Working Boy

Chapter 2

It was yet another morning. Chase went through his usual routine of getting up and getting ready for school. He could remember his conversation on the phone with the boss last night...

"Hello?" A very suave voice answered the phone.

"Uh, hello there. Um, I read your flier and I saw you were looking for a new bouncer for your club," Chase fumbled with the pink flier. "Damon's Paradise, correct?"

"Oh, yes. Let me redirect you to the boss," the voice responded before clicking off. It almost sounded like it was amused. Soon after, another voice came on the phone, except this one was much deeper than the last.

"Can I help you?" It spoke. Chase could almost feel the bass of his voice through the phone.

"I saw that you were looking for a bouncer for your club and I was interested in the job," he responded, this time with much more clarity. "I was wondering if I could schedule an interview for tomorrow?"

"Hmm, I see," the voice spoke with a certain opaque tone his voice. "Do you have a resume?"

"Well, yeah," he answered, thinking back to his past work as a waiter. He'll even go back and throw in a few details about his football and such if it means getting him the job.

"Okay. What's your name?"

"Chase Machalle," he stated, making sure to spell it out. Many people had trouble pronouncing and spelling his last name, so he was used to it.

"Alright then, Chase. Be here with your resume and I.D card by 8:00 tomorrow night. Since your have the flier, I'm assuming you have the address, correct?"

"Yes, sir," he responded.

"Well, have a good night," the person hung up.

Chase looked back at the casual outfit he had lying on his headboard. He didn't quite have a suit. He thought about asking Antwon to borrow one, but that might spark up a million questions that he just couldn't answer.

He got dressed and went into the kitchen. There was Antwon, cooking once again. Once Chase entered, Antwon spun around and gave him a big hug.

"Look...I'm sorry for what I said to you yesterday. It was very uncalled for and I feel horrible for saying those things to you," he murmured, burying his face into his shoulder.

"Huh?" Chase was a little taken aback, but accepted it anyways before pulling away. "Don't worry about it. You were just under pressure, that's all," he gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

After he finished eating, he grabbed his bag left out the door for school.

"Hey Island-Boy! Heads up!" Chase heard before a football collided with the side of his face, the leather ball landing in his soup and causing it to spill all over his shirt and pants.

"AH!" He got up quickly. The hot soup burned his chest and lap and made a light yellow stain on his shirt. Many people looked on as he grabbed a napkin and helplessly blotted at the liquid. Soon after, he snapped.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" He stormed towards the cackling blonde, grabbing him by his collar. Jace struggled to hold back the larger male.

"Hey, calm down!" He shouted, but it was no use. He was practically invisible by now.

"Get your cotton-picking-ass hands off of me!" Samuel yelled before he was slammed backwards onto the table.

He was sick and tired of Samuel and his discriminatory comments. Why couldn't he just leave him alone? His left hand clamped around his neck and his right hand was c****d back into a fist. By now, many of the other teenagers were crowded around them, roaring in excitement.

But it just felt like it was just him and Samuel. The intense stare of his eyes practically pierced through his lighter, blue ones. Samuel knew he f****d up, big time. But he also knew that Chase didn't have the balls to go through with it. He was too nice, too friendly. And that's why he never feared him.

His arm was trembling now. He wanted so badly to hit him. To make him pay. The expression on his face read as if he was daring him to do it. The crowd slowly dissipated upon the deans coming through to break it up.

"C'mon Chase," Mr. Barr, spoke calmly to the heated up Trinidadian. "Put your arm down," he put a reassuring hand on his arm. "Please."

Chase clenched his teeth before taking a huge sigh and letting him go, turning away from him. "Let's go...come on," he put a hand on his back, slightly pushing him. He could hear Samuel chuckling as he walked with Mr. Barr back to his office.

"You, too Samuel."

"Fine," the former jock, groaned, trudging behind the duo.

"Chase. Samuel. This is about your third altercation in this school this year, and this isn't even counting the ones during football practice," the principal, Mr. Wedderburn, spoke. Chase and Samuel have been duking it out ever since freshman year. At this point, they both knew the office like the back of their hand. "Now, because you two can't seem to get along for just one minute, I'm sending you two into six weeks of peer mediation-"

"SIX WEEKS!?" They both gasped, incredulously.

"AND for any classes that you two take together, you guys will be required to work together," he continued. "Two days a week: Thursdays and Fridays."

"UGHHHH," they both sighed in unison. This was gonna be a long two months.

There was a heavy silence that lingered on for a good minute before Mr. Wedderburn broke the silence.

"Well," the principal wrote them both a note reminding them of the days. "It begins this week. Hope to see you there. You're dismissed."

They rose up out of their seats and headed for the double doors. Chase pulled out his phone to check for the time. It was five in the afternoon. He looked up at the sky which glowed an amazing orange-yellow speckled with purple. It looked quite nice. He had three hours until his interview and he hadn't practiced in the mirror yet. Great.

He saw that Antwon was waiting on him outside and decided to take the ride. He got in on passenger'sside of Antwon's small, beige Toyota car as his uncle slipped into the driver's side.

"Going to work today?" Antwon revved up the engine and shifted the gear into drive.

"Nah, I'm a little tired," he lied. He couldn't tip Antwon off about his second job.

"I see," he responded, leaving it as is. There wasn't anymore talking throughout the drive home. Even when they went inside their adobe-like house, it was still silent. As Chase made his way to his room, he wondered what was going through Antwon's head. Was he considering pulling him out of that school? Sure it would cost less per semester, but wouldn't that just prove that they didn't belong? Chase refused to leave, no matter how things got. If they couldn't stand the fact that he was there, that was even better.

But back to more important things. He decided to take a second shower and condition his hair just to be fresh for the interview and pulled out his Manilla folder with his resume out of his bottom drawer. He took a good look at the crisp, perfectly stapled document. Ah, still in perfect condition. He checked the time once more and saw that it was 6:45. According to his GPS, it would take him about 30 minutes to reach his destination- but he decided to leave a little earlier. Around 7:15 would be a good place to leave.

He put on his casual outfit which consisted of a white button-down shirt, dark-blue jeans, a brown leather jacket with matching brown leather boots. He let his huge, voluminous hair go wild, the conditioner accentuating the curls of his hair.

He grabbed a shoulderbag and put his resume along with his important stuff in it.

"Hey Ant! I'll see you later!" He went out the door and made his way to the nightclub.

He got off the bus and went down the street towards the club, GPS in hand. He eventually came across it.

The neon sign glowed an electric blue which read: DAMON'S PARADISE: LADIES CLUB. The building itself was a nice size- not too big and not too small. The windows were tinted and there was a red carpet along with a bouncer standing right outside the door. He was huge- huger than Chase could even imagine. He had to be around 6'6. There was music blasting from the inside- he could tell when the door opened for two drunken women getting into the Uber.

He walked past the two women and the bouncer and went inside. As soon as he got inside, his jaw dropped. Onstage, he saw a guy with a nice muscular build wearing nothing but a black leather jacket and a leather thong dancing around onstage. Suddenly, he threw his jacket into the crowd and got on all fours, twerking onstage. Several women groped him, sticking money in his thong, and taking the opportunity to smack his ass. He could've sworn he saw a couple of men in the crowd, too. He must've liked it because he wore a hot smirk on his face as he they did so. Chase had to admit, though, he looked pretty attractive. He had olive skin along with a slight goatee on his chin. He looked young, possibly around Chase's age but just a little older.

After he was done, he took a bow and walked out. Crumpled tens and twenty-dollar bills stuck underneath the straps of his thong as the D.J announced his stage name: Rodeo. A few guys came out and scooped the remaining money that was left in stage into boxes and carried them towards the back. Chase was so absorbed in what was going on that he didn't realize what time it was until he checked his phone.

's**t! It's 8:10!' He thought, going to the nearest worker.

"Um, hello, I'm due for an interview today?" He pulled out a flier.

"Oh yeah, he's in the back. Chase, was it?" The worker questioned, c*****g his head to the side.

"Yes, yes it is," he nodded.

"Alright, follow me," he led him to the back. As they walked down the hallway, he could see some posters of male strippers hung up on either side of the walls, framed with lights. One of them read "Ken Doll" and another one read "Rodeo", the guy that was just onstage.

They finally made it to the boss' office. The worker knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" The familiar voice from the phone called out.

"It's Chase. He's here for the interview!" The workers spoke above the music.

"...Come in."

The worker opened the door to escort him inside before leaving promptly.

The office was a nice, medium size. The lamps glowed a soft red which made the room itself illuminated with a nice, soft red hue. There were planted on either side of the two corners. A light brown desk was right in front of the window with what looked like the boss sitting behind it.

"Sit down," the man spoke without looking up. He appeared to be doing some paperwork.

Chase sat down on the wooden chair right before him. The man sat his glasses down beside him and sat his paperwork down, looking at him. Gosh, he was handsome. His skin was a light tan and he had a full head of thick, black hair which was trimmed short and combed back, neatly. His eyebrows were also thick, though they were shaped into an angled arch, a s***h going through the left one. A neatly shaped goatee hung on his chin. His dark eyes appeared to be staring right through him with intensity- he couldn't imagine being the subject of his hatred. He couldn't see much of his body, but from what he saw from his torso, he appeared to be quite a muscular guy. His shoulders were broad, his face was chiseled as if he was some modern-day Greek god. Overall, he appeared to be a well-groomed middle-aged man. The red glow made the atmosphere little more sexier as well.

"Do you have your resume with you?" He questioned. Wow, this guy really got to the point.

"Yes, it's right here," he pulled out his resume and slid it across the desk.

The man took it into his large hands and opened the folder, flipping through the packet. A minute passed by while he read over the document. There was the sudden sound of the documents hitting the desk as the man's attention was directed towards Chase.

"Why should I hire you?"

The question completely caught him off guard. All his time practicing in the mirror completely went out of the window upon being hit with the question.

"I...um, uh," he stuttered, trying to formulate a sentence. However, the boss wasn't cutting him any slack.

"Your resume-writing is mediocre and the only work experience you have is waiting. So tell me, Mr. Machalle, why should I hire you?"

His eyes grew wide in shock. He wasn't expecting to be drilled so hard, especially at an interview.

"W-Well," he began, but was interrupted.

"Stand up."

He jolted out of his chair, his body tense. The man rose out of his seat and towered over Chase. My god, he was intimidating. He circled around the young boy, his eyes scanning over every inch of his body. Chase honestly felt judged. After the man was done, he went to his desk and leaned against it, taking one last glance before making eye-contact.

"You really think you're fit enough to be a bouncer?" He asked, amused.

"Well, I mean...I'm on the football team so-"

"Being in football and being a bouncer are two completely different things," he interrupted once again. "You know what you lack, Chase?" He got off the desk and paced around the office a bit. "You lack authority. You don't strike me as the type to throw people out and enforce the rules around here ESPECIALLY considering that you're so young."

The boy fell silent. Looks like he'll have to go find another job to do. What an inconvenience.

"BUT-"

Chase heard the sound of the man coming near him and rose his head.

"You are very attractive," the man gently lifted his chin. "Almost exotic," he tilted the boy's head to get a better look at his features. "Where are you from?"

"T-Trinidad...sir," his heart began to race. Was he hitting on him? He wasn't gay and he wasn't expecting the gentleman to be either. The tension was high and he wasn't exactly sure what to do until the man broke away from him.

"I'll tell you what," the man spoke, matter-of-fact, making his way back behind the desk. "Why don't you become one of the dancers?"

"D-DANCERS!?" Chase stammered, thinking back to the performance he saw on the way in. There was no freaking way he could do something like that. "But how!?"

"You come up with a dance routine, or have the other ones help you out. They can provide you the clothes you need," he went over to what looked like the telephone and called someone in.

"W-Wait! I wouldn't be able to do this! My uncle would kill me! Like literally KILL ME," he emphasized.

The man swiveled back around in his armchair.

"Um, exactly how old are you?"

"Seventeen-"

"Eighteen? Good! You're perfect for the job!" He clapped his hands and smiled.

Chase could only stare in disbelief as another employee walked in behind him.

"You needed me, Boss?" The familiar, suave voice from over-the-phone was now coming from a smaller, red-headed male.

"Yes. Ken, meet Chase. He's gonna be our new dancer-"

"Wait a minute! All I wanted to be was a bouncer! I didn't agree to this, y'know?" Chase piped up.

"Okay," the boss sighed. "We'll make an agreement. Try it out for one day. If you don't like it, we'll leave you alone. If you do, then you can continue. Deal?" He held out a hand.

Chase frowned. He had to think long and hard about this. He knew that Antwon and his family back home would definitely disapprove of this. Not only was he agreeing to sexualize his body, but he was also underaged. He thought back to all that money that the dancer on stage had collected. It had to be worth way more than his waiting paycheck every week. Well, at least he could just try it for a day.

"Alright. Deal," he shook his hand.

"Good, you start today," he pat the boy on the shoulder before going back to his desk.

"TODAY!?" The island-boy's eyes widened as he felt the other male wrap his arm around his own. "I can't do it today! I'm not prepared-!"

"You'll be fine," the red-headed male assured him. "We'll take care of you," he escorted him out of the door. "The name's Ken Doll by the way."