Chapter Three
2057 Words
CHAPTER THREE
Colton sighed as a wave of frustration hit him like a ton of bricks. It was almost dark, and he was exhausted. The last few days of job hunting had been hard on him, but today it seemed to bring him down even more. Getting on the train and heading home empty-handed once again made his body feel heavy with the stress of all his problems weighing down on him. This was New York City. He should have been able to find a job… any job… fairly quickly. Hell, he had even offered to scrub toilets at a skanky bar in Queens. They had told him he wasn’t what they were looking for. What kind of qualifications exactly, did a person need to scrub filthy bar toilets? He didn’t get it.
The days seemed to run together, filled with rejection and disappointment. He was starting to think he was s**t out of luck in this department. Not one place that fit his needs was hiring before the first of the month, and by then he’d either be homeless or forced to move back home with his parents. Then he’d have to deal with their daily dose of bitching and complaining which was something he wanted to avoid at all cost.
Honestly, Colton would have taken anything in the way of a job. He had even wandered into The Cab Shack but the speeding ticket on his license kept him from getting hired. It pissed him off. People came to this country unable to speak English or drive a car yet they drove taxis in the city all day and all night long. Not him, though. No, not him. He couldn’t get a job because of a speeding ticket he got two years ago. It was as if the world was conspiring against him and it was pissing him off.
By the time he got off the train it was dark. Even though he hated walking the streets at night he had no choice. He had been forced to stay out looking for a job longer than expected.
As Colton passed Dave’s Gym he thought about stopping in for a quick workout. It might help his shitty mood if he could sweat off all his pent-up frustrations.
“Yo, Colt.”
Colton’s attention was pulled to the trainer that Dave just hired. He was another regular who had capitalized on a good opportunity. “Hey,” he said with a wave, then made a face as the guy walked inside. That job should have been his. Had he been a day earlier it would have been. f**k it, he thought. No use crying over spilled milk. He couldn’t change the outcome so he needed to suck it up and stop whining about it.
He continued on his way toward home but stopped and turned around when he remembered that a few days ago Dave had offered to let him clean up around the gym for extra money. Right now he would take anything. It wouldn’t pay his bills, but it could go toward food or something. Maybe Mason would be more understanding if he could hand him a few hundred dollars instead of nothing at all.
Colton pushed through the doors and adjusted his backpack on his shoulder as he looked around. When he found Dave in his office he walked around the counter and popped his head in. “Yo, you busy?”
Dave glanced up from his paperwork and shook his head. “Never too busy for you, son.” He took his reading glasses off and tossed them onto the desk. “What’s up?”
He walked in and sat down, pushing the door closed with his foot. “I just wanted to know if that offer to clean was still on the table.”
“Yeah, why? Hard up?” Dave asked as he turned his chair toward him.
Colton shoved his fingers through his hair, pushing it back out of his blue eyes. “Yeah. I need whatever you can offer until I can find a full-time job. Anything will help.”
Dave nodded, knowing the position Colton was in. It was a place he had been in plenty of times in the past. Especially when he had been around his age. “When do you want to start?”
He didn’t have to think about it. “As soon as possible. I need to get some cash flowing right away. How many hours are you willing to part with?”
“Twenty-five. Give or take a few on either side. I can’t afford much more than that.”
Colton thought about that for a few seconds and then continued. “How’s Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday?” If he started next Monday he would still have time to look for a job over the next few days. He could even spend his weekend looking if he needed to.
“Sounds good. If you get a job before then, just let me know.”
The two guys shook hands and then Colton stood, slinging his backpack over one shoulder. “I appreciate this. I really f*****g do.”
Dave nodded and threw him a smile. “Glad I could help out.” He watched Colton walk out and then turned around, putting his glasses on so he could go back to his paperwork.
“Hey,” Colton popped his head back into the office. “This is under the table right?”
Dave turned at the sound of his voice and nodded. “Yeah of course. f**k paying taxes. I’m sure this country will make it if we don’t pay taxes on a few hundred dollars,” he said with a laugh.
“Thanks again.” Colton waved and walked off, nodding at a few of his buddies. As he left the gym he felt a little lighter. Not by much, but every bit counted at this point. His morale needed a boost, especially after the long and shitty day he’d put in.
His mind was so distracted by everything going on that he’d trekked the few blocks home without even realizing it. Colton pushed through the door and shut it behind him, then made his way toward his bedroom.
“Colton?” Mason called from the other room.
“Yeah?” he yelled back, letting his backpack slide off his shoulder so he could put it on the small kitchen table. When he didn’t get an answer he walked into the living room area and looked around. “Mason?”
Mason walked out of the bathroom, a towel around his waist as he used another to dry his blond hair. “Any luck today?”
“f**k no. I had to ask Dave down at the gym for that cleaning position he offered me. It’s only twenty-five hours a week, but I need it. I can’t really say no.” Frustration laced his voice as he spoke. “This is f*****g unbelievable. I’ve never had a problem finding a job.”
“Well, you need something. Rents due soon.”
When Mason reminded him for the hundredth time in the last couple of days, he snapped. “I f*****g know!” His words came out harsher than he meant for them to, but he was tired of hearing it. He knew the god damn rent was due. He also knew the utilities, the Internet, and the cell phone bills were all due, as well. Colton wasn’t stupid so it was pretty damn safe to say he knew when his s**t was supposed to f*****g be paid.
“Sorry, dude. You’re just stressing me the f**k out,” Mason snapped right back at him. “I don’t want to be homeless because of your bullshit.” Just because Colton was frustrated didn’t mean he could talk to him like a dog.
“I know, I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get grouchy. I’m just fed up with this. It shouldn’t be this f*****g hard to get a goddamn job in the city. They wouldn’t even let me drive a cab because of that speeding ticket I got when we went to Boston two years ago.”
Mason shook his head. “That’s crappy.”
“Right.” Colton mumbled under his breath and then turned the TV on, flipping through the channels. “Where are you heading out to?”
“Date.”
“Yeah? With who?” he asked.
“Derrick.” Mason grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.
“Eh. That d**k? Are you serious? That guy is the biggest douche bag I’ve ever met.”
Mason laughed and shrugged a little. “He is, but I need some extra money if I’m planning on helping your ass with the rent. He always gives me spending cash when we go out.”
“w***e,” Colton said as he laughed and shook his head.
“I’m whoring myself to cover your ass and you call me names?” Mason held his chest and tried to go for a hurt look, nearly pulling it off.
Colton couldn’t help but laugh at his antics. “I love you, Mase.”
Mason grinned as he got dressed right there in front of Colton. “Oh, if only that were true. I’d support you and not think twice about it.” He winked and then laughed as he pulled his shoes on.
Mason was shorter than him by three inches and he had always worn his blond hair short in the back and long in the front. He had beautiful green eyes and his skin was flawless. He had no tattoos, nor did he have any piercings besides the two small diamond studs he wore in his ears.
In all the time they had lived together, Colton had only known of two guys Mason had ever dated. One he had been with for six months. He broke up with Mason once he realized that city life wasn’t for him and left to go back home to Oklahoma. The other was the asshole he was going out with tonight.
“Don’t wait up. I’ll have to get down and dirty if I plan on getting more cash than normal.” Even though his tone was teasing he was serious.
Derrick was the guy that Mason kept on the back burner. They dated from time to time but there was no commitment involved. He knew if they went out and he sucked his c**k or gave him a hand job, Derrick would give him a little spending cash. He only handed it out when they spent time together. It was as if he was paying him for his services, but Mason didn’t mind. Especially right now when they needed the money. Plus, Derrick seemed to get off on it for whatever reason.
“I won’t. Hey, you should have applied for that position you were trying to get me to take.”
“Which one?”
“The one for a fuckboy.” Colton flashed a grin in Mason’s direction and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
“I’m not as good looking as you. I’d never get the job.” Mason looked at himself in the mirror as he spoke, running his fingers downward through his hair to place it in the right position over his left eye.
“Oh bullshit. Just because you don’t have abs of steel doesn’t mean you’re not hot.” Colton did the boobie dance, making Mason laugh out loud.
“I hate when you do that.”
Colton did it again, making his pectoral muscles jump up and down for his friend’s amusement.
Mason laughed as he walked to the door. “Don’t wait up. Seriously,” he said before he left. “I mean it.” He pulled the door closed behind him, leaving Colton alone for the night.
“I won’t,” he said to an empty room. “No worries.”
As Colton sat there alone watching a random show on Netflix, he realized he felt better about his day. He was thankful for his best friend because Mason was always there for him, especially in the last month and a half. He had never cared much for his old job, but it paid the bills and gave him enough spending money so they didn’t have to worry about things. When he’d applied for the position a few years back he was just a college student. At the time he’d taken enough courses in business and consulting to qualify. He’d dropped out of school a while later, but he still stuck with the job. When the company downsized a few months back, his group was the first to be let go. He couldn’t blame them for that, but now he was stuck without a job or any incoming cash.
Tomorrow, he would find a job. He had to because he had bills to pay. He was determined so he decided right then and there that he wouldn’t come home until he had found one. At this point, it didn’t matter what he had to do, he would take anything. Plus, he didn’t plan on letting Mason down. He had never let him down before and he didn’t plan on starting now.
- Writer
