There's No Price On Love

“Stop here Michael.” I called to him, pushing my sunglasses back along with my bangs. I moved closer to the door of the limo as it pulled up along the sidewalk, near the alleyway I had first seen the boy in. I was hoping he’d be there today, so maybe I could . . . err. . . Well thank him for what he did last night. Even if he was a bit of an ass about the whole thing.

It wasn’t like I wanted to be molested by my worst enemy in a smelly alley where an extremely hot homeless boy was located. Sometimes life just throws curveballs at you, even if it knows it has to play fair.

Michael went to leave the driver’s seat in order to open my door. I stopped him before he could, handing over a bill in tips before getting out of the vehicle and adjusting my flip flop as I started walking toward the one place I’d never thought I’d be caught dead in.

I paused for a moment to recollect my thoughts before making my way to the first turn, stopping to look around the corner to see if anyone was there in the first place. From what I could see, there was nothing there but two garbage dumpsters on either wall of the two stone buildings, some random boxes scattered and a cat digging through some trash that had fallen out of a bag and onto the ground.

I crinkled my nose in disgust and rounded the corner, cautiously stepping on the cold dirt and making sure that I didn’t step into anything unmentionable. From the looks of it, it didn’t seem like anyone was staying here at all. It was an empty place, no human presence that I was aware of.

I brushed a loose strand of hair out of my eyes and stepped deeper into the alley, nearly screaming when a mouse scurried past. I let out a sigh of relief and placed a hand over my beating heart, which was pumping blood so quickly I was surprised I hadn’t gone into cardiac arrest.

The cat that was in the garbage looked up and dropped the fish bone it had hanging from its mouth while beginning to purr, rubbing up against my legs. I tossed my purse over my shoulder and kneeled down, scratching its fur and murmuring to it. The cat had a collar around its neck and I reached out to read the tag only to find that there wasn’t one there.

I got back up and wiped my hands on my shorts and watched the cat trot along after me, its tail held high and head bobbing along proudly. I smiled to myself and moved a little quicker, laughing when it picked up pace as well.

I should have been paying attention however because I then tripped over a rogue garbage can, sending me sprawling out on the ground with a face full of dirt. I let out a moan of disgust and picked a banana peel out of my hair, resisting the urge to gag.

The cat pounced on the garbage can and stared back at me with a look of mockery, its eyes wide with curiosity. I scowled at it and got to my feet, wiping most of the dirt off that I knew of and picking stray pieces of plastic off of my shirt.

“Thanks.” I muttered at the animal and picked up my purse, reaching into my bag for the bottle of hand sanitizer I normally had.

Wallet, keys, lip-gloss, Kleenex, notebook . . . No hand sanitizer.

I let out another groan of frustration and sat on an empty box, not caring that my weight would probably cause the dumb paper item to break and send me back onto the ground.

The cat hopped onto my lap and rubbed against my chest, purring loudly. I scratched its back rhythmically wondering whether or not I should wait for the boy to show up or just call Michael to take me home.

I glanced down at my watch and saw that I had been here for a measly 5 minutes and already I had managed to knock myself into a pile of muck because of a damn cat.

After a mental debate I decided that I made it worthwhile to come out here, I might as well wait for him to show up.

More than anything, I wanted to thank him for helping me. I wasn’t the best when it came to thank-you’s. Don’t get me wrong, my mother had taught me manners and social etiquette skills but I never really had anything to thank anyone for after dad. I figured that if they could move on as quickly as they did, they didn’t need any appreciation on my part.

I was just an angry teenager anyway, this was expected of me. If I weren’t rich and the daughter of a well-known Real Estate agent.

I sighed heavily and placed my chin on one hand, still scratching the cat with the other.

Even if the boy did leave, he couldn’t have gone far. From what I remember briefly seeing, he had a small area set up like a living quarter. He didn’t have much but an old leather suitcase that was probably very nice looking at one point and a pillow. There were no blankets, nothing used to set up some sort of shelter and nothing that could keep him looking as pleasantly decent as he did.

Sure, he had a fair share of dirt and grime on his golden skin, but it was nothing compared to what most homeless people in L.A had. It probably meant that he hasn’t been homeless for long or that he’s just a nomad.

For all I know, he’s probably an actor who got kicked off a role and went bankrupt. After all, with his good looks he probably was.

“Looking for someone?”

The cat jumped off my lap and my gaze followed it up to a pair of beaten old sneakers, covered in so much dirt that they were almost unidentifiable. I stood up quickly, knocking over the box I was sitting on in the process, leading me to blush in embarrassment.

A pair of golden hands reached down and picked up the cat, leading my eyes to follow them back up to the shoulders and eventually the face with perfect green eyes. I swallowed nervously and adjusted my purse on my shoulder, suddenly wishing that I had just stayed at home.

“Well?” The boy questioned with a note of impatience. I licked my lips and met his gaze, my eyes drifting from the full mouth to the perfect, straight nose to the green eyes and mess of golden hair. Boys that look like this aren’t homeless, there’s no possible way.

“Uhh . . . Actually y-yes. I am.” I stammered while dropping my gaze down to my flip flops and now presently dirty feet.

“If you are, I highly doubt that you’d find him here. Prince Charming is that way.” The boy pointed behind him and scowled, the cat still held to his chest with one arm.

I jerked my head up in surprise and watched the cat twirl around his ankles, a small grin on its face.

“I was looking for you actually.” I managed to say, my voice wobbling slightly. The boy crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his gaze; the ratty trench coat he was wearing accented his broad shoulders nicely. He tilted his head and examined me, his eyes raking over me quickly before raising an eyebrow.

“Looking for me? Sorry, I don’t play male prostitute well.” The corner of his mouth curved into a sarcastic grin as he reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a cigarette. “Besides, I’m sure rich bitches like you could afford better.”

I lowered my eyes and placed my hands on my hips, trying to seem more intimidating than I felt. The boy looked amused as he lit the cigarette, taking a hefty drag before exposing a row of perfect white teeth.

Okay, so something’s a bit odd about this situation.

“I wasn’t looking for a service. I wanted to say thank you.”

The boy took the cigarette out of his mouth and blew a large cloud of smoke out of the corner of his mouth, laughing slightly and giving me a disbelieving look.

“You want to thank me.” He said aloud with a snort. “For what? Trying to steal taxpayer money through welfare? Sorry but I think you have the wrong guy here.”

I shook my head, knocking my sunglasses back onto my nose. I sighed heavily and pushed them back up, taking in a deep breath before continuing.

“No, for what you did . . . Last night.” I replied, carefully watching his expression. He appeared unfazed and then took another drag of his cigarette, stepping closer to me.

“Dammit! I knew someone forgot to pay me last night. Man, you’re a bad girl aren’t you? If I wasn’t good, you might as well tell me so I can quit that job too.” He snapped sarcastically and pointed his finger at me. I tried not to choke on the cigarette smoke blowing in my face.

I crinkled my nose and backed away, instantly wondering why on earth I had ever found this guy attractive.

“What is with you and the whole prostitute thing?” I asked with a tinge of annoyance hitting my voice. “It’s obvious that you don’t swing that way.”

“How so?” Curiosity played on his features and his cigarette dangled carelessly out of his mouth. I wanted to pull it out from between his lips and stomp on it, just to piss him off.

But he’s homeless and probably doesn’t have enough money to even buy cigarettes which made me wonder how on earth he got them in the first place.

“You’re rude and sarcastic; if you were a prostitute you’d be trying to get me to fuck you by now. All that you’re doing is making me wonder why on earth I bothered to come here in the first place.”

The boy laughed and the sound sent shivers down my spine. It wasn’t a creepy, horror movie laugh, it was more like the kind of laugh that draws people in and drives girls wild.

It shouldn’t be doing that to me.

“Well you’re right about the whole manwhore thing; I’m not actually a gigolo. Doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t do it to rake in a few bucks though, you know the world nowadays, you have to hold on to every penny you have.” I scowled at him and moved my hands to cover my purse. The boy rolled his eyes and dropped his cigarette onto the ground, putting it out with his battered shoe. “No need to get so nervous girlie, no money is better than any money you have in that saddle bag of yours. God, assume things like that just because I’m poor.”

I blushed furiously and let go of my purse, standing a little taller and ignoring his last comment.

“I’m sorry sir but I just came here to thank you and now that I’ve done that, I’m going to leave.” I went to brush past him but he jumped in front of me, a small smirk of triumph on his face.

“I’m sorry Royal Highness, did I offend thee?” I clenched my jaw and gritted my teeth. What a jackass!

“Yes! You’ve offended me! Can I please just get out of here now because I’ve obviously got the wrong person or something!!” I shouted and even stomped my foot. Deep inside I knew that this was the right guy; I had seen his face perfectly in the shadowed moonlight. If only I had known that he would act like this, I would have stayed home and listened to William attempt to flirt with me.

“Well I’d love to apologize again but you see… we assholes have apology limits. I’m already reached the maximum for today.” He rubbed the back of his neck and pretended to look sorry.

“Really? Well it’s too bad that no one can forgive you for being an asshole.” The boy grinned wickedly then tapped a finger over his perfect lips.

“Is it okay to ask you what you’re thanking me for? My brain has limited memory space and most of it is taken up by the images of naked girls.” After seeing my look of disgust he shrugged. “Sorry, I’m a teenage boy. A raging hormone.”

I rubbed my temples and dropped my hand back to my side, making a loud slapping noise. The boy jumped slightly and then pointed to my hand and made a look of distaste.

“I wanted to thank you for saving me from that boy . . . The one who tried to take advantage of me last night.” I muttered and crossed my arms over my chest. He stared at me for a moment and made me squirm with insecurity until finally he glanced away and bit his lower lip.

He then let out a low whistle and a small laugh before saying:

“Oh wow. Are you sure that it wasn’t me trying to take advantage of you ‘cause you know,” I gave him a repulsed look and stormed past him only to have him follow me in the end anyway. “Rudy gave me a little too much to drink last night.”

I spun around on the heel of my flip flop and let out a small scream of frustration.

“Alright!” I screeched, my blood pounding angrily through my veins. “I said what I needed to say now you can go back to garbage picking or whatever you do! Just leave me alone now!”

His jaw hung open slightly and his hands were placed in an offended manner on his narrow hips.

“Now that was a low blow!” He exclaimed but he didn’t look like he found it to be. “If I recall correctly, you were the one who was looking for me. Jesus, like way to blame it on the poor homeless guy.”

I glared at him, jaw tight and eyes narrowed to slits. I adjusted my bag again before saying:

“Something tells me that you don’t play that part as perfectly as you’d like to think you do.” I snapped angrily. He raised his hands in surrender and grinned wickedly.

“One thing you can’t assume lady, is that I don’t know how to play my role. After all, we just met! And I, happen to know nothing about you except that you’re clumsy, rich and snobby. So tell me how you could possibly know anything about me besides the fact that I’m a hobo?” He smiled victoriously and leaned forward, too close for comfort. “For all you know, I could be some crazy serial killer who eats my victims with a nice glass of Chardonnay.”

I gulped but didn’t move, when I tried to was when I realized that he had somehow managed to back me up against a wall. His face was just a mere inch away from mine and I could feel his breath on my skin, sending warmth throughout my body. His breath didn’t even smell horrible, nothing but the slightest tint of whiskey beneath cigarette smoke.

“If you were a serial killer then you would have killed me last night while I was wasted, drugged and unaware of what my own name was.” I replied, my breathing increasing dramatically when his body moved even closer to mine.

He jerked his head at me and narrowed his eyes.

“What is your name anyway?” He demanded rudely. I pursed my lips and darted my glance away from him, trying to ignore the fact that this idiot wasn’t letting up on me. God, sometimes I have the worst ideas in the world. I mean, getting wasted and going into a limo with William was pretty bad but I think that deciding to thank a crazed destitute might possibly surpass that without any debate.

“That’s none of your business. As far as I’m concerned, names are exchanged between acquaintances and you sir, are nothing more than a man who saved me from a bad decision. Nothing more, nothing less.” A grin cracked across his face and he placed a hand on either side of the wall near my head, further trapping me.

“You know that I have all the time in the world to wait for a name. I’m pretty sure that the King and Queen a.k.a your parents don’t though.”

“Parent.” I corrected him sternly then wished I hadn’t said anything.

“Parent.” He repeated. “Mother or father?”

“None of your business.”

“You were the one who brought it up so obviously you want to talk about it.” I chewed on the inside of my cheek and frowned.

“I’d like to talk about it with someone who’s worth talking to.” Homeless boy made a hurt face and grabbed at his chest, looking more dramatic than ever.

“My God that cuts deep!” He returned his expression back to normal. “Seriously, mother or father?”

I sighed in defeat and looked up at the sky.

“Mother.”

He nodded slowly and backed away slightly.

“Meaning you most likely have a stepfather. You like him?”

I laughed bitterly and brushed my hair out of my eyes.

“I don’t feel comfortable discussing this with you.” I replied simply and he moved closer again.

“Well I’m sure you don’t find this very comfortable do you? I mean, you are back against the wall by a homeless prostitute who has no companion other than a cat.” His green eyes sparkled with humour and his mouth curved into a smirk.

“We’ve already gone over this. You’re not a prostitute.”

“You’ve also forgotten that I live a life of survival. I’m a boy, I lie.” I studied his face for a moment and my heart began beating faster. He stared back at me, his lips slightly parted and eyes beautifully wide. For a second, I found myself wondering what his life was like before he got to this point, before he had ended up alone.

But answers don’t come from nothing.

My phone began to ring loudly in my purse and the boy looked down and nodded toward it.

“You gonna get that?” I went to reach for it but couldn’t, his body was so close to mine that I couldn’t move my arms at all. The worst part was that he didn’t even smell bad, he actually smelled kind of nice.

“I would but it seems that you’re in my way.” I snipped and watched his face brighten with amusement.

“I suppose that means I’m going to have to move.” He answered with a smirk then laughed loudly and sarcastically. “Too bad that I’m not going to!”

I glared at him and began to squirm, but he still didn’t move. Finally, I shoved him as hard as I could, only to have him grab me and send me toppling to the ground with him.

His body was on top of mine, his golden mane of hair brushing his eyes and his hands placed on either side of my shoulders. He blinked a few times in surprise then stared down at me.

“Got a price?” He asked with a smug smile. I scowled at him then tried to shove him off, only to fail miserably. I let out a scream of frustration and beat his chest with my fists.

“Get off of me you . . . You . . . You homeless perverted son of a bitch!” Suddenly the sound of footsteps came thrashing through the alley and toward us. The boy got up instantly, placing his hands behind his head. I sat up angrily and froze when I seen two police officers pointing their weapons at the boy.

The one officer cuffed the boy and held onto him while the other helped me up.

“Are you alright Miss?” He asked and I glanced from him to the boy repetitively before picking up my purse.

“Y-yeah . . . I’m fine.” I stuttered in surprise and watched the cop move in front of the boy.

“You know, sexual assault charges could be pressed. That’s a serious offence for a young man like yourself.” The cop said and placed his gun back into his belt. “We’ll keep you in jail for a few days unless someone decides to bail you out or until the young lady here decides not to press charges. Even if she doesn’t, there will still be a bail on your ass.”

The boy glanced at me and pursed his lips before getting spun around and dragged down the alley toward the squad car.

I, on the other hand, picked up my purse and watched as they loaded him in and sped off, leaving me alone to my thoughts and pounding heartbeat.