Love For Sale

~Cole’s POV ~

I let out a large sigh as I rested my head in my hands. It had been a long day so far, and it was only one o’ clock in the afternoon. I had already taught two of my classes this morning, and now I had a lunch break before I would teach my last class for the day. I thought about canceling it though. I had trouble focusing in class today. My mind was on Kyle, and I couldn’t stop thinking about him. What he did last night, and what we talked about ran through my head like it was on repeat, and I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I had more fears than pleasant thoughts though. My biggest fear was that Kyle would not be home when I arrived. It was not like I wanted him to stay at my home, but I did not want him to be on the streets either, selling himself for god knows what. While we were at the diner last night, I saw small holes in his arm joint, so I knew that he was a user. I groaned as I thought about the needle pricks.

‘What have I gotten myself into?’ I thought, shaking my head.

My mind was racing now with thoughts and images of Kyle and his profession. I groaned and walked around my desk. I had pictured Kyle in his work too much, and my mind was running off on its own. To get my mind off of Kyle, I exited my office and walked around the building. I found myself back in my classroom, and I sat down at the piano. I plunked out a few notes, which turned into a full song, and soon I forgot about Kyle. When I was finished, I let out a heavy sigh and thought about Kyle again. However, I thought about what he was doing in my house. I decided to give Kyle a call as I walked back to my office. I got nervous when my house phone went to the answering machine, and tried again. I got real worried now, and I tried for the last time before I drove back home to see if he was still there. Walking back through the halls of the music department, I stopped just short of my office and saw somebody waiting for me.

“Hello, Daniel.” I called.

Daniel was looking at his Blackberry when I called, and he quickly pocketed it and crossed his arms. “Hello, Cole.” he replied, and we shook hands.

“Why are you here?” I asked him, opening my office door and showing him in.

“Well,” he sighed, taking a seat in one of my three chairs. “I was wondering if you wanted to have lunch with me?”

“Lunch?” I questioned. “Why? Don’t you have friends down at the court house?”

“I do, but I am tired of those judges and DA assholes over there.”

“Tired of being a lawyer too?”

“Nope, just tired of everyone else. All they want to talk about is cases and work. When I am off the clock, I want to sit back and have a beer or two.”

I shook my head; he was the same old Daniel that I knew. He was always a free spirited person, and always got the job done. He was the best assistant defense attorney that I have ever met, and he had never lost a case---that I knew of. He would talk about his work though as if he didn’t like it, but he did, it was he just didn’t like the people who worked in his department. His department had been giving him caseload after caseload with rapists, homicides, and the occasional family divorce, which didn’t leave him a lot of free time. I only guessed the reason why he was here was because he has stressed, and needed to have a break from whatever case he was working on. I didn’t blame him though, with the cases he had to work, I wondered when got a vacation. He is a good friend though, and would take care of anything I needed. I was the same for him, and we were both there for each other in our time of need; he was there for me when my family passed, and I was there when his wife left him after twenty years of marriage. Looking at my ordeal now, with Kyle, I believe I needed his help once again.

“You know…lunch does sound good.” I told him, getting up.

“Great. Where do you want to eat?” he asked.

“I don’t know, you pick.”

“All right.” he grinned, and we walked out to his car.

It was no surprise that Daniel picked the Main Street Pub, it was his favorite place to eat. It was small, but big enough for two pool tables, three rows of high top tables, and some smaller tables for two people. We ended sitting at one of the high top tables, and the waitress came and asked us what we wanted to have. Daniel ordered a Budweiser with his burger and fries, while I ordered a club sandwich and diet coke. I couldn’t have any alcohol because of my medication I was on. Daniel got down to asking me how my life was, and how I was coping with my wife and son’s passing, and I told him everything.

“I am doing fine.” I told him truthfully. “It’s a little rough at some parts, but I am doing just fine.” I gave him my best fake smile I could give, and I knew he saw through it.

“That’s good to hear, but I feel like there is something you are not telling me.” he said, taking a sip from his beer.

“Well, there is something new in my life,” I told him. “Actually, it’s someone new in my life.”

“Oh, someone new?” Daniel’s face lit up like a Christmas tree, and he leaned in for me to tell him who it was.

“It’s not a girlfriend, if that is what you are thinking.”

“Then who is it?” Daniel asked in anticipation.

“It’s a kid.” I mumbled, playing with a sugar packet like Kyle was doing the previous night.

“A kid?” Daniel choked, giving me a weird look. “Like an eight year old?”

“He’s fourteen,” I corrected him.

“Fourteen.” I could tell by Daniel’s voice that he was confused and wondering where I was going with this, and I continued telling him Kyle’s profession.

“And he is…a prostitute.”

I jumped when Daniel spit out his beer when I mentioned what Kyle was, and Daniel’s eyes grew double in size. “He’s a hooker?” Daniel gasped, and I pressed a finger to my lips. His voice was so loud that the small crowed around us stared and gave us questionable looks and glances. “Do you know the consequences for solicitation are?” he asked, lowering his voice so no one could hear anything else we had to say.

“No, but I have a pretty good idea about what they are.” I sighed. “But don’t worry; we didn’t do anything to get either of us in trouble.”

“I hope not,” Daniel replied. “I would hate to have to find you guilty of solicitation and statuary rape.”

“You wouldn’t find me guilty,” I told him. “A jury of my peers would.” He chuckled, and took a long gulp from his beer.

“True. But…how did you wind up bring home a prostitute?”

“I just stumbled upon him a few days ago,” I replied, shrugging. “He came by one of my classes to hear me play, and the next thing I knew…he was sleeping at my house.”

“Did he seduce you?” he asked, going into lawyer mode.

“He tried, but it didn’t work. All that we did was sleep.”

“Sleep?”

“Yeah, he slept on the floor while I slept on the couch.”

“Why didn’t you sleep in your own bed?”

“I offered Kyle, that’s his name by the way, my bed. But he had accident.”

“So you guys didn’t do anything?”

“Nope. That’s why I was on my cell when you showed up. I was trying to call him, but there has been no answer from the home phone.”

“Don’t you have his cell phone number?”

“He didn’t give me it.”

We stopped for a few moments when the waitress came to give us our food, and then we started up again. “So you don’t know if he is even at your house anymore.”

“Nope. I told him he could invite a friend over, so he must be having fun with whoever it is.”

“God, Cole, what has gotten into you?’ I head Daniel mumble, and he took the last few gulps of his beer.

“To tell you the truth,” I sighed heavily, “I don’t really know. I guess I am going through a mid-life crisis.”

“Maybe.” Daniel agreed with me. “You know, I would like to meet this boy.” Daniel said, wiping his mouth with the heel of his hand.

“Why? Do you think you can help him?”

“Yeah. I mean…a kid his age should not be selling himself. I have a few friends down at childens services that might help find a foster home for him.”

“That’s good. But I don’t think that he would like that if you did that.”

“Well it’s the right thing to do. Besides, I will give him the option of a foster home, or time in a juvenile detention center.”

I sighed and thought about Kyle again. He should have been in a foster home, not on the streets or in some brothel. Hell, he didn’t belong at my house either. I agreed with Daniel, and thanked him for his opinion on Kyle. I thanked him again when he paid the bill, and he dropped me back at the school. I told him to have dinner with me and Kyle tonight, that way he could meet him. Daniel accepted the invite, and he drove off to wait for me at my home. I took longer getting my stuff together than usual. I didn’t want to break the bad news to Kyle about the foster home just yet. I didn’t even know how he would handle it. I decided to push Daniel’s idea of a foster home out of my mind till we talked about it with Kyle. I headed back home.

Daniel was already waiting for me when I arrived, and I did not like the look on his face. He had on a serious, kind of worried look on his face. I gulped and let out a long sigh as I climbed out of my car, and walked over to my friend.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, messing around with my keys to fine the right one.

“I had a peek inside before you came, and I saw some people lying on your couch asleep.”

“Oh…that must be Kyle and his friend.”

“Yeah, well, they’re naked.”

“What?” I chuckled, thinking that was impossible, but this was Kyle we were talking about. I found my house key and unlocked my door, thinking what Daniel was telling me was false. However, when I opened the door, I found what Daniel said was true.

~Kyle’s POV~

I stirred as I heard Cole’s voice in the back of my mind. I thought I was dreaming when I heard his voice again, and this time it sounded closer. His voice sounded like he was standing right next to me, and I forced my eyes open. I was a little confuse when I saw my surroundings, but my eye sight adjusted and I jumped. Cole was looming over me, his arms crossed in front of him, and he was not alone. I gulped and gave him a nervous smile and a wave. I tried to get up from where I was lying, but I found I could not get up. I looked at what was holding me down, and I saw Chad was right on top of me. I gave the two men above me another nervous smile, but they didn’t seem pleased and I knew I was in a shit load of trouble.

“Hi, Cole.” I waved again, he didn’t wave back.

“Hi, Kyle,” Cole replied. There was no tone in his voice, so I didn’t know if he was angry with me or not. “Could you wake up your friend here, please?”

“Yeah.” and I shook Chad awake.

Chad moaned and stirred as I shook him, but he didn’t wake up. Instead, he wrapped his arms around my head like it was some kind of teddy bear. I groaned and rolled my eyes; this was typical of Chad to do. I shook him harder and he moaned and slowly opened his eyes. He rubbed his eyes and stared around the room, confused about where he was. He gave me a smug smile and sat up, allowing me to sit up a little. I tried to hide myself from the men, and I grabbed a pillow to do so. Chad on the other hand let everything hang out. I saw Cole turn his head so he wouldn’t see Chad, but the other guy just stared.

“Who are you?” Chad asked. I wondered why Chad had asked that question, it was Cole’s house, so he should be asking Chad that.

“Cole.” Cole replied, shifting his weight towards the other leg. “And you must be Kyle’s friend he invited over.”

“Yep, name’s Chad.” Chad grinned sleepily, and he yawned as he and Cole shook hands. “Kyle’s told me so much about you.”

“I wish I could say the same about you.”

“And who’s this?” Chad asked, turning his attention to the man standing beside Cole. I too was curious about whom Cole had brought home, and I was thinking the same thing Chad was thinking.

“Daniel,” he replied, his tone of voice was just as flat as Cole’s and he stared down at us.

“Nice to meet you, Daniel.” Chad smirked, and he got up and slowly walked over to him. “Tell me something, Daniel. Do you like men?” Chad was now toe-to-toe with Cole’s friend, and I saw Daniel ease away from Chad slowly.

“No,” Daniel replied. I could hear his voice shake, and I hid my smile at where this was going. “But I know the men in the state jail are very fond of men.”

“You’re funny.”

“Thank you. But you won’t be laughing when I send your there if you touch me.” I turned to hide my smile, and I saw Cole do the same.

“You wouldn’t?”

“Dude, I’m a lawyer. I can have you there before you can say Law and Order.”

“Wow!” Chad gasped, and he quickly backed away from the lawyer and sat back on the couch.

“I think you better get dressed and leave.” I told Chad, handing him a pillow.

Chad nodded, “You don’t have to tell me twice.” And he raced up the stairs, leaving the pillow I tried to give him behind.

I rolled my eyes and thought I should get some clothes on too, and I used the pillow to cover myself as I went back into the laundry room. I had managed to wash all my clothes, and I got a fresh shirt and pair of jeans out of my bag. The jeans were still damp, but I slipped them on, and came back to the two men. Cole had entered the kitchen and was starting dinner already, his friend Daniel was sitting on the couch, and I wandered over to him. I gave him an awkward smile, and stared aimlessly around the open room. From the corner of my eye, I saw Daniel looking at me, and I could tell that he wanted to talk. I redirected my attention back towards the lawyer, and pulled my arms around my back.

“We have not been properly introduced.” Daniel said, getting up off the couch. “My name is Daniel Falls.” He grinned.

I looked from his hand to his face, then back to his hand again. Something told me that something was not right with this man, and I questioned if I should shake his hand or not. Thinking that it was kind of rude of me to not shake his hand, I grabbed it and shook.

“Kyle.” I replied, smirking.

“Kyle what?”

“I don’t really like giving out my last name.” I replied, cocking my head to the side and widening my smirk.

“Ah…because of our profession?”

“What?”

“Your profession,” Daniel said again. He gave my arm a good jerk, and I was flung forward, almost landing in the attorney’s arms. “Is this part of your profession too?” He asked, looking at my needle marks in my joint. I scowled and arrowed my eyes. I knew I shouldn’t have joined hands with him. I pulled my hand away from him and stomped over to the dining table. “Do you know that Kyle is a user?” Daniel called to Cole.

“What?” Cole called back, pocking his head out of the kitchen. “Oh, yeah I did.”

Chad came down soon after, dressed and he said goodbye to me. I knew he was going to give me his usual goodbye, so when he went in to kiss me, I turned my cheek. He pecked my check, but he wanted something more, and he pushed my head back and kissed my dry lips. My face scrunched and I tried to pull away. I didn’t try to pull away because I didn’t want Chad to kiss me, I loved his kisses when I was in the mood, but I felt uncomfortable and weird with the two men staring at us. Chad had forced his way past my lips and played with my tongue. I grabbed his forearms and pulled away. I had looked around at the two straight men in the room, and I saw that they were both looking at us.

“Chad.” I groaned, finally able to pull my mouth away from his. Chad gave me a confused look, and I motioned to Daniel. Chad looked at the man with the corner of his eye, and he understood. “I will walk you out.” I told him, and we walked in silence and I gave him a hug after I opened the door. “Take care.” I mumbled, my mouth pressed against his neck.

“You too.” Chad replied. I felt something being slipped into my back pocket, and hoped that neither Daniel nor Cole could see it. He gave me a peck good-bye and waved to all of us as he trotted out the door and into a waiting taxi.

I offered Cole my assistance with dinner, but he said it wouldn’t be necessary. I didn’t take no for an answer though. I grabbed another apron from its place, and I washed my hands.

“Kyle, please. You don’t have to help.”

“I want to.” I replied, taking over cutting the tomatoes for the pasta sauce. “Besides, I love cooking.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I used to cook with my mom and grandma when I was little.”

“What happened to them?’ I heard Daniel ask. I stopped abruptly and stared at the cutting board. “Kyle? Are you okay?”

“Um….yeah,” I replied a minute later, choking on my words. “My grandma died when I five.” I went back to chopping the fruit, and tossed them into the pan that was simmering on the stove.

“And your mother?” Daniel asked. He was now standing behind me, and I felt him breathing down my neck. I felt uncomfortable with him standing so close, and I could tell he was trying to read my mind.

“Kyle!” Cole gasped. I snapped out of the daze I was in and stared up at him. He stopped what he was doing and wiped his hands on his apron. “Come here.” He sighed, grabbing my hand. I stared at my hand when he grabbed it and was shocked at what I saw. I stared at my fingers for a moment, and then looked down at the cutting board. The edge was covered in blood.

I didn’t waste any time. I hurried over to the sink, where Cole turned on the cold water and placed my bloody hand under it. He let the cool water wash away most of the blood and then we got a look at it. My body shivered when I saw I sliced off all three layers from my three middle fingers. When my fingers were washed well enough, Cole wrapped them in a hand towel, and led me over to the dining table.

“Is it okay?” I asked, hissing in pain.

“I don’t know.” Cole replied, worryingly.

“Do you think he needs stitches?” Daniel asked.

“Stitches?” I gasped.

“What’s wrong?” Daniel scuffed. “You afraid of needles? Or, are you afraid of hospitals?”

“Daniel, stop it.” Cole spat. “You’re not helping. Maybe you should just go home.”

“Fine. I will let you know about the foster care when I can.” Daniel grinned as he picked up his things and headed for the door.

‘Foster care?” I cried. “What do you mean, foster care?”

“Kyle,” Cole sighed. “I was talking with Daniel today, and we both think that prostitution is not the best thing for you.”

“What? You can’t do that. I am my own person.”

“Kyle. You’re fourteen.” Daniel chimed in. “That makes you, by law, a minor. You cannot do things so random.”

“You won’t make me go to one of those things again.” I cried, backing away from Cole. I jumped up from my seat and backed away towards the door, knocking over my chair in the process.

“Kyle, don’t do this.” Cole said, trying to calm my down. “We can talk about this, it’s only an option.”

“No!” I yelled. I was scared now. Memories of the past came flooding into my mind. My head became full of past images and I couldn’t take it. I clamped my hands around my head, and yelled. I doubled over as I back away more, yelling even louder as I tried to drown out what Cole and Daniel were telling me.

“Kyle…Kyle!” I heard Cole call out. I felt him grab on to me, but I just pulled away. “Kyle please stop!” he yelled. “KYLE, WAIT!” He yelled louder as I ran out of the front door.

I didn’t stop till I reached the bottom of the hill. I stopped just before the intersection and held on to the street sign. I caught my breath before I continued to run away. My head was spinning, and I had to sit down to steady myself. I felt worse when I sat down, so I closed my eyes. I groaned, my hand was throbbing, and I looked down at my it. The dish towel was covered in blood, and I saw a small pool develop between my feet. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to go back to Cole, but I could not face him if he wanted to put me in a foster home. However, I could not just stand here and bleed out. The second option that came to my mind was going to the hospital, but I was scared that I might faint on the way there---on the count of losing too much blood. I debated over the two possibilities in my head as I sat and bled. I started to get lightheaded, and I knew that I was going to pass out soon. I needed to make my decision soon or I would black out on the side of the road. Quickly deciding my fate, I stood up and staggered back up towards Cole’s home. I was surprised that I didn’t run into Daniel on the way back up, but I was glad that I didn’t. It took me a while for me to climb back up the four blocks to Cole’s house, but I made it just after the sun went down. When I arrived, I saw that all the lights on the bottom floor were on. I grinned weakly, and walked up to the front door. I glanced through the window before I rang the bell and I saw Cole sitting on the couch, reading. I gulped and rang the door bell. I didn’t look to see if Cole was answering the door, I was too scared. Instead, I listened to his footsteps. I heard him go over and put his book away, and then I heard the steps getting closer. I heard the door unlock, and it swung open. My face dropped when I saw Cole. I didn’t know what to tell him, except----

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?” he asked calmly.

“For running away.” I lowered my head, and clenched my wounded hand to my chest.

I closed my eyes and waited for Cole’s response, but it never came. I felt something press up against my chin, and my head was tilted up to meet Cole’s soft face. “Don’t be sorry.” he said, giving me a soft smile. “Daniel can be intimidating at times. He doesn’t know when he isn’t in a court room.” I had to laugh at that, and looked back at Daniel’s attitude. I guessed he was right. “Let’s take another look at that hand.” he told me, and ushered me back into his home.

“Do I really need stitches?” I asked, sitting back down at the dining table.

“No. Daniel was just being an ass when he said that. Stay here, I will dress up your fingers.”

I nodded and waited as Cole went to get hydrogen peroxide and dressings for my fingers. When he returned, he cleaned and dressed my wounds. I hissed in pain as he poured the clear liquid on my hand, and I pulled away. He told me it was going to be okay, and he continued. When he was done, he put everything back, and came back down. I was standing near the front door when he came down, and he came over. We stood in an awkward silence for a moment, but we finally started talking.

“Thank you.” I said softly.

“You’re welcome,” Cole replied. “And I am sorry about Daniel’s actions; I promise he will act more civil next time.”

“That’s okay. I won’t be coming back,” I told him, pulling up my jacket. “Thanks for a good time.” I gave him a weak, but assuring smile and gave him a light wave.

“You’re not staying for dinner?” I heard Cole ask. I had just opened the door, but again I stopped and turned back to him.

“I am not really hungry.” I lied. “Besides, the check you gave me is no longer valid.”

“What if I write you another one?”

I scuffed. I didn’t know what he saw in me, but I closed the door and agreed. He smirked and nodded as he walked over to his writing desk, and pulled out his check book. He wrote out another check for five hundred dollars, and handed it to me. I was happy to get another check, and I felt like sprinting out the door and back to the brothel. I now had enough money to get my room back. However, I did not feel as happy as I should have. I felt bad for taking Cole’s money from him again, and I felt like I should give it back to him. I had spent so much time with Cole in so little time, he had done something to me that I could not explain. Maybe his softness was rubbing off on me, or maybe I was truly falling for Cole now. My hand shook when I took the check from him, and I had to steady so Cole wouldn’t see. His smile brighten when I took the check, and he placed his book back in the desk.

“I hope you like Italian.” he grinned, turning back to me.

“Love it.” I grinned, and I followed Cole back over to the dining room and helped him set
the table.