“‘Sup?” Sam greeted him and sat down on a concrete block nearby. The door only now closed behind him with a loud creak.
“Not much. I’m taking Loki to a concert tonight. He’s pissing his pants over it.”
“Ah, I was gonna invite you over for a couple of beers, but I guess it can wait.”
“Maybe next time. I gotta throw a party at some point.” Red Jack got up and wiped his hands over his jeans.
“You got protective of him, huh?”
Red Jack looked down into Sam’s eyes, his muscles stiffening. Sam didn’t know, did he? “Not really, no. Fucker can do whatever. As long as he doesn’t bring guys home, I don’t need to know.”
Sam raised his arms. “Whoa. Never said it’s a bad thing.”
Red Jack sighed and pulled off his work gloves. “It’s just… new to me. Freaks me out a bit.”
“Candy asks if you two want to come over sometime.”
“Might do. Then again, I don’t want him to get too comfortable around here. He’s gotta find a place for himself.”
“How bad is it with his family?” Sam leaned forward and rested his elbows on his thighs.
“He said he doesn’t have contact with them anymore.” Red Jack shuffled his feet. He didn’t want to be taking pity on Loki. He didn’t want to develop any weird feelings toward him. That was completely off limits no matter how firm Loki’s stomach was, or how smooth his hair felt, or how well his throat took a dick. No. No. No. “He’s gonna be fine, he’s got a pretty face, he’ll find some gay friends or whatever.”
Sam frowned. “And you think that would be good for him? To have a friend let him stay over for sex?”
Red Jack looked away, feeling as uncomfortable in the conversations as he’d be at the opera. “I don’t know gay stuff,” he groaned. “If he likes the guy, might as well sex him.”
Sam scowled. “I don’t know... seems like a desperate thing to do.”
Red Jack spread his arms. “And why’s that?”
Sam got up from the block and paced around the room. “Come on... that’s like... a very low kind of prostitution. You want your cousin to do that? And who’s gonna guarantee this hypothetical guy won’t get bored in a few weeks?”
“How is it prostitution if he wants it, huh?” Red Jack felt his nape going hot. A heavy, slimy worm made its way down his guts. What if Loki only bore with him to have a place to stay and free food? What if he lied about liking Red Jack?
Sam put his hands down his pockets, regarding Red Jack with a frown. “Even if he likes the guy, he’ll have to do stuff in exchange for staying at his. And it’s not as clear and simple as when just money’s exchanged for the fucking. I mean, I think that he must be in a bad place because if he actually had friends, he’d be with them already.”
“What do you care, anyway?” Red Jack pursed his lips as his mind tried to assess this weird thing with Loki. In light of Sam’s words, Loki’s constant compliments seemed suspicious. It was hard to believe someone liked him so much, freckles and all, yet he was so desperate to believe it that all logic went out the window.
Sam shrugged and scratched his head. “Candy likes him.”
Red Jack rolled his eyes. “Candy likes everyone. But… I suppose I kinda like him too. He’s good at games.” Was that a suspicious thing to say? Red Jack wasn’t sure anymore.
“You play Xbox together?” Sam smiled and punched Red Jack’s arm. “Nerds.”
“What? It’s not like I could play with any of the girls.” It just spilled out of his mouth, so he continued, despite his tongue knotting. “I mean, no one who’d actually live with me and like it. Monster liked to play alone when he was at my place.”
“Yeah, and he likes different stuff,” said Sam, who didn’t seem to suspect a thing. “Anyway. Let us know when you wanna come over. I need to go home early.”
Red Jack nodded, and together they went to the bar where Candy would often wait for Sam and help herself to a free drink. Or two. Lucy was there as well, and he avoided looking her way. He was done making an ass out of himself. And considering the fact that she didn’t even say hello, it really seemed like there was no scheming on her part. She walked past him as if they didn’t even know each other, and he didn’t bother looking at her ass anymore.
“Jack? Did you see her?” asked Sam.
“Whatever,” he mumbled and shrugged. “I’m gonna look for someone who actually likes me.”
Sam stopped for a second before catching up to Red Jack. “Oh... what happened there?”