Chapter 6: It Places the Lotion in the Basket

My father was gone.

He had left work like he said, but when he arrived home, he and Katie decided that the movie would be lame without me, and planned to go shopping instead. When they left the house, they turned left toward the mall instead of right to the theater, and on that road, they crossed paths with an overworked security guard on his way home after a double. He fell asleep, ran a red, and T-boned my dad going 40 mph. Katie broke her femur, bruised her pelvis, and was knocked unconscious for a time. My father was killed instantly.

He was gone...

After years of trying to forget that time, it exists in my mind now as a series of snapshots. Bridget driving us to the hospital, all of us commiserating with Katie as her leg was placed in a cast, the funeral several days later, the multitudinous succession of "I'm sorries" and the hollow feeling in my gut that just wouldn't quit. I tried to remain stoic and brave in the face of it all, knowing that I was now the man of the house, but I confess that when I was alone, I cried more than any of them. I loved my father and felt absolutely lost without him. I couldn't believe he was gone.

I felt smothered by grief, but worse than the grief was the guilt. If I hadn't decided that it would be fun to be some sort of male escort, none of this would have happened. If I hadn't lied about work, and spent the afternoon fucking the neighbors, we would all have gone to the movies, and we would all still be alive and unbroken. It was all my fault, not only my father's death but also Katie's ruined leg. It had been shattered in multiple locations, and while it would heal, she would never be the runner that she could have been otherwise, and Track & Field was everything to her. In one afternoon, I'd managed to kill my dad and rob my best friend of her greatest joy. It nearly destroyed me.

I took to taking long walks in the middle of the night. I stopped eating. I stopped lifting. I considered suicide. My friends from back East reached out to me on Facebook, but I shut everyone out, including Drew and Derek. They found out what happened somehow, and called and texted, but I heard nothing, read nothing, and felt nothing. The anguish that assaulted me was devastating, and I don't think I would have made it if it hadn't been for Babs.

I had always liked my step-mother but I never realized how strong she was until my father died. While I turned into a distraught blubbering mess, she became the rock upon which our family could rebuild. She wept and grieved along with the rest of us until the funeral, but the following morning, she emerged from her bedroom a new woman. She immediately went to work, handling my father's affairs, straightening the house, ensuring we all did our chores, and she's also the reason I went back to work so quickly. I no longer wanted anything to do with the job, as it was part of why I failed as a son, and I welcomed Dana to make good on her threats. I almost wanted her to try because I felt like I had nothing to lose. Babs wouldn't have it, though. She put up with my mopey depressed bullshit for one week, before ordering me back to work. I objected, but Babs was resolute.

"You're going back to work tomorrow because it's what I want and it's what your father would have wanted. You're the man of the house now and I expect you to start acting like it." I felt like crying "I'm fifteen! I'm just a kid!" but as soon as the thought surfaced, I knew it to be untrue. If I was old enough to fuck, then I was old enough to do the right thing by my family, and after the day with Triss and Diana, Lord knows I was old enough to fuck. That afternoon with the neighbors still felt unreal to me.

Because of the accident, I didn't get much of a chance to reflect on that afternoon, but a few days later, I transferred "Ben's Big Day" from the thumb drive to my laptop to take a look. I may have felt dead inside but I still had a dick, and it became hard as steel watching Triss and Diana suck and fuck me silly for over two hours. They looked amazing of course, always aware of where the camera was pointed, and I must say that I didn't do too badly myself.

It was a few production values short of a legitimate skin flick but I still decided to cut it up later and see if I could make a 30-minute "best of" clip that I could jerk off to. It was a little narcissistic for sure, but those girls were so fucking cute in those outfits that I couldn't resist. I buried all the files in a random subdirectory and renamed the folder to something mundane like "Cache 41." It was ghetto security, but no one else used my computer anyway.

So the next morning, I reluctantly woke up on time and went back to work, or rather work came back to me. As I was getting ready to walk to the shop, Derek arrived at my door to give me a ride instead. He expressed his condolences to me, and also insisted on saying the same to Babs and Lexi who were in the den behind me, but I wondered why he came to pick me up, having never done so in the past. While we walked to the van, he explained.

"So I know you're probably not thrilled about going back to work after what happened," he said, "but it's good that you did. Dana has you slated for something a little different today."

"Skip it," I said. "I'm just here to clean pools. I'm not going to be a part of this other shit." Derek flashed me a worried look. "I'm serious," I said. "I'm done."

Derek was concerned. "Given what happened," he said. "I understand. But you should think about reconsidering. Dana doesn't think that you're done."

"I don't care what Dana thinks," I snapped, which wasn't entirely accurate. It was true that I didn't care about hurting her feelings or upsetting her, but I still cared very much about not invoking her wrath and having my life destroyed.

"You should care," Derek said. "I'm sure you've heard the expression about not biting the hand that feeds you?"

"I don't want her money," I said. "My dad died while I was having sex with two strangers for money. Do you have any idea how that feels?"

Derek exhaled and shook his head. "Not many people know how that feels, Ben. That's pretty fucking specific. But I do know what loss feels like." We reached the van and he walked around to the driver's side. "You don't want to sit around feeling bad for yourself. It's better to get back on the horse."

"Save your breath," I said. "The only reason I'm here at all is because Babs told me the same thing. But I never wanted all this. I was tricked." I opened the passenger door and climbed in. "If Riley hadn't been there, I never would've agreed to any of this."

"How kind," a voice from the back of the van said. I jumped, startled, and looked behind me to see Riley sitting on the floor between two barrels of chemicals, wearing cutoff jean shorts, a tight pink T-shirt, and a backwards cap. Her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail and she appeared to be wearing no makeup. I was shocked at how young she looked when not wearing a business suit with her hair tied up. "It's nice to know you enjoyed that night too. You had me a little worried."

I looked at Derek angrily as he got in. "What is she doing here?"

"Like I said," he replied. "Something different."

"You look angry," Riley said to me. "Are you upset with me?"

I ignored her. "Why is she here?" I said again. I wasn't truly upset with Riley but I was pissed at the world in general. Riley had deceived me but all she really did was blow me on command. It's hard to be mad at a girl for sucking your dick.

"I'm here for a client, Ben. Not for you. Well ... not entirely for you, I should say." She pulled her legs up and hugged her knees to her chest as Derek backed out of the driveway. "Dana also wanted to make sure you were still on board. Make sure that you've thought everything through."

"There's nothing to think through," I said. "I'm out of it."

She cocked her head to the side. "Why?"

"Why?" I replied. "Why? How about because my dad died because I was doing 'The business' across the street?" Even mentioning him choked me up, but I swallowed it back. "This job is the reason he's dead."

"Ben, your father dying was not your fault," Derek said softly.

"Yeah, that's bullshit," Riley muttered. "It doesn't make any sense." Derek gave her his mean face but she shrugged. "What? If he's not gonna be polite with me, I'm not going to be polite with him either. It was a car crash," she said to me. "It had nothing to do with you, let alone your job."

I didn't feel like explaining the situation. She didn't understand that my dad should never have been at that intersection, that he was only there because I'd broken my plans with him. "It doesn't matter what you think," I said. "I said I'm out, and I'm out."

"What I think," Riley said, "is that you haven't thought all of this through." I looked at her in the mirror and she stared back at me. Her eyes were intense. "Do you not remember who you're working for? Do you not remember what she told you about crossing her?"

"Fuck you, Riley," Derek said suddenly. "This isn't a time for threats."

"How am I crossing her?" I added. "I just want to clean pools."

"This isn't a 'pick and choose' type of operation, Ben. Dana was upset to hear about your father. She really was. But she set up this appointment before it occurred and she expects you, us, to keep it. Choosing not to do so would be crossing her." I scowled at her, feeling trapped. "And fuck you too, Derek. I'm simply stating facts."

"Goddamnit," I said. "Is this the last one?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"Is this the last appointment? Can I just get this one over with and then be finished?"

Riley shook her head. "I can't make that call, Ben. You need to talk to Dana about that." Inside, I was really mixed up. Even thinking about the business made me feel like a murderer and she expected me to go on like nothing had ever happened.

"I can't do this right now," I said. "I'm not joking." Riley smiled, not not cruelly. She reached out to put a hand on my arm but I pulled away from her. "I'm serious. I really can't handle fucking some strange woman right now." I felt tears threatening and hated myself for it. A lump formed in my throat and I swallowed it again. "I won't do this."

"Calm down, Ben," Derek said. "Listen to me..."

"Don't tell me to calm down!" I yelled. In response, he jerked the wheel toward the curb, causing my head to smack off the window, and then slammed the brakes, squealing to a stop at the side of the road. A commotion was heard from the back, buckets and baskets tumbling around and falling.

"Calm! The fuck! Down!" He yelled. "Now I slapped the shit out of you the last time you panicked and I'll do it again. Are you cool?"

"Fuck this," I said. " You slap me again and I'll..."

"What the fuck?" I heard Drew yell from somewhere in the back of the van. "I was asleep, you prick!" Derek still looked at me.

"Are you cool?" he asked again. "Because frankly, I'm sick of your crybaby bullshit. I'm sorry about your dad, Ben, but you need to wake the fuck up. This is your job now, and when bad shit happens, you don't just quit and crawl into a hole. You get back up and deal with it like a man. You're not the only guy to ever lose a father."

"But I never chose this job!"

"I don't give a shit, dude. You're getting paid well to have sex with older, more experienced women. Cry me a fucking river. Don't you understand how awesome that is? Don't you see how lucky you are?"

"I don't feel too lucky."

"That's because you're acting like a dumbass, Ben. You're not a ten-year-old Thai hooker working a street corner all day. You're a sexually mature teenager who's being offered their dreams on a platter, and you're being PAID for it. Children are starving to death every day in Africa, douchebag. Realize what you've got." He was actually using starving African children against me. My elementary school teachers used to say that to get us to eat our vegetables.

"AND ANOTHER THING you probably haven't considered is how important getting paid might now be. You moved out here and bought that nice expensive house, but now your family's primary breadwinner is gone. So let's forget about how unfair it is that you have to have sex with hot women for a moment. Let's talk responsibility instead. You expect Babs to be able to support you and your sisters? She's a personal trainer, Ben, not a fucking neurosurgeon. Plus, she's in a new area with few clients so far. How do you expect her to support all of you?"

"He had life insurance," I said meekly.

"Not enough," he said. "You're a stone's throw away from LA, man. You can't afford to live here on a widow's income. If you want to stay, you better start earning money. And while you seem to think this job is sooo difficult, try working at McDonald's for eight bucks an hour. See how far that gets you. At least with this job, you can afford to make ends meet. I cleared a little over a hundred K last year, Ben. How much you make last year, Riley?" The poor girl was finally recovering from the abrupt stop and was pushing the containers back into their places. She was on her hands and knees, ass facing forward.

"That's none of your business," she said, flashing him a smile. "But it was more than that." Derek frowned as he watched Riley reposition a barrel. Her shirt had ridden up a bit and Derek shook his head, staring at her beautiful perfect heart-shaped ass. He jerked his head toward me.

"I can't believe that you're actually bitching about getting a chance to fuck that." Riley shook her booty in response. "Her, I mean," he said grinning. "Sorry, Riley. Her."

"It's weird, isn't it?" Riley said, glancing forward. "Most guys can't wait to get into my pants, but the fifteen-year-old is rejecting me on moral grounds."

"Why are we stopped?" I heard Drew yell from somewhere. "Are we at Ben's house yet?"

"Wait a second," I said, now staring at Riley's ass as well. "What do you mean I get to fuck that ... err ... her, I mean."

"Well, I'm feeling thoroughly objectified this morning," the owner of the nice ass said.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you," Derek replied. "Some clients prefer something a little different." He pulled back onto the road.

He explained to me that while the primary business of "The Business" was having sex with a client, others instead liked to watch. Considering that you can watch people fucking in HD all day long on the internet for free, I'd never thought that there were people out there who'd pay to see the act performed live. I was wrong.

"Most watchers are a little awkward and socially stunted, and some have strange habits, like being outrageously clean, or insistent about not being touched, but on the whole, they're normal enough," Riley said. "They're interested in sex, same as us, but they just don't want to participate. A lot of them like to direct, and order us to do this or that. I've worked for this particular guy before, and he's like that. Very specific. And he gets off on breaking the law."

"How do you mean? Is he dangerous?"

"You have your school ID on you, right? He's gonna card you, so hold your thumb over your name and address when you show it to him. All he wants is your date of birth. If you're not a minor, he isn't interested."

"Then why does he want you?" I asked Riley.

"What do you mean?" she said, playing with her hair. "How old do you think I am? I'm only sixteen."

"Oh shut up, you are not!" In response, she pulled a California driver's license out of her pocket and showed it to me. "Holy fuck," I said, but I wasn't looking at her age. She was, in truth, only a few months older than I was, but her last name was what threw me. Ordon.

"Are you related to Dana?"

"Well yeah," she said, "She's my mom."

... wut?

Hold the phone. Dana had ordered Riley to blow me, videotaped it, and even stroked her head and twirled her hair while doing so. And if the bizarre near-incestuous behavior was not strange enough, Riley was only sixteen as well? What kind of kinky fucked-up family was I dealing with? It was way too weird to be real. Derek looked as surprised as I was.

"You said you grew up in Florida!" he accused.

"I did," she said. "I lived with my dad until I was thirteen. Mom insisted I move out here before high school because the schools are better."

"You moved out here for school and your mom started whoring you out?" I said. "Jesus, I thought Dana was bad before..." Riley shook her head, though.

"It wasn't like that at all, really. Mom did everything she could to keep me out of the business. I wanted in though, and I wanted the money that came with it." She held up one arm to display a few rings and a diamond-studded tennis bracelet. "I like pretty things, and pretty things are expensive."

Derek and I stared at her, flabbergasted. "What can I say?" she said. "I'm a really sexual girl. I guess that makes me kind of a slut, but like a good slut, not a trashy one."

Drew appeared, peaking out from behind some equipment in the far back of the van. He was wearing his characteristic goofy smile and a drowsy expression. Apparently, he actually was sleeping back there. "I don't think you're a slut, Riley."

"Thank you, Drew," she said, glancing between him in the back and us in the front. "I wouldn't have pegged you as the understanding one in the group, but I appreciate the validation."

He grinned. "You got it, baby."

"Although," she said, narrowing her eyes and licking her lips, "you'll probably change your mind after all the dirty nasty things I'm gonna let you do to me."

"Whoa whoa whoa," I said. "Drew is having sex with you too?"

"Sure am," he replied, munching on a bag of chili cheese fritos. "Pretty stoked about it too..." He looked fixedly at Riley. " ... because I value you so much as a person," he added.

"Aww, that's sweet," Riley replied, "and here I thought it was because of my tits."

"That's what I'm excited about," Derek said, adjusting his rear view mirror to look at her. "I mean, wow," he said as she smiled at him. "I'm sure you're a precious and unique snowflake and all that, but I'm just being honest. You're body is stupid."

Riley crinkled her nose at him. "You think my body is stupid?"

Derek smiled. "Not like stupid stupid, but like 'Damn that girl's ass is stupid' kind of stupid." Riley stared at him. "Alright," he said. "I'll just stop talking now."

"You too?" I said to Derek. "All three of us?" Riley nodded at me. "Oh my God," I said. "Is this like a gang bang?"

"Three is a pretty small gang," Riley replied. "But yeah. Same general idea."

"Aren't you guys too old?" I asked.

"Wait, can we back it up a second?" Derek said. "I'm still a little floored by the revelation that you're Dana's daughter."

"Yeah, that does make things weird," Drew replied. "Is she OK with all this? Cuz, I'm thinking my mom would be worried if she knew that I was getting fucked by three dudes today."

"Worried?" Derek asked. "She'd probably hire an exorcist. Your mom thinks gays are bringing on the apocalypse."

"Yeah, God bless her close-minded bigoted heart," Drew said sighing. "But if she's right, at least the end times will be full of good music, sweet dance clubs, and fabulous clothing options." Riley chuckled. "No offense, Ben."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Hey! I'm not gay."

Drew held up his hands in innocence. "My mistake," he said. "I must have imagined that you were bitching just now about having to fuck Riley, cuz that's pretty gay dude."

"Hey!"

"C'mon Drew," Riley replied. "Can't you make fun of Ben without offending an entire sexual orientation?"

"Hey!" I said again.

"You got me all wrong," Drew chuckled. "I don't have any problem with the LGBT ... F ... Q? However many letters they're using these days ... community. I just think they're funny, in the same way that black people are funny, and Asians too, in their own special way."

"So basically anyone that's different from you?" Riley asked.

Drew snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "Exactly, Riley. I'm glad you get me. Differences are fun. Differences should be celebrated."

"God, get off your soapbox, Drew" Derek said. "We're four teenagers on our way to have sex in front of some pervert. We're not exactly paragons of virtue."

"Meh," he said. "Virtue. I wait my turn in line, I don't steal, I don't switch lanes in rush hour, I don't abuse animals or children, I help my mother with her chores, and I'm polite and friendly to whomever I meet ... not to mention that I just correctly used 'Whomever' in a sentence instead of 'whoever." I'd say this makes me more virtuous than 90% of the population."

Riley sighed. "The really messed up thing is that he's probably right. People always equate promiscuity with immorality but I think all those things Drew just mentioned have more to do with being a decent person than how many people I choose to bang."

"But I'm not sure you even used 'whomever' correctly," I said. "Doesn't it rely on the dependent clause?"

"Shut up, Ben," Drew said. "I'll call whomever I want, whatever I choose."

"Well that's definitely wrong..."

"Shut up!" Derek said. "Riley. Your mom?"

"She's not thrilled," she said. "For a long time, she wouldn't let me have sex with clients. She'd only set me up for appointments where guys would want to watch me masturbate or whatever. But one time, a client wanted to fuck me afterwards. He was cute, he asked nicely, and I knew it would piss mom off, so I said 'sure.'"

"Was she pissed?"

"Oh yeah," Riley answered. "But not at me, at the client. Haven't seen him since, so I assume mom cut him off or something. In any case, mom realized that I was going to fuck guys with or without her blessing so she started setting me up with real clients. She doesn't like it, but at least this way, she has some control over who I work with. In case you guys haven't noticed, mom's big on control."

"But isn't it weird to be openly sexual around your mom?" I asked. "Like the other day when you were uhh..."

"Sucking your cock?"

""Yeah," I said. "That. Wasn't it weird to do that in front of her? And what about the hair twirling and her urging you on and ordering you around? You're cool with that?"

"Kinky," Drew said. "If you or your mother were unattractive, I'd probably be unsettled, but because you're both hot, I'll simply say 'kinky'".

"I don't know," Riley said. "Maybe it should bother me, but when she does stuff like that, especially when she plays with my hair or 'pets' me, it kinda turns me on."

"Eww," Derek said. "I'm not sure that I can get on board with that. In the undying words of Bill & Ted, 'It's your mom, dude.'"

She laughed. "I know, I know. It's terrible, but I'm not gonna lie about it. I think my mother's sexy, so shoot me." I couldn't help but think about Katie, and about how I always thought she was attractive; lately, even sexually so. But wasn't it something to be ashamed of? Riley didn't seem to think so, and judging from what I caught Katie doing the other night, she didn't think so either.

"Well I know I hate it when my mom plays with my hair," Drew said. "Especially when I'm blowing dudes."

"Oh come on," Riley said, "I'm serious. Are you telling me that you've never found a family member even a little bit attractive?"

"No, Riley," Drew said, removing his sunglasses. "I have never found my mother attractive nor do I wish to have anything sexual to do with her." He put his sunglasses back on. "Seriously."

"I do," Derek replied smiling. "I want to do all kinds of sexual things to your mother."

"Hands off," Drew said. "Go fuck your own mother."

Derek shook his head. "Nah, man. I'm with you on this one. I don't get being attracted to family. I have no interest in my mom, despite the fact that she makes ridiculous lemon squares."

"Those lemon squares are crazy good," Drew admitted.

"I think I get you, Riley," I said, and three sets of curious eyes turned to me. "I mean sure, it might be gross, but when someone's attractive, they're attractive, right? It's not like you get a say in the matter." Riley was smiling, but the other two looked unsure. "What if your sister was ... I don't know ... who's hot right now?"

"Hansel," Drew replied. "So hot right now. Hansel."

"What about Scarlett Johansson?" I offered. "If Scarlett Johansson was your sister, you'd still want to hit that."

Riley's smile turned wicked. "Who said anything about sisters?" My heart jumped. Oh no.

"It's different for you, Ben. Those are your step-sisters. It's different when you're not really related. And honestly, Ben, I'd hop on either of your sisters in half a heartbeat." I calmed down. I'd forgotten that Katie hadn't been present that day at the diner. I mentioned "my sisters" around them often enough, but I guess they assumed that they were all from Babette's side.

"Thank you," I told him. "That's very comforting."

"I knew you had hot sisters!" Drew yelled. Oh God. Here we go.

"Very hot," Derek said. "Two little blond cuties with big tits and tight little butts."

"Thought they were too young for you?" I asked.

He chuckled. "I was just trying to make you feel better, man. Sorry, they're totally hot. Especially that stacked one, Lexi? I'm surprised you didn't bust your cherry on her."

"She despises me," I answered honestly. I could count on one hand the number of times she'd spoken to me since the accident. Bridget was usually the quiet one, but she'd been downright chatty in comparison.

"Sometimes, it's better that way," Riley said devilishly. Drew smiled but shook his head. Riley shrugged. "What? Sometimes a good hate-fucking fits the bill. Hey, take this next right."

Derek made the next turn. The road wound up into the hills, and we started to pass mansions that made Triss and Diana's place look like a double-wide trailer. Some of the pools behind these places were so huge that they would have taken an entire live-in team to service. Riley directed Derek to the summit of the next hill and he pulled into a driveway the size of a four-lane road. Riley dialed a number as we pulled up to the gate and spoke into her phone. "Hey baby, we're here," she said, and the gate slowly opened before us.

"This guy looks rich as fuck," I said. Palm trees or some derivative lined the driveway leading up to the primary building and circled around a large fountain situated out front.

"He needs to be," Riley said. "I'm very expensive. So are you for that matter." She laughed. "But you two are just extra dicks. Dana thinks you're safe."

"Careful honey," Drew said. "This extra dick is make you sing in a few minutes here."

"Psssh. Promises, promises."

Derek parked the van in front of the palatial house, and we all exited. I made for the back of the van but Derek stopped me. "No pool today," he said. "Just business." We climbed the steps to the front door and found it open and waiting for us. Before we entered, Riley turned to address us.

"So I know I should have mentioned this earlier but this guy does have one particularly bizarre characteristic."

"Other than the fact that he enjoys watching minors fuck in his house?" Drew said, raising an eyebrow. "Do tell." We entered through the door to a dimly-lit vast entryway. A crystal chandelier the size of a Buick hung fifty feet in the air and marble-tiled staircases led to the second level on either side of the room. In the center of the room was a long low table, and around it was a leather couch and two armchairs. Draped across the back of the couch were what appeared to be two suits and two sets of casual clothing, draped in plastic, fresh from the dry-cleaners.

"Well," Riley replied. "This is the third time I've worked for him and yet, I've never really met him."

"PLEASE REMOVE YOUR SHOES BEFORE CONTINUING," an invisible voice boomed. Derek and Drew glanced hurriedly around the room, trying to figure out where the sound came from. Derek waved his arms around, turning.

"YES, I CAN SEE YOU," the voice answered. "PLEASE, YOUR SHOES."

I shrugged. "At least he said please," I muttered. I kicked off my All-Stars next to Drew's Jordans, Derek's Timbs, and Riley's flip-flops.

"NOW PLEASE PROCEED TO THE COUCH AND FACE THE CLOSEST WALL."

Drew chuckled as we walked to the couch and lowered his voice. "It puts the lotion on its skin or it gets the hose again."

"IF THAT ONE SPEAKS AGAIN, I WILL TAKE MY BUSINESS ELSEWHERE." Riley shot daggers at Drew and punched him in the arm.

"Shhh guys, seriously. This guy is an important client." Drew made a gesture of zippering up his mouth. "Good. Now be nice." All of us smiled back at her. We lined up behind the couch and faced the wall a few meters behind it.

"PLEASE HOLD UP YOUR ID'S, FACING FORWARD. Riley turned to me and demonstrated holding her finger over the line indicating her address. While taking out my own wallet, I looked to Derek and Drew, knowing they were both legally adults. They pulled out school IDs similar to mine. Derek whispered " ... some people get fakes to look younger, too..." He held his ID out in front of him and we all mimicked the act.