Innuendo by R.D. Zimmerman Read Free Book Online Page B

himself up, and quickly moved back across the room.
    “Jordy, that's not what—”
    “Shut up!”
    How the hell could he convince him that he hadn't come here to lurk?
    A head poked in, and, through a nervous smile, the girl from up front said, “Everything okay in here, guys?”
    Todd nodded curtly. “Fine.”
    “Jordy?” When he didn't reply, she said, “Well, I'm just down the hall. Holler if you need me, okay?”
    Oh, Christ, thought Todd, sinking back in the couch and folding his arms. Sitting there in tepid silence, he watched as Jordy grabbed some Kleenex and blew his nose. Now what?
    “When's… when's it going to get easier?” Jordy mumbled.
    “Trust me, it does. It will.”
    “Trust you?” said Jordy, looking at Todd as if he were crazy “Why? Why the fuck should I trust you of all people?”
    Something else was going on here, that much was clear. And Todd didn't like it, not one bit. He felt Jordy's accusative eyes glaring at him, and Todd, for some inexplicable reason, became suddenly afraid. Shit, what did Jordy know that he didn't?
    Spitting hate as he spoke, Jordy demanded, “You've come for me too, haven't you? That's why you're here, isn't it?”
    “Jordy, I don't know what you're talking about. I was just doing a report out front when I saw you. I just wanted to talk about what happened tonight, I just wanted to see if you might be able to help.”
    “Bullshit!”
    “Jordy, I—”
    “Awhile back you came in here, you and that boyfriend of yours, and told us how happy you were, how lucky you were to have found each other. You came in here and told us how much you loved each other, but—”
    “What the hell are you talking about, Jordy?”
    “—but it was nothing but a bunch of fucking lies! You know what, I hate you! And I hate fags! I hate ’em, because they just turn into old trolls like you that feed off kids like us!”
    Through a haze of confusion, Todd began to see a glimmer of what might be going on in Jordy's head. Was that what this was all about, vulnerable boys with perfect bodies and powerful men with bulging wallets? Had Andrew, the runaway, found a way to make a buck not by cleaning hallways but giving blow jobs? And if so, did Jordy know who Andrew had been with earlier this evening?
    “Jordy, was Andrew hustling?”
    “How can you say that?” he said, staring at Todd with utter shock. “What do you think I am, just some sort of dumb-ass kid?”
    “I'm sorry, I'm just trying to understand.”
    “Understand?
Understand?!
” He bit his lip, reached down, and started pulling at a button on his old wool coat. “Well, understand this: I loved Andrew. I mean, I really loved him. I wanted him and me to live together forever, you know. I wanted to get married to him so I'd never lose him. I wanted the two of us to be happy, just like you two fuckers said you were when you came in here prancing around like the beautiful couple, all happy and everything. But then he came and took him away. He had everything too. Everything I didn't. He was so butch and muscley and hairy—it drove Andrew crazy. He fell in love with him right away. He had a car and money and—”
    “Who, Andrew? Who?”
    “Why are you doing this to me? Why?” he cried in a shrill voice as he pulled at his long, gorgeous hair. “Just stop it! Stop fucking with my head like this!”
    “You're telling me Andrew was having sex with some older guy?”
    “Of… of course I am.” He wrapped his arms around himself and started shaking. “You mean, you really don't know?”
    “No,” said Todd quietly, as something akin to fear swept through him. “Why should I?”
    Suddenly he knew. Or feared he did. And his entire insides wrenched. The answer was right there, too horrible to be thought, let alone spoken.
    Still, he had to know, it had to be said, and in a deep, slow voice, Todd demanded, “Jordy, who was Andrew sleeping with?”
    “Are you going to hurt me if I tell you?”
    “No, absolutely not,”