You never know what you’re gonna hear when you’re eavesdropping.It could be anything:the innocuous plans of a domestic duo,a hushed confession,a quick make-out session.
A low-voiced threat.
A Sunday morning,probably six o’clock or so.The rave was over,the partiers taking off in loud cars,their engines gunning and tires squealing as they left the warehouse in downtown Jacksonville.In the warehouse office,I heard the thump of equipment cases being slammed shut,imagined some of the guys squatting and hefting the big speakers from the four corners of the room.I should have been down there;it was my job to be humping some of that weight but I was sotired.
Tired of doing these damned all-nighters.I looked young,all blond hair and boyish features that let me get away with infiltrating a college dorm—or a ravemaster’s street crew.But I was in over my head on this undercover op—and floundering.
That morning,I was on the sofa in the warehouse office and I heard the door rattle open.Jason’s voice,a little breathless and high-pitched,and then Conrad’s murmuring,low as a foghorn,sexy as hell.
Jason,a kid.Barely out of high school,with a kid’s swath of acne across his forehead and a wispy goatee.He had a crush on Conrad that was nearly painful to watch.Fixing Conrad’s cranberry juice drinks,making sure the DJbooth was swept clean,rubbing Conrad’s shoulders and neck if Donalita wasn’t around and,sometimes,even if she was.
I lifted my head and could see them through the tangle on the equipment table and boxes stacked around the room.Jason grabbed Conrad’s hand and did a twirl under his arm,giggling,off balance.
Conrad spoke,his deep voice solemn.“Jason,you are stoned,my man.”
“I’m not!”Jason stumbled against Conrad’s broad chest,laughing.
“Did you have a little party tonight with Marcos?”
“Maybe.”Jason shrugged and pressed closer.“Maybe not.”
Conrad put both hands on Jason’s head and held him still.“I told you about that shit.You shouldn’t be messing with Marcos and his supplies.”
“Screw Marcos.”
“No thanks.”Conrad smiled.
“Then how about me?”Jason surged upward and planted his mouth against Conrad’s.“Please,I love you so much,Conrad.I just wanna be with you.”
Conrad elbowed him back.“Whoa,whoa.Jason,stop.”He forced Jason away from his body and I saw the tent in Jason’s pants.The poor kid was higher than a kite and as hard as a statue.
“Come on,I know you’re not for real with Donalita;that’s just for show.”
“Maybe,maybe not.Either way,it’s not something for you to worry about.”
“She doesn’t love you.”
“I think you’re right.”
“I love you,Conrad.”
“And I love you too,baby Jay.”Conrad’s words,soft as a feather.Hearing that made my stomach clench.
“Not like that.I really do love you.”Jason angled inside Conrad’s grip and kissed him again.Seeing that made me stir,knowing how soft Conrad’s lips were,how hard his chest was.It turned me on,seeing two guys together like that.
“Baby Jay,no.No more.”
“Please!”Jason tried to squirm closer but this time Conrad held him back.
“Enough.Get outta here.I need you to pack the mixer for me;I don’t trust anybody else.Check that the files aren’t messed up,okay?”He swatted Jason on the ass and pushed him toward the door.Jason protested but settled for a clench of hands.His heavy sneakers thumped down the metal stairs.
Conrad stayed at the door for a minute,cracking his neck and easing his shoulders,a broad target for my department.I’d spent the last few weeks out at clubs all night,making the raves,drinking with the crowd,trying to worm into Stalton’s good graces.
And pants.Again.
Conrad and I had a couple of close encounters of the cock-knocking.He’d kissed me like a storm.I was enthralled with his wide shoulders,his smooth chest,that caramel-colored skin.It was just quickies,nothing special,except that he was the first man I’d ever touched,ever kissed,ever—wanted.
I tried to tell myself that it was part of the job,a way to get close,to get the info we needed to make a bust.Our private meetings didn’t make it onto my weekly report,but they replayed in my head,over and over.At night I jerked off,thinking about Conrad’s full lips and ripped arms;in my dreams he bent me double and mornings,I woke with wetness on my belly.
Plus,I liked the guy.A mutual appreciation for old American muscle cars,late-night rides to the beach,and mixing killer versions of new house music interspersed with riffs from Perry,Page and Hendrix let us spend hours together.We had fun.Damnit.
Conrad turned and stalked over to the mixing table.He punched a button on hiscell phone,then set it on the table while he stacked some CDs.A couple of rings came through the speakerphone setting,then Marcos was on the line,hisvoice froggy and gruff.“Whassup?”
“I just had a little chat with Jason.Did you set him up tonight?”
“What’s it to ya?”In the background,some female giggles and the faint hum of traffic.
“I told you I don’t want you expanding your customer base with my crew.”
“Demand and supply,Conster.”
“I mean it,Marcos.No more.Not with the kids.”
“He’s got the money,honey.And I’ve got the juice.”
Conrad ran his palms over his bare scalp.It dragged his eyebrows back,pulled his face into a tigerish snarl.“Leave him alone!”
“Aaawww,is he your little homeboy now?Geez,Conrad,haven’t you learned?Don’t get attached.Blow’em and throw’em!”
“It’s not like that.And it’s none of your fucking business anyway.”Conrad’s face was flushed and I saw him clenching and unclenching his fists.
The voice on the phone turned low and ugly,throaty with menace.“Fuck you,Stalton.You keep the hell out of my business and I won’t tell you how to run yours.Deal?”
There was a click and the phone went dead.Conrad stared at the phone,its blank hum buzzing in the office,his face twisted and angry.He thumbed at thecell phone,too hard,and sent it spinning onto the floor with a tinny clatter.“Shit!”
When he bent down to pick it up,he spotted me on the couch.I tried to rearrange my face into an expression of“What the hell?Just woke…”and yawned.Maybe I could fake my way through this.
“Hey,did something fall?”My voice was froggy.I stretched and sat up.
“Just my cell phone.Did you just wake up?”
“Yeah.Sorry,man,I didn’t mean to nod off but I’ve been so tired lately.”
“It’s okay.I’ve seen how hard you’re working.”He had a little smile on his face that made me nervous.
What did that mean?Was he onto me?
I swallowed and ran a hand through my shaggy hair.“You been watching me?”
“I sure have.”
The moment stretched out.I was embarrassed but I couldn’t stop looking at him,his eyes,the way his bare scalp gleamed in the light,the creamed-coffee hue of his smooth skin.He wore tank tops most of the time and they showed off his wide shoulders and big arms;it was a clichébut one I liked now,the tough guy in the wife-beater.