Hustler

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Kiran couldn't stop himself from scowling in disgust at Chuck.

Now in the daylight Kiran could see more of the man's features. He had to of been in his early to mid thirties. His tanned skin already showed the signs of aging due to his nicotine and alcohol addiction, and overall lack of self-care. His love of hardcore drugs caused his cheeks to appear sunken in, and darkened the skin around his eyes.

Worst of all, he had a porn ‘stache.

This is what he was stuck with. This is who he was going home with, to live with, to have sex with on a daily bases. This is the man whose obsessive fascination coerced him into spending a quarter of a million dollars so he felt like he could rightfully call a sixteen year old boy his property - a boy he’s barely seen in almost a year. He got off on the idea of owning him. He was going to use him however he wanted, and there was nothing Kiran could do to but comply.

He's dealt with Davide's anger before. He never wanted to feel his wrath every again.

Kiran felt tears sting his eyes.

He glanced out the window and watched the scenery go by, having a clear sense of where he might be passing through on their way to Chuck’s house. The area was familiar enough to him as he'd been here often with other clients. There were a string of bars, restaurants, and sleazy hotels strewn along the streets, and then the sudden unfamiliar surroundings of acres upon acres of rural farmland as they drove down a long stretch of country road, leaving the city Kiran spent the first sixteen years of his life in.

He hadn't even gotten the chance to say goodbye to the friends he'd made over the last year while working for Davide. He didn't get to say goodbye to McKenzie, who's been he's rock since he got there.

They seemed to drive forever. As the distance between neighboring lots grew greater, Kiran's nerves got the best of him and a numbness attacked his arms and chest.

He took a deep breath and tried to relax.

It’ll be like I never left. Just one client for the rest of my fucking life.

He almost scoffed at the thought but the truck slowing to safely turn a corner made a ball form in his throat. The vehicle treaded gently down the gravel driveway, coming to a full stop at the front of a giant burgundy barn.

The engine shut off and Kiran's heartbeat pounded in his ears.

Chuck gave a brief look around his property before settling his eyes on his new toy. Kiran refused to make eye contact, feeling his skin crawl under Chuck’s stare.

Then Chuck finally spoke, breaking the tense silence at last.

“You really don't remember me, do you?”

The ominous tone behind his words scared Kiran almost as much as the question itself. His brows furrowed and he shook his head. “I know I've seen you around,” he answered back, having to clear his throat mid sentence when his voice cracked. “And last night, obviously. I'm sorry if I, if I don't remember you - have we met before?”

Chuck shook his head but it wasn't at Kiran's question.

He stared down at his hands and laughed.

“Oh, we've met,” he murmured. “We've definitely met.”

He suddenly swung his door open and propped it ajar with his foot as he snatched the keys from the ignition. He met eyes with Kiran, tipping his head towards the large, white farmhouse.

“Well, come on. Lemme show you around.”

Kiran paused but hopped out, stringing his Nike bag over his shoulder. He followed Chuck toward the house, giving a look to the red barn. Another faint feeling of deja-vu hit him and he ignored it, admiring the backyard that sat adjacent to the house. There was a dog house tucked off to the side under a tree that was almost as tall as his new home. Wrapped several times around the tree’s thick stump was a chain.

At the end was a chain link choke collar but no dog.

He hoped there was one inside.

Kiran waited patiently up on the porch while Chuck unlocked the front door, hesitantly following him through the doorway. He expected to hear the clicking of nails against the hardwood floor as Chuck closed the door behind them, but no excited dog met them.

Kiran frowned.

Well, where’s the pup?

Chuck motioned around the him, saying, “Obviously this is the living room. There's a bathroom and laundry room on the other side of those stairs, and through here...” Chuck moved throughout the house, walking passed the little area he had just addressed. Kiran followed him through the swinging door into the kitchen.

The layout was huge with an island in the middle of the room, various items sprawled across the surface. A dinner table was pushed back in the far corner. The room was enclosed with large windows, giving a nice view of the side yard and the fields of corn that surrounded the property.
Up on the wall was a flat screen tv, about eighteen inches in size. The remote was on the island.

“There a patio to your right,” Chuck continued, walking through the area. “Another back by the table. And in here,” - they went through the doorway to find another small room with a diner table in the center of it as well. - “Another little dining area. I like to have friends over a lot. It's a place to play poker, drink, that sort of stuff.”

Kiran prayed they didn’t share his common interest in terms of sexual partners.

They did a full loop, coming back into the living room. Kiran became nervous as they trekked up the carpeted staircase. The second floor was a long hallway with only three rooms in total.

The first room on the right was introduced as “...where you’ll be staying. You got a TV, your own bathroom. It's got a nice closet. We'll get you some clothes to actually fill it with, if you want.”

Kiran smiled fleetingly at Chuck's offer. “Yeah, that'd be nice. Thank you.” He looked around the room. It was incredibly simple with a queen sized bed, neatly made, in the middle of the room, a flat screen perched on a dresser opposite the bed, just as Chuck had said. It was a hell of a lot nicer than the motel.

His own room. He figured the only times they’d be in the same bedroom was when Chuck felt frisky.

Chuck quickly finished up the tour.

“Down the hall is my room. The bathroom is across from your room.” He rubbed his hands together and smiled down at Kiran. Kiran gazed up at him expectantly, figuring the next words out of his mouth would be him initiating a quickie in honor of the occasion, but he raised his brows when Chuck began to head for the door.

Gripping the handle, he said, “I'm gonna let you get settled in a bit. I'm gonna run to the store, grab some food for dinner tonight. Is that okay?”

Kiran stuttered slightly and took a second to nod.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, that's fine. I gotta study for finals anyway.”

A smile touched Chuck’s face. “Alright, feel free to check out the house. You can do your homework in the dining room or wherever. I should be back in an hour. Guess I'll leave this open,” he said in regard to the bedroom door. He said a goodbye and then left Kiran to himself.

Hearing the front door open and then close, Kiran said aloud, “What the fuck?” Chuck hadn’t been anywhere near as threatening as he initially seemed. He was absolutely nothing like the perverted creep he was back at the motel, last night or this morning. It was like he was a completely different person. He offered to buy him new clothes and he's making dinner for them tonight.

Maybe this wasn't going to be hell on earth. Chuck could be the best thing to happen to Kiran in awhile. If anything, he could see Chuck becoming more of a sugar daddy than a domineering ‘master’.

The worst thing so far was the lacking of a canine companion. He has yet to see the dog he assumed the leash outside belonged to.

What. Bullshit.

-

Chuck wanted nothing more than to clear off the dinner table and ravish Kiran on top of it, but he refrained, remaining himself, All in due time. He had to behave himself. That was the best way to entirely gain Kiran's trust. Once he had that, he could have him once again wherever, whenever.

The harder Kiran fell for him, the more trust he bestowed, the easier it'd be to control him.

They got through half their meal in silence before the sound of clanking silverware got to Kiran and he ventured out first.

“So...” He swallowed a bite of lasagna, getting Chuck's attention. “What is it that you do -- job-wise. I mean, you had to get that money from somewhere.”

“I was waiting for you to ask about that.” Chuck answered after a light, knowing laugh. “I'm a construction worker. I get up to a couple hundred dollars a day, depending on the job. Kinda just go wherever they need me. Furthest I've been was to Indiana for highway construction.”

“Well, damn. Any projects you're working on now?” He really wanted to know how often he'd have the house to himself.

“Just finished up on some natural gas lines all over town. We're starting road work on 25A next week. That being said, I'll be gone most of the day.”

Kiran nodded. Well, there's that answered. He had a week of being completely alone with Chuck, and then after that, only hours. A few more minutes passed where neither of them said anything. This time Chuck broke the silence by asking him how long he had been working for Davide, learning Kiran's age in the process.

He was so young, only a year older than Jamie. Chuck liked the idea of having a sixteen year old at his beck and call for whenever he needed a stress reliever. This way he had an easier time staying away from Davide's business like he promised he would.

Kiran finished up his meal and sipped the glass of water. “No offense but I'm just really curious about something.”

Chuck raised his brows but swayed his head in understanding.

“Go for it. Ask away.”

“Well…” He paused to laugh. “I mean the night's still young but...why are you being so nice to me? Back at the motel, you said you couldn't wait to ‘play’ with me. So far all you've done is make me dinner. Unless this is foreplay, what gives?”

“Do you want me to take you upstairs and fuck you because I gladly will.”

Kiran’s stomach curdled at the thought. “It's what I expected,” he said before Chuck could drag him upstairs. “This is nice. Don't get me wrong. It's just the way you were talking…you're different than I expected.”

Chuck held him in a steady gaze, his stare quickly turning dark.

“Did I scare you?” The way he asked it, Kiran could tell he wanted the answer to be yes.

Kiran felt uneasy.

“Well, naturally, yeah.”

“Do you think I'd hurt you?”

Kiran sat up straight in his chair. He shouldn't have brought it up. Chuck was quickly going back to how he was this morning at the motel, eager to show his true intentions. Chuck forced himself to stop. This wasn't helping the cause. He changed his posture, staring down at his food. He let his eyes drift up to look at Kiran.

With a slight shake to his head, he softened his tone. “I wouldn't hurt you,” he said and Kiran almost let himself believe it, but he just had to keep talking. “The way I see it: if you don't terrify people even a little bit, then what's the point?”

The hell was that supposed to mean? Why would he say he wouldn't hurt him and then that? What the hell?

Kiran immediately put his guard back up and he shook his head, but Chuck added on, “Better to be feared than loved, right?” Kiran didn't answer his rhetorical question. He laid his fork and knife down on the marinara-covered plate.

“Should I put this in the sink or do you have a dishwasher?”

Chuck bit the inside of his lip to hide his smirk. He loved the idea of making Kiran nervous, hopefully also making him fearful of him. He quickly finished his last bite and stood to put Kiran's plate over his.

“Don't worry. I got it.”

Kiran stayed seated at the table, downing the rest of his drink as Chuck put the dishes in the sink. He felt Chuck’s stare and slowly let their eyes meet. Chuck didn't break the eye contact. Instead he deepened it, widening his eyes slightly. Kiran was the one to look away. He cleared his throat and began to fidget with his hands before Chuck finally stopped.

Oh my god, that was fuckin’ terrifying.

Taking a deep breath, Kiran wiggled his finger in the general direction of outside. “So,” he began his sentence with a heavy sigh. “Where's your dog?”

Chuck tilted his head. “Dog?”

Kiran nodded slowly, the hairs on his arms standing at end.

“There's a doghouse outside…and a leash and a collar…”

Chuck straightened his neck and shook his head, saying simply, “I don't have a dog.”

“Oh. Did you…have one at some point?” Maybe it died. That happens.

“No.” He shook his head again. “I'd like one, though.” Without another word, before Kiran could ask why he have those items if he didn't own a dog, Chuck left the kitchen and headed straight for the bathroom.

-

“Here.”

Chuck tossed a plastic bag to Kiran. It landed smack-dab in the middle of the bed. Chuck leaned against the doorframe and sparked a cigarette as he watched Kiran pull out the three pack of tank tops and several pairs of cotton pajama pants.

“I wasn't sure of your size, but I doubt a small is too big for you.”

Kiran held the bottoms out in front of him. They looked as though they might be a tad too baggy but he wasn’t about to say such a thing when Chuck had been so generous to him. Hell, besides the terrifying conversation at dinner, he’s been nothing but accommodating to Kiran.

“Thank you,” Kiran murmured softly. “i appreciate it. Thank you.” Chuck shrugged and inhaled deeply from his cigarette.

“I didn't know if you brought any with you, so...”

Kiran thanked him again and worked both his shoes off, but before he went any further, he lifted his brows at Chuck. All he did was shift against the door frame and smirk. Kiran kept his hands near the lining of his jeans as he laughed.

“Listen, I know we've already like banged and everything, but I'd still like some privacy.”

But Chuck shook his head, exhaling a wall of smoke. “I drank enough 151 last night to kill a man.” He gave Kiran a look over. “I'd like a recap.”

Kiran gnawed at the inside of his cheek, not thrilled at the idea of letting Chuck watch him change. He scoffed lightheartedly, ripping into the package of shirts. “Well,” he sighed then fixed a fake ass smirk on his face, his eyes narrowing playfully. “I guess it wouldn't hurt.”

He turned his back to Chuck and could genuinely feel his eyes as they took in each and every curve of his body. He masked his disgust by asking, “Like what you see?” quirking a brow over his bare shoulder when he tore his dirty shirt off and yanked on the white tank top.

Chuck's smirk turned to a smile.

“Getting cocky, are we?” he remarked.

Kiran shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Mmm, now there’s a quality I like in my toys,” he grinned, bringing the cigarette up for a quick drag.

Uh, toys?

Kiran froze a moment but regained himself, unbuttoning his jeans. Stripping them off, he huffed air out of his nose in a scoff.

“So if I'm a toy, what does that make you? A child?”

Suddenly, there was silence. Realizing he had hit an extremely raw nerve, Kiran shut his eyes and mouthed the words, ‘You fucking idiot!’ to himself.

He mustered up the courage to glance back at Chuck.

“God damn, boy,” he said, his eyes narrowing slightly. He shook his head. Smoke escaped his lips as he chuckled and Kiran watched with a look of bemusement, awaiting his response.

“Be careful, kiddo,” he finally said, stamping the cigarette out against the wall. He flicked the cigarette butt hard with his thumb. It landed at Kiran's feet.

He glanced up to look Kiran squarely in the eyes.

"That smart mouth of yours is bound to get you into trouble someday.”

Kiran stayed quiet. He stepped out of his jeans and quickly pulled the pajama bottoms on. Chuck sighed. He had that cold, lifeless look in his eyes that Kiran didn't dare acknowledge.

“I'm gonna have some friends over tonight to watch football. Your ass better stay up here, alright?”

Kiran didn't even get a chance to nod. Chuck backed out of the room, making sure to slam the door behind him.

Kiran flopped down on the bed.

“This just in,” he said to himself as he stared up at the ceiling. “I'm dumb as shit.”