Anything for a Price.
Chapter 3
Jeremy awoke half off the couch, feeling rough, but not rough enough to keep from hitting on Tawny.
“I thought you were going to be topless in the house.”
“I don’t do sexy in the mornings.”
“Why not? I’m not feeling all that bad.”
“One day you too will get old, and hangovers will hurt. Or you could keep talking, and I will hurt you now.”
“You could jack me off.”
“Stop talking to me… Go clean your room.”
“Yeah, right.”
Tawny glared at Jeremy out of one eye as she rubbed her aching head. Undeterred, he sat down beside her with an impish grin.
“Take off your top,” he whispered in her ear.
“I told you. I don’t do sexy in the mornings.”
That should have worked! Stunned, Jeremy ran downstairs.
“What the fuck, Angus!”
“Hullo, Jeremy, I am foreclosing yer account, and yew owe me five thousand one hundred and sixty-five dollars.”
“You can’t do that. We had a deal.”
“A deal that yew broke. Yew let yer maw go so the trial period is over, and I want me money.”
“When did I let her go?”
“When yew whispered into her ear that she could do anything she wanted, and now she is free as the day she was bern.”
“But you didn’t tell me.”
“Ah, yew didn’t ask, and that is that. Give me my money now, or I’ll take yer dear sweet maw as payment.”
“Can’t we just restart the account?”
“Oh, yew wish to renegotiate, eh? Yew want to start over, like nothing ever happened? Okay, for ten thousand one hundred and sixty-five dollars.”
“That’s too much money… Ugh! Fine, then I want a six month trial period.”
“I will give yew five months and twenty-eight days and not a minute more.”
“Deal.”
“She be yers by morning. Please, feel free to let her go again. I can always use more money.”
When Jeremy returned, he found Tawny dressed for work.
“I thought you had a hangover?”
“Jeremy, being an adult means doing things that you don’t enjoy doing, even when you don’t feel like doing them. Did you clean your room? You didn’t, did you? I’m being serious, Jeremy. You want to be my man, fine. Then BE a man. If you just want to bum around, then move out on the street and be a BUM. I have to get to the shop, and then I have to go to Blind Man’s and pick up the car.”
“What if I meet you there?”
Tawny gave her son a sideways look.
“I promise I will clean my room. I want you, and I don’t want to lose you.”
“Okay, I’m covering for Denise, so I won’t get out until 6:00. My feet are going to be killing me and I’m going to be starving. If you’re late, you’re dead. If you don’t clean your room, then you’re out of the house.”
Tawny was serious. She had threatened him before, but this time, he knew his mom meant every word. Still, Jeremy couldn’t help but admire how nice his mom looked dressed for work.
“What are you looking at? It’s a top and a skirt.”
“It’s just that, if you’re planning on throwing me out, I wanted to get one last look.”
“Oh, for the love of god, just clean the damned room and stop being so melodramatic. It’s not like I’m going to vanish into thin air. Don’t be late, and no drinking tonight. You’re gonna have to drive us back. Chauncey will not be cool with me leaving the car there two nights in a row.”
Jeremy turned to leave with his head hung low.
“One more thing.”
“Now what?”
“I love you, hero. Don’t let me down.”
Her last words haunted Jeremy all morning. He didn’t have the money for Angus. He didn’t have five thousand and sure as shit couldn’t get ten, but at least he had almost six months to come up with the cash. Until then, he had to work fast.
Jeremy noticed how yesterday’s picking up made today’s work easier, and as it was a daylight basement, Jeremy got the bright idea to use the leaf blower to sweep the floor. It was loud, filled the basement with fumes, but it did a good job of sweeping. It was a SnapGram moment.
Since the rug had to go, mopping was no more difficult than running the garden hose inside the room, and hosing it all down. Afterward, he took a pool squeegee and chased all the water down the bathroom drain. More photos for SnapGram before Jeremy fell asleep in the recliner.
It was nearly six when he woke up, and he hadn’t showered or started the laundry. Quickly, he put all the clothes, both light and dark, into the washer. He threw away everything that didn’t fit and set the timer for a ‘quick wash.’
Jeremy took a shower while the load was running. He washed his cock and balls extra, in the off chance his mother wanted to suck him. This did not help Jeremy hurry along, as his dick got hard and would not go down. Jeremy hopped around his room, pulling on clean clothes with his dick swinging.
He looked at his reflection and thought his erection would look a lot more impressive if he lost weight. As the taxi driver waited, Jeremy stuffed all the clothes from the washer into the dryer. He left with his hard dick tucked into the waistband of his pants.
“What took so long?”
“Five minutes, okay, maybe seven but—”
“No buts, mister, you’re on thin ice.”
Tawny’s voice was firm and direct, and it crushed Jeremy’s soul to hear it. She inhaled one last drag of her cigarette.
“I have a one smoke rule. If my date doesn’t show in the time to smoke one cigarette, I walk.”
She ground out her cigarette butt, staring Jeremy straight in the eyes. The rushing wisps of smoke, swirling about from her contentious exhale added an ominous effect.
“Let’s get something to eat.”
“Did you just call me your date?”
“Didn’t you hear anything else I said? And, and, no, this will… this will not change the fact that you are on your last warning, mister.”
Ah, that’s the mom that Jeremy knew. She had already given in and didn’t even know it, but just the same Jeremy needed to watch his step. He rushed to get the door for her.
“After you,” he said with a humble bow.
“Thank you, son.”
Tawny’s emphasis on the word ‘son’ dashed Jeremy’s hopes of her mood improving.
“You two put on quite the show last night,” said the fat man with the Greek Fisherman’s cap.
“We weren’t too loud, were we?”
“Oh no, you weren’t loud, but you definitely got noticed. Say, when a guy from out of town asks you to go out with him, all you have to do is say no thanks. You don’t have to humiliate him. That Sam Middleton fucker has been all over the internet, running my place down to the point the city came in to do a surprise inspection.”
“Sorry Chauncey.”
“Sweetheart, it’s not the end of the world, but this is where you come to pick up guys. So what’s bad for my business is bad for yours.”
Jeremy was stunned by the frankness of the conversation. Once they had settled into a booth, he had to ask.
“Mom, are you a hooker?”
Tawny slapped her menu down on the table.
“Well, ain’t that the double fudge topping for a shitty day? I can’t believe you just asked me that. I am not going to even justify that question with an answer.”
“Sorry, mom, Chauncey is talking about you coming for guys and bad for business? I mean, I mean, I’m sorry, mom.”
“Don’t you dare talk to me,” Tawny said in a cold, metered tone that quietly punched every word across the table.
They spent the rest of the meal in silence. His mother’s stony glare met any attempt Jeremy made to break the ice. He wondered if his mom would let him come home, never mind getting his dick sucked.
It didn’t escape Jeremy’s attention that Sam “the man” Middleton and company had returned to Blind Man’s. He was talking to Chauncey, trying to get free drinks and discounts on his meals in return for stopping the online assault. Tawny was unaware of Sam’s return. She was many layers deep inside herself.
“I’ll get the check,” said Jeremy, as his mother excused herself to go to the restroom.
It was the first time that Jeremy ever offered to buy, but even that didn’t seem to impress his mom. Jeremy sat and pouted. He thought that Angus would have fixed her by now.
Sam “the man” caught Jeremy’s eye, walking in a huff with three of his gang toward the bathroom. His three lackeys stopped at the end of the hall and blocked the entrance leading to the toilets. Maybe their boss has a small dick, he thought, laughing to himself.
Jeremy idly watched the three idiots guarding their boss while he went to the can, except they stopped two women from going to the restroom as well. A feeling of foreboding came over him and a knot formed in his stomach. Jeremy made quick steps to see if his mother was okay.
“Where do you think you’re going, lover boy?” said the biggest of the three.
He didn’t look like a nerd. He looked like someone that could handle himself in a fight.
“Just going to use the facilities,” said Jeremy.
“Sorry kid, it’s closed for… a cleaning.”
All three of the men laughed at the word “cleaning.”
“I just really got to go, you know.”
He tried to push past, and the first man hip checked Jeremy, sending him sprawling to the floor. The three men looked around to see if anyone cared. No one did, so they stayed in place.
“I get it now. It’s closed,” said Jeremy.
Not knowing which way to turn, Jeremy walked away. He elbowed his way through the crowded dance floor, looking for Chauncey or the bouncer. He found a fire extinguisher by the DJ booth instead.
“FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!”
The DJ noticed Jeremy screaming with the fire extinguisher over his head as he ran through the crowd.
“Hey y’all, there is a fire in the building! There is a fire in the building! Please step outside,” said the DJ, cutting off the music and turning up the house lights.
By now Jeremy was at a full run, and using the CO2 bottle as a battering ram, he punched through the lineup of Sam’s men. When he burst through the door to the women’s room, he saw Tawny on the floor and Sam between her legs, with his pants to his knees.
“Get the fuck off, my mother!” Jeremy screamed, lifting the fire bottle high over his head.
“Don’t do it! You’ll kill him!” yelled Tawny.
He never got the chance. Chauncey was right behind him and grabbed the extinguisher out of his hands on the backswing. That didn’t stop him. Jeremy dove onto Sam, landing two or three solid punches before the bouncer pulled him off the battered rapist.
“Let me go! Let me go!” he yelled, squirming to get free.
“It’s over Jeremy. You did good, son. You did good,” said Chauncey.
The police came in with the fire department as Sam’s minions vanished into the crowd. An EMT aide car arrived immediately after, and once again Maria Lopez was on the scene.
“I was told you were a hero tonight,” said Maria, bandaging Jeremy’s busted knuckles.
“Is my mom going to be alright?” he asked, with tears still trickling down his face.
“It could have been much worse. They’re charging the man with rape,” said Maria.
“Does it matter? That rich fucker will just buy a lawyer and get off scot-free.”
“Don’t be so sure this is an election year. Sam Middleton will be the poster boy for what not to do in Florida. My cousin, Juanita Rivera, is the DA and running to be the state’s first female governor. I think she would be most interested in prosecuting this case.”
“Fuck you!” yelled Sam. A blood-soaked bandage taped across his smashed nose made his voice sound like a cartoon gerbil with a sinus condition. “I am going to fucking sue you for all your worth, you fucking inbred piece of shit! She’s a fucking hooker. I will not go to jail for raping a fucking hooker! Go ahead kid, look in her goddamned purse. You’ll find the two hundred dollars I paid this bitch to do me.”
Jeremy looked at his mother’s purse and then at his stunned mother. Tawny shook her head no. What did that mean? Don’t look in the purse? Sam didn’t give her the money? She wasn’t a hooker?
“Hey kid, I’ll give you one hundred thousand dollars right now. Just tell this cop your mother is a fucking whore. Whaddya say kid just fucking fess up, for Christ’s sakes. You know she’s in here turning tricks. Tell ’em, kid, tell the truth. She’s a fucking hooker and you know it. Check her bag. It’s got two new one hundred-dollar bills stuffed inside. Come on, kid, don’t let me go down like this. We can work this out.”
Jeremy thought if he had one hundred thousand dollars. He could pay off Angus with no problem and have plenty left over to spend on toys.
Maria touched his arm and said, “Be a man, mi hijo.”
“No one is going to rifle through my mother’s purse. Whether or not there is two hundred dollars in her purse proves nothing. What I know for a fact is my mother just finished working a nine-hour shift at the beauty shop. She’s been on her feet all day. She is tired and sore. When she left the table, she told me she was coming right back because she wanted to go home. Then I saw you!” said Jeremy, shouting at Sam. “I saw you go into the hallway for the restrooms while three of your gang stood guard, and wouldn’t let anyone get past. When I tried to check on my mother they shoved me down. So I grabbed a fire bottle and ran like hell. The only reason you’re alive is because Chauncey held me back!”
“That’s right, officer,” said Chauncey. “I was right behind Jeremy. I thought my joint was on fire. What he said was right. When we pushed through the door, Tawny was on the floor with this idiot on top of her. You can see she’s all roughed up. I will fill out a complaint myself right here and now.”
“Me too,” said the big bouncer.
“What about that fucking kid busting my nose?” said Sam.
“What about it? You’re lucky that’s all you got. If you don’t shut your mouth, I’ll take a turn,” said the bouncer, in a rumbling baritone voice.
Sam ducked behind the police officer.
“Can we go?” asked Jeremy.
“We’ll need to take a statement from you and your mother, but we can do that later. I am turning you over to the medical response team. Once they release you, you are free to go,” said the officer.
“Can you join me outside?” Maria asked Jeremy, leading him out of Tawny’s earshot. “Can you take care of your mother?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Does anyone else live with you?”
“No, it’s just us.”
“Physically, your mother is in good shape. She’s got a bump on her head, but there are no signs of a concussion. She has some abrasions and tearing in her vaginal area but the worst of it is psychological. The emotional and mental trauma from this kind of attack can last for years, or go unnoticed for years, before suddenly manifesting itself. She may never feel safe again. You can help her tremendously by making her feel secure in her surroundings. I am going to give her a tranquilizer. This will let her sleep through the night, but for better or worse, tomorrow she’ll wake up a different woman. This is very important, mi hijo. Do not let her have any visitors other than yourself until after noon tomorrow, do you understand?”
Puzzled, Jeremy nodded his head.
“Good, I am going to give you some sleeping pills to keep her knocked out. Whatever you do, do not allow your mother to have any visitors until after twelve noon tomorrow.”
“Sounds serious.”
“Do what I say or you could lose her, hero,” said Maria, before darting back to the crime scene.
Jeremy looked around the bar. The house lights were still up, most of the people had left, and the floor was filthy.
“I’ve cost you a whole lot of money, Chauncey,” said Jeremy.
“Bullshit, you’re a regular customer and the regulars, not the tourist, keep this place open. If there is someone to be blamed, it’s that piece of shit that attacked your mother. He cost me a lot of money. You, I’m mighty fucking proud of.”
“Damn straight,” said the bouncer.
“Mister Barnhart? Your mother is ready to go home,” said Maria.
“We’ll take her,” said Chauncey.
“Sorry sir, we have to take her in the aid car. I have given her a very strong sedative. Once we get her tucked in, she’ll be out of it for the rest of the night and most of tomorrow… Mr. Barnhart, if you will lead the way?”
Once the EMTs had dropped off Tawny, and Maria had seen that she was safely in the hands of a family member. Jeremy and Tawny were alone. He walked into his mother’s bedroom. She was in a deep sleep. He looked at the purse on the dresser. Quietly, he snuck over to the other side of the room and peeked inside. There, beside a pack of Menthol 100s, were two one hundred-dollar bills.
“Find what you were looking for?” asked Tawny, sitting up in bed.
“I thought you were asleep… Mom… Mom?”
Still no response from Tawny. She looked straight ahead at something or someone far away.
“What can I say about myself? That’s a pretty boring question… Ha! Oh, god I’m just messing with you. Being a single parent isn’t fun for me or my son. I don’t know how to raise a boy. I mean, I thought I did… I had no family, really I never met my mother… I don’t even know if she is still alive. My Aunt Tilly took care of me. It was her that convinced me to keep Jeremy, and then she died. I’ve been in her house all alone except for my son. He’s the only family I’ve got… He’s my little teddy bear that hugs me back.”
Jeremy felt tears running down his cheeks.
“Oh, yeah, I can deep throat,” Tawny said proudly. “Half and half is fine, but you got to wear a rubber. No rubber, no deal. Yes, I do anal, doesn’t everyone?”
Tawny laughed at her own joke.
“I am very open, if you know what I mean? I’ll do girls, I’ll go down on them, they can go down on me, or they can watch while I go down on you.”
Jeremy couldn’t believe his ears.
“I need a man, a real man, that can treat me like a whore when I need it. Especially when I need it bad, but he always has to respect me as a woman… Men come in one of two flavors: the ones that want me to be their mommy and the ones that want to spank my ass and pull my hair. I want a man who’s both.”
By now Jeremy understood that this wasn’t one conversation, but snippets of his mother’s memories.
“What the fuck are you doing in here?” said Tawny.
“I’m just taking care of you. The nurse said I had to, but you started talking and—”
“Get the fuck out, or I’m calling the cops. No! No! No! What part of no don’t you understand? Keep your fucking money, jackass. I just got off work and all I want to do is go the fuck home. Get your fucking hands out of my purse! Let go of me! Ow! You fucker! Get off, you’re hurting me! Jeremy! Help Me! Jeremy! Jeremy! Help me! Damn your rich ass to Hell. Help me Jeremy!”
“I’m here, mom,” Jeremy rushed to his mother’s side. “Sh, sh, sh, It’s okay mom you’re home now. I’m here. You’re safe.”
Jeremy held his mother and gently rocked her.
Tawny drifted back into reality.
“Jeremy, is that you?”
“Yes, you’re safe at home.”
“Oh, thank you, son,” Tawny said, giving Jeremy a big hug.
“I like a woman who takes off her top,” Jeremy whispered into Tawny’s ear.
She stared at him as her expression worked its way into a big, mischievous grin. “I’m a woman who loves to take off her top.” Tawny pulled her shirt over her head, throwing it on the floor.
“Well shit, you still have your bra on,” Jeremy said in an irritated mumble.
“Phsft,” Tawny blew through her cheeks and just as easily popped her bra clasp free. Her boobs fell down with a bounce, just as beautiful as any boobs ever had bounced before.
“That’s very nice, mom. You want to be topless inside the house. Now lay back down and get some rest.”
Tawny went out like a light.
She’s back under my control!
Jeremy did an air guitar solo with pelvic thrusts and devil’s horns. He accompanied this with an impromptu dance number based loosely on what he could remember of his mother’s bump and grind routine.
Jeremy looked at Tawny’s exposed breasts and stopped completely still. He held his breath. His hand drifted closer and closer, almost touching them. He had grabbed at his mother’s breasts only once before and it ended poorly. Now, his heart beat wildly in his chest. His trembling fingers felt the warmth radiating off of Tawny’s tits, but he could not will his hands to go any further. The memory of Maria’s words, “Be the man,” haunted him.
Jeremy put his hands on top of his head and ran out of the room. He had just realized; he was, in effect, playing in a real life video game.
“This all means something! If I do this wrong, I get the bad ending again, and I’ll have to buy a new chance with mom for twice as much as before. Fuck! If I mess up, I will have to pay twenty thousand to Angus or lose mom for good.”
Jeremy reconsidered Sam’s offer.
“What the fuck am I thinking? If I take Sam’s money, I disrespect mom and I get the bad ending. How in the fuck am I going to get that kind of cash without disrespecting mom?”
It was time to call for a lifeline.