toward highway 10. Rex knew that his father could be a problem. It wouldn’t take his father long to realize that they had stolen the car he was supposed to have delivered to him. What would have made it clearer was that Rex had spent the previous night giving his father’s tail the run around.
Rex was sure that the first place his father would head was their old apartment, but nothing there indicated they had left, much less where they were going. However, Rex knew that if his father did find them, both he and Baby Boy would be dead.
“My Dad doesn’t know where we are. We could be anywhere in the world right now. And as long as you didn’t leave anything that would tell him how to get a hold of you, we should be fine.”
Baby turned his attention to the mountain range that created the backdrop of the patchy flatland that lay before it. He thought about his room. There were little things that he had left like the mountain of fresh sheets that he loved so much, and the coffee machine that Rex had bought him. But everything that he had moved in with plus his new clothes, fit in the duffle bag that now sat on the green and black upholstery in the backseat. The only other thing of value he had was the stack of hundred dollar bills he had taped to the inside of his thigh. It was the money he saved from the hours he spent being fucked by men.
The only thing that gave Baby Boy pause was the fact that when he had registered for the studio apartment, he gave his parent’s address and contact information. If Rex’s dad really wanted to, he could get his home address from the onsite management office. Baby didn’t want to think about that, though.
“You didn’t leave anything he could find, right?” Rex demanded.
“No, just the sheets and stuff.”
“Good,” Rex said feeling increasingly comfortable with the success of his plan.
Two hours later Rex turned into a motel parking lot that greatly resembled the two-story walkway-lined apartment complex that they had left. The biggest difference between the two would be that this motel had a close up view of the San Gabriel Mountains. Baby’s home town, as well as all of Nebraska, was flat. So, standing at the foot of mountains whose tips seemed to touch the clouds, was breathtaking for Baby. Walking with Rex to the lobby Baby took in the scenery.
“Hi, we’d like a room please,” Rex announced to the older Indian man behind the desk.
“Two double beds?” The thin, conservative looking man with the mustache asked.
“Yeah,” Rex replied to Baby’s continued disappointment.
When Baby first saw Rex walk by his window he was the most exciting man he had ever seen. His surfer body and refined features made him look like a model from a magazine. So when Baby first heard what sounded like Rex and another man having sex in the apartment next door, Baby was in love, or at least in lust. It was for Rex’s attention that Baby had done everything that he had.
But even now with them both on the run from killers, Baby still couldn’t get any indication that he was anything more to Rex than an accomplice. Even Zach Pitt, the married movie star, was willing to openly show his interest in Baby. Rex couldn’t even request one bed.
Baby Boy considered this last act the breaking point. Because of the choice of two double beds, he couldn’t see himself sacrificing all of the experiences his young life was attracting in exchange for a lifetime with someone so cold.
In their room, the boys rested in their separate beds watching a cable channel movie. Nothing was said between the two, and when Rex rubbed his tanned 24-year-old rippled stomach, Baby didn’t notice.
“You wanna grab some dinner?” Rex asked realizing that he hadn’t eaten all day.
Baby looked at the clock. “It’s only five but I’m friggin’ starving,” Baby admitted.
“Me too. Maybe we should get some drinks first and then eat at six.”
“Yeah, Ok,” Baby said rolling out of bed.
Within a few minutes the guys found themselves at the bar of a Mexican restaurant. It didn’t take long before the alcohol kicked in and Rex felt the need to talk.
“Did I ever tell you about my beach house in La Paz?”
Baby shook his head “yes”, not quite drunk enough to shake off feeling trapped.
“You’re gonna love it. It’s right on the beach, ya know. And it’s really open. I have these, like, two feet by two feet marble slabs that are in front of the door to the beach. And the last one is half buried so it sort of, like, descends into the sand. I love it so much. It makes it seem like my backyard is the beach,” he said with a large smile.
“When was the last time you were there?” Baby asked feeling his tongue loosening up.
“May. That’s when the surfing’s best.”
“You go surfing there?” Baby asked having always been fascinated by surfer culture. He had promised himself to learn once he got out to California, but his lack of money kept him from trying it. And once he had the money, he never had the time.
“Oh yeah. Surfing’s my life. Once we finish this job we’ll have enough money to surf for the rest of our lives, man. Ya know.”
Rex, feeling the full effects of the alcohol, smiled as he looked into Baby’s eyes. Baby wasn’t at the same point yet.
“Rex, what’s in the car?”
“Does it matter? It’ll probably be gone tomorrow anyway,” he said sliding his hand on Baby’s leg.
“I just wanna know,” Baby continued barely noticing Rex’s advances.
“It’s coke,” Rex replied sliding his hand between Baby’s thighs.
“How much is it worth?”
“A lot,” Rex said leaning over to better position his hand to grab his crotch.
“How much will I get?”
“I don’t know. How much do you want?” Rex said feeling Baby’s soft meat in his hand.
“I want half.”
“Half?” Rex asks amused.
“Yeah. I did at least half the work. I was the one who picked it up from Jose and crossed the border. That’s worth half.”
Rex looked at his beautiful young friend again. Seeing his seriousness Rex leaned back from his bar stool and scanned the room for a table. “I need to order something to eat. I’m feeling fuckin’ drunk.”
Rex leaned over the bar to signal to the bartender about their move, and with his drink in hand, Rex slid into one of the booths in the corner.
“Do you know what you want?” A cute, slightly round Mexican girl asked the two.
“What does your beef enchiladas come with?” Rex asked sizing up the 19-year-old girl in front of him.
“Rice, and either black or white beans.”
“Give me black beans.”
“And what about you?” The waitress asked turning to Baby.
“Get the fish tacos. You like fish tacos? We could share,” Rex said fighting the urge to slur.
“Yeah, white beans, please.”
The waitress left leaving the two alone again.
“So, how much am I gonna get?” Baby asked again wondering how much money it would take for him to leave the dream life that Zach’s call offered.
“Why do you want to talk about this now? We just fuckin’ got away from a ruthless killer. We gotta celebrate. You know how big that is?”
“Just wanna know that I’m getting something out of this.”
“What do you mean, “If you’re getting something out of this?”?” Rex asked annoyed. “You’re gettin’, like, half of everything that I own. I told you that you never have to worry about paying for anything when you’re with me. I’ll take care of you. Do you get what I’m tryin’ tell you? So let’s celebrate.”
Rex tucked his hand back between Baby’s legs and squeezed his cock. Rex looked into Baby’s eyes expecting to feel the stiffness that he longed to feel develop in his hands. He didn’t. When the waitress returned to the table with the food Rex gave up.
“Can we get two more margaritas?” Rex asked the waitress as she walked away. “Let’s just fuckin’ eat.”
After an uncomfortable silence hung over the meal, Rex couldn’t take any more. “What’s the fuckin’ problem?” He bellowed trying to moderate his tone for the space. “Why are you acting like such a fuckin’ bitch? A couple days ago you were all over me. You kept looking at me like I was the greatest thing in the world. Now I can’t get you to even fuckin’ talk to me. What the fuck, man? We did it. We escaped. We don’t have to fuckin’ suck one more dick again. We’re free. Don’t you understand that?”
Baby couldn’t speak. He found himself awash in thoughts and feelings. He didn’t seem to share Rex’s desire to escape from his life. All he wanted and ever wanted was to feel something that resembled love for the person he really was. Baby had thought that Rex could offer that, but now it seemed that his best chance of it lay with Zach. Baby didn’t know how to express that to Rex, so instead, he said nothing.
“Jesus, man! What the fuck?”
“I need to pee,” Baby Boy announced before he slid out of the booth.
Rex looked back at Baby angrily. When Baby saw that he looked away.
Baby stumbled his way to the bathroom. He really did have to pee, but the timing was more about him escaping the conversation.
Baby balanced himself and took aim at the urinal. There seemed to be a never ending supply coming out. Drained, Baby hung around the sink longer than he had to. And finally when he couldn’t find any other reason to be there, he walked out.
Baby Boy had a clear view of his table as soon as he left the restroom. Rex wasn’t there. Continuing onward he looked around the room and found his companion at the bar leaning over the waitress who giggled under him. Baby watched as Rex very lightly pinched the girl on her arm in the flow of conversation. He was flirting with her. Baby couldn’t understand why.
By the time Baby got back to the table he had decided that he had as much as he could take. So instead of sitting, he turned toward the door and walked back to their motel. Getting a second key from the manager, Baby threw himself on the bed and hoped that the room didn’t spin.
After a few minutes didn’t bring Rex back to him, he turned on the TV. And after a few hours brought no sign of Rex, he turned off the TV and crawled under the sheets.
Was it 310-555-3020 or was it 323-555-3020? Or was it 3030? Baby thought. No, Zach Pitt is a movie star and they live in Beverly Hills which is 310 mostly… I think, Baby considered.
Baby flipped the numbers around in his head for an hour and around the time that he settled on two or three, Rex walked in.
Baby could feel Rex’s presence standing on the side of his bed. He wasn’t sure how he would react when Rex climbed in, but he was anxious to find out.
Baby felt his friend standing next to him for a long time. And finally when he thought he felt movement, instead of feeling Rex’s lean, toned body touching his, Rex walked away. Rex got into his own bed. And on that, Baby considered his night complete.
I need to call Zach in the morning, he thought. I need to escape.