“I like your ink,” Syn blurted out, cringing a bit when it came out a little louder than he planned. “The stars are pretty cool.”
Furious took a deep inhale of his cigarette, blew the smoke out through his nose and flicked the butt into the street. He rose up off the back of the bench standing to his full height, perhaps six-one. “You know what people assume about a person when they have star tattoos, don’t you?” Furious held his eye contact.
“I’ve heard some things. Not one to believe everything I hear though.”
“Is that right?”
Syn scrunched his eyebrows not knowing where Furious was going with this – hell, where he was going with this.
“You waiting on the bus?”
“You got it, genius. How’d you ever guess that?”
“You’re a real smart ass … and the name’s Syn. I thought I’d keep you company while you wait … maybe even offer you a ride.” Syn’s face was tight as he spoke. Why the hell did everyone have to be so fucking sarcastic all the time?
“Oh really.” Furious tucked his ear buds inside his jacket and ran his hand through his hair. “Why the hell would you offer me a ride?”
“Why wouldn’t I? You obviously need one. I’m just trying to be friendly.” Syn stepped closer and he heard a slight catch in Furious' breath.
“I’m good, man. I got a ride.”
Syn turned when he heard the diesel engine of the MARTA bus pulling over to stop.
“I could drop you off, it’s no big deal.” Syn shrugged as if it really didn’t matter. Oh, but it did.
Why the hell am I trying so hard?
“I’m good. Besides, I don’t ride with strangers.”
The bus's air brakes were loud as it came to a stop and the automatic doors opened.
“Say it,” Syn snapped suddenly.
Furious turned to look at him from the stairs of the bus. “Say what?”
“My name, damnit.”
“Why?” Furious almost whispered.
“Because, I want to hear it from your mouth.” Syn’s voice had gone gravelly. He was being honest. He did want to hear it. Now. Later. And ten octaves higher ricocheting off his bedroom walls. Hell.
“No,” Furious replied, turned, and got on the bus.
For some reason, Syn watched as his new, enigmatic friend paid his fare and settled himself in the back on the far side of the bus. Furious never looked in his direction, but Syn kept hoping he would as the driver pulled the large vehicle back into traffic.
Furi walked the half-block to his small basement apartment in Emory Point. He’d been there for nine months since he’d made his escape from his abusive husband. He’d changed his last name and made it as far as he could on the seven hundred dollars he’d managed to secret away. His landlord was an old lady with seven grown kids and about fifteen grandchildren who she visited often, which was extremely beneficial to Furi. He had access to, but rarely ventured to any other parts of the house.
He turned on the small entryway lamp and peeled off clothes on his way to the bathroom. He did the same thing every night when he came in from the bar. He had to rid himself of the smell as quickly as possible. Smelling like hot wings and vodka never appealed to him. Furi half checked his messages and half hobbled into the small room that had the tiniest shower ever and turned on the hot water. He had to let it run for a few minutes before it even considered warming up.
He had another message from Greg – the film company’s publicist. Fuckin’ great. Furi opened the email and only managed to read a few words before his eyes started to roll in annoyance.
‘Furi I’ve gotten with Mack about what I mentioned to you last week and we are prepared to up your offer to $1000. How about that? AND 25cents per download! How awesome is that, hot stuff? It’s an offer you don’t want to refuse. You have fans who adore your sexy ass. You don’t want to lose your audience, do you? They need more of you. Let me know ASAP, and we’ll cancel your shoot tomorrow and start on the new scene instead. We’ll even let you choose your partner. Mmmm ... wouldn’t Sasha Pain be delicious? Oh and PS, there's a $500 advance if you say yes now!!’ G
Furi re-read the email and felt his stomach start to do some weird flippy shit when he thought about accepting Mack’s offer. Furi was already risking being found by his ex by doing the solo jerk sessions on Mack’s small-time porn site.
When Mack came into his uncle’s bar almost six months ago, he’d gushed half the damn night about how sexy Furi was and how he could make him into a movie star. Furi quickly decided it was worth exploring and went to Mack’s studio. He’d been floored when he realized it was a porn company and worse, felt like an idiot for not asking what type of movies Mack produced.