DISTRACTION
Goh+OMC
Yaoi, lemon,
drama
Goh leant back, one foot balanced
against the fencepost and his hands in his pockets. His pants were snug around
his legs and when he shifted his hands it tugged them down a bit at the waist,
exposing a thin strip of browned skin between the denim and his clinging
vest. Some of the girls on the site
said he dressed like a hooker; some of the boys didn’t say anything but he knew
their hot, shifty eyes agreed. On
balmy evenings like this, he could care less.
The man walking towards the gate
was still a few hundred yards away from Goh. He looked tired but he walked steadily
up the dirt track, carrying a couple of cases and another bag slung over his
shoulder. Goh knew it was several
miles from the nearest bus stop, assuming you could afford a bus. He always walked to and from the
commune, well, when he had anywhere to go, of course – he was taller and fitter
than any young man he knew his age.
He looked slight, but there weren’t many guys who’d offer a challenge
once they’d seen him move. He
didn’t get complacent, though.
Maybe this guy thought he should
be helped with his baggage, but Goh didn’t move from his vantage point. As the newcomer got nearer, he glanced
over at the watching boy, and they kept that look going between them, right
until the man reached the gate and dropped his cases, sighing with
relief.
“Hi,” he
said.
Goh scowled, but it didn’t seem
that the man was either going to complain about the lack of help or patronise
Goh with that tone that many older adults used with him. He liked that in a
guy.
“You know if there’s a place here
to stay a while?” asked the man.
His voice was low and sensual, lilting like music.
Goh tilted his head involuntarily,
trying to catch its echo. He
shrugged, his glance darting up and then away again. The guy looked about ten years older
than him; slender but wiry; bright eyes and a cautious expression. He wore gloves. Weird, thought Goh. “I dunno,” he
said aloud. “You wanna go find
The man didn’t move; he didn’t
rush off to find a bed for the night, or complain that he was wasting time with
Goh. When Goh glanced up again, he
was gazing right back at him. There
was a slight smile on his face.
“Thanks,” he said, that same sensual cadence to his voice. “But I doubt very much you’re just a kid.” And then he squared his shoulders,
picked up his cases again, and strode past Goh through the gate into the
commune.
*
Goh stood in the doorway of the
battered trailer and peered over at the locked case in the corner by the
bunk. He wondered what the hell was
in it. He could take a look-see, of
course – he’d learned plenty of that while he lived here. No door or bolt was ever closed to him. But there was something about the
newcomer that piqued his interest beyond knowing what goods he
peddled.
“It’s full of props for my magic,”
came a murmur behind him and it took all his efforts
not to jump with shock.
“Huh?”
The man stepped around him and
into the trailer without another word.
He’d been for a wash; his long fair hair was dark with dampness and his
shirt wasn’t completely fastened.
Goh realised he should have known he was a performer – it was in the way
he moved, in the way he reacted when he knew people were watching him. His body was lithe, like a dancer’s; his
smile drew attention to him.
Goh bit his lower lip and watched
the man move about the cramped room.
The trailer had been left empty for a month or so – the windows were
still grimy, and where the noonday light sneaked through, it cast striped
shadows around both of them. There
was an unidentified smell that lingered, somewhere between burnt cooking and the
trail of a muddy animal. The man
finally put his towel down on the seat by the window and turned back to face
Goh, still framed in the doorway.
He smiled at the boy as if he could read exactly what his thoughts
were. “No palace,
eh? But it’s better than
I’ve been used to, believe me. It’s
dry, there’s a roof, and I welcome the audience.”
“Audience?” Goh was wary of conversation with
newcomers but he was curious, too.
The man smiled again. “Come in and
see. I’m happy to show you what I
do; what I have.”
Goh frowned. If
“You said
magic?”
The man held out a hand in
greeting. “I’m Reizo. I’m a travelling
magician.”
Goh laughed aloud. “You mean for
kids?”
Reizo’s gaze remained steady but
his eyes darkened slightly. His
hand dropped slowly back to his side.
“Whatever. Anyway, I never
stay long in a place, so I guess you don’t need to worry about being polite.”
He started to move over to the
small kitchen area where he boiled water for tea. The place was tiny: Goh leaned back as
the man passed him, anxious suddenly not to be touched. He smelled a fresh scent, a lemony aroma
in amongst the filth of the neglected trailer. He put out a hand to steady himself against the wall and then gasped. “What the fuck -?”
The man looked across at the boy’s
slim wrist and smiled again. He
paused in front of Goh, a couple of inches taller and a whole lot broader. The reluctant sunlight came through the
window, casting a deeper shadow on the planes of his half-bared chest. He lifted his clenched fist and slowly
unrolled it. A silver chain glinted
in his palm.
Goh growled and snatched at it –
Reizo didn’t resist.
“How the fuck did you get that off
my arm?” Goh was angry though
impressed. The chain had been on
his wrist since he couldn’t remember when.
Since his mom put it there, or so he’d always
thought.
“Don’t be upset,” Reizo said,
softly. “I just wanted to show you
there’s more to magic than scarves up your sleeve and sawing gymnastic young
women in half. My style is sleight
of hand. It’s more… intimate.” He put his hand on Goh’s arm, and for a
second the boy glared at him, ready to lash out.
“I can show you more of it later,”
said Reizo. His voice was calm;
encouraging. “Like I said, I’d
appreciate an audience.”
Goh shrugged off the hand, but he
didn’t step away. It was a quiet
day, right? He wanted to see more;
he wanted to be entertained and amazed.
He wanted… the man’s company.
He clipped the chain back round
his wrist, remembering the man’s fingers on his wrist. Some other guy did that, he’d have been flat on his back with a couple of teeth
loose. Goh could look after himself
well and he didn’t like interference.
But this man moved slowly and
without threat, and his voice made Goh’s limbs feel warm and loose. He’d never met someone like this
magician; someone who could take him unawares like
that. Reizo had touched him and
taken something of his and he’d never even realised it.
And it hadn’t been at all
unpleasant.
“Sorry,” he said, abruptly. For his rudeness – for
his intolerance...? And then
Reizo looked at him in such a way that he relaxed again.
*
Goh watched, fascinated despite
himself, as Reizo rolled the coins between his fingers. There was nothing but moonlight through
the trailer window to illuminate it, though the sky was cloudless tonight. Back and forth went the coin, flashing
once then vanishing behind the palm, then reappearing just as suddenly. Goh silently watched the deft fingers
for a while and then he copied, flipping a coin on to its side between his own
fingers, in and out, all along his hand, his eyes fierce with
concentration.
When it fell on the table again he
thrust back his chair with a loud, colourful curse.
“Hey, keep cool. You’ll get faster,” Reizo smiled, his
voice low, always steady. “You have
great skill, and I can’t fault your commitment to it. You’ve come around almost every damned
day since I arrived.”
“I wanna learn,” Goh
muttered. “I wanna do it
properly.” His head ached with the
effort.
“You will,” said Reizo. He stood up, stretching his shoulders
under his thin, sleeveless vest.
“Goh, you need to go back to your own place now. I have to get some sleep. There’s a job in town I’m going for
tomorrow.”
“A gig?”
Reizo shrugged. He didn’t meet Goh’s eyes. “Not
exactly. Seems there’s no
call for magicians here. It’s just
a job in a store.”
Goh stared up at him, trying to
understand the tone of the man’s voice.
It licked warmly around his senses: he’d come to consider it the most
rewarding sound in his day. He
craved it like chocolate; drank it in like cool beer. But sometimes there was a bitter edge to
it that he was too young to recognise.
It frustrated him; he spent all his spare time with Reizo but he knew no
more about him than he had on day one.
OK, so he didn’t push the guy with questions, but Reizo volunteered very
little back. Goh was cool about it
usually, they seemed to find plenty to fool around with and talk about when they
were together, without nagging about personal things. That was what mattered, after all – the
present. Goh wasn’t particularly
keen to wallow in his own history either, for God’s sake. He just knew he wanted to be with Reizo,
to meet him on his own terms, to be as good as him…
He glared at the coins on the
table, their narrow shadow lengthening across the scratched top. Then there were
days he felt that all that shit was further than the fucking
moon.
A sound outside the kitchen window
caught his attention and he looked over to it – Reizo passed behind him, walking
that way himself. He was carrying
their empty glasses, drained of water some time ago, ready now for clearing away
for the night. He grinned back at
Goh’s frown and flipped a spoon across the air to him, spinning on its axis,
glinting in the dim light – the boy lifted a hand and caught it easily, the
muscles of his strong arm barely flexing.
Reizo was watching him, his eyes startlingly
bright.
When Goh glanced back down at the
table he was startled to see that the coins he’d been practising with were now
gone, replaced with five or six dollar bills, the edges creased and worn like
they’d been scrunched up in a pocket, but now fanned out into the shape of a
paper flower. “Shit,” Goh said,
stupidly. “But when did you…?”
His hand brushed at the notes,
scattering them.
“The art is in distraction,”
explained Reizo. He came back over,
pushing the chairs in under the table so that Goh had to rise and move away,
edging back towards the door. “You want your mark to look the way you direct,
while the trick is happening in entirely another.” He started gathering up the
loose bills, talking over his shoulder. “You know that, Goh, it’s one of the
first things you asked me. You must
learn that before anything else…”
“Yeah, I know. The art is in distraction,” murmured
Goh, suddenly appearing close behind Reizo’s other shoulder. Reizo gasped aloud, startled, his body
tensing at being caught out himself. He turned around slowly, a smile of
grudging admiration on his face, only then realising how near Goh was. But before he could say anything, Goh
tilted his head forward and met Reizo’s mouth with his own.
Goh’s heart was beating very
fast. He had the advantage of
surprise, and a younger hunger, too.
He’d been wondering for a long time what it’d be like to kiss a man. To kiss
Reizo.
It was a delicious, intoxicating
taste, he discovered with pleasure, and the lips were yielding under his
touch. Reizo’s body shivered with
what was probably shock. His mouth
opened as if to speak but Goh thrust in his tongue and lapped at the warmth
inside. He slipped a hand around
the man’s waist, holding him to him, and he kissed him
harder.
They leant back rather clumsily,
knocking against the table. Goh
didn’t want to lose the touch but Reizo was gasping against him, trying to
speak. His hands came up to Goh’s
shoulders and pushed, hard. “What
the hell are you doing?”
Goh was panting very slightly and
he felt dizzy. “Kissing you.” God, it was good! Reizo’s mouth was hot
and firm and moulded itself around his tongue and he wanted more of it. He was sure that Reizo welcomed it – he
was sure he’d know the difference if he didn’t. Not that he had much experience: he’d
never been very interested in the girls on site, and there were very few boys
who ever admitted they might be gay.
Goh assumed he must be gay
himself, but it wasn’t really an issue, was it? He didn’t have any problem with it. What he did have a problem with was
Reizo’s angry, twisted face and his strong hands pushing Goh away from him, out
through the opening door. There
were words being growled at him, but he didn’t really hear
them.
The door slammed shut in his
face. The night outside was cold
and the sudden silence filled his ears like white noise.
What the fuck had just
happened?
*
Goh sat in Reizo’s trailer at the
small table, apparently passing a kitchen knife down through the table itself
and out from underneath. Then he
reversed the process, pressing it up under the wooden base and drawing it free
from between the folds of the tablecloth on top.
“Again,” said Reizo. He sat on the chair beside Goh, though
they didn’t touch. “I saw the
tremor of the cloth. Practise it
again.”
“I don’t need to,” said Goh,
sharply. “I’ve done this a hundred
times today.”
Reizo glanced at him, a little
startled. “OK. I guess you’re right.” He sighed heavily. He looked tired. “I forget how good you’ve become in such
a short time. Hell, by the time I
move on, you’ll be as good as I am.”
“Don’t patronise me,” Goh growled
in return. The atmosphere in the
trailer was tense, but speaking for himself, he wasn’t entirely sure why. Reizo had been preoccupied for several
days now. He’d packed many of his
props and belongings back into his case and locked it away. He had only the bare minimum of stuff
around him when Goh came around, like he was just a casual visitor. Like he kept talking
about moving on. Goh didn’t
like to dwell on any of it; the thought made him nauseous.
“They’re just tricks,” he
snapped. “No-one employs magicians
nowadays, anyway. What the fuck good will they be to
me?”
“For God’s sake, give it a rest,”
Reizo sighed, rare anger spiking behind his words. “That’s all you talk about nowadays,
making money, making it big
time–“
“Is that so bad?” Goh was angry, too. “I want excitement –
I want my own life. I want
everything that’s out there and I need to know what’ll help me get it.”
“Not everything has a practical
purpose, you know?” Reizo was
staring at him: Goh couldn’t identify the emotion in his eyes, but it was dark
and unfriendly. “Not everything
earns money – and it’s a damned sight harder to earn respect. These might just be tricks to you now,
but they’re teaching you skills you can use elsewhere. They’ll become part of you, of your
talents, of the whole man you’ll become…”
Goh stood suddenly, his chair
rocking back on the worn lino. His
heart was beating very fast. “So
teach me it all,” he said, hoarsely.
He didn’t exactly know what he meant; where the words were coming
from. They spilled like blood from
a cut - Reizo drew things out of him that he’d never known were there.
Reizo’s eyes narrowed. “I didn’t
come here looking for a pupil, Goh.
For a child.”
Goh leant forward, slamming his
palms on the table top. “And I’m not looking for a father figure!” he
snapped. “I’ve got a family here,
whatever combination I like. But
you’re… something else.” You’re
special… “You can show me what it’s like outside here, what I need to
survive, how I can be different.
Like you.”
Reizo was shaking his head. “You want to grow up too fast
–“
“I’m grown up already!” Goh’s
voice was twisted tight, shouting, hurting his throat. He looked down into Reizo’s eyes and he
felt frustration grip his gut.
“Look at me! I’m not a
child. No-one looks after me now –
I’m part of the community here. Why
won’t you see that?”
He wanted to shake the man’s calm;
he wanted to rip apart his complacency.
Dammit, he wasn’t used to opening his own heart to others, but there was
something happening that was changing him and it hurt…
“What is it you want from me,
Goh?” Reizo’s voice sounded
strange, like it was a long way away.
He leant back in his chair as if he was trying to put space between them.
His eyes opened wider; his pupils
looked dilated. “All this talk of excitement – of being different. Do you know how dangerous that can
be? How
lonely?”
Goh shook his head, his blood hot
all over, the pulse beating in his neck.
All he could see were Reizo’s hands laid carefully on the table in front
of him, trying to hide the tension that shuddered through his body. Reizo kept those hands protected in his
gloves whenever he went out. They
had to be protected because whatever manual labour he did to get by in the
daytime, they created illusions at night; they caressed dreams. His magic shows were only ever for the
commune, but his audience there – though small – was loyal.
Reizo had arrived at the commune
for a few days’ sanctuary, he’d told
Goh had seen the evidence of
Reizo’s genius, day after day, night after night. He pursued the man’s talent;
pursued the man himself. Reizo had
wanted an audience – he craved it –
but in return, Goh had proved a demanding one. The magician demonstrated tricks for him;
taught him so many secrets; held his wrists, bending his hands to create the
shape and distraction that a trick required; supported his body as Goh struggled
to master a movement. Reizo would
be laughing; encouraging; breathing against him a fierce, strong, masculine
intimacy…
But there’d never been another
kiss. They never even mentioned it
afterwards, and Reizo had made sure never to be caught out
again.
Goh stared at the man in front of
him. He felt the ache of physical
need wrap itself around him.
Sometimes he felt like he’d choke from it. When had it happened, this desire that
overwhelmed everything else? What
the hell did it matter? He knew who
he was, what he was. Didn’t Reizo
know, too?
“I don’t mind danger,” he hissed,
and suddenly he grinned, watching the surprise reflect in the other man’s
eyes. “Or loneliness. I’ve been on my own for a long time,
even amongst the others here. And I
guess I already am different. Like
you, right?”
Reizo looked as if he wanted to
argue, but he sighed instead. “I
guess so.” He swallowed
carefully. Something was changing
for him tonight, too, Goh could tell.
He’d wanted to disturb the man… but he didn’t know how he felt about
succeeding.
“You’re very strong, Goh, both
physically and emotionally – but you know that already.” Reizo’s voice sounded strained. “You’re a fine, arrogant, intelligent
young man and you’ll make yourself great chances in life. From the day I
arrived…”
“You saw me,” Goh
interrupted. “You saw me and called
over to me, and you’ve been doing that every day since. And now we’re here. Right?”
“Goh… I told you
before...”
“No you didn’t,” Goh
interrupted. He didn’t know what
the hell to say to this man to make him understand. Fuck, he didn’t understand it
himself! “You told me shit – all
you did was let me kiss you then push me off.”
The man thrust back his chair and
rose swiftly to his feet. For a
second Goh thought he might hit him.
“So that’s what this is all
about.” Reizo’s voice was low:
harsh.
“Like you didn’t know!” growled
Goh. There was a tense silence for
a second.
Then Reizo smiled, surprising Goh.
His body seemed to relax a little.
“Well, you’re right,” he said,
slowly. “You’re definitely no
child. In some ways you’re more
honest than I am – maybe even wiser.
But you need to think carefully about your choices, Goh. You can’t let yourself care too much –
you can’t let yourself be too vulnerable in this life.”
“You thinking you’ll hurt me,
then?” Goh hissed. “I’m tougher
than that.”
Reizo sucked in a breath, unable
to reply. He watched as Goh leant
back away from the table, his hands curling around the hem of his vest and
peeling it up over his head. He
stared as Goh flipped open the button of his jeans and slipped a hand inside to
caress himself.
Goh felt the excitement stirring
in his groin, but that stimulation was nothing compared to the flame that lit
suddenly and fiercely in Reizo’s eyes.
Goh felt his mouth go dry and his legs start to tremble. He backed up to the table again, his
thighs bumping against the edge, and he shifted his ass so that he was sitting
up on it, facing Reizo. He kept
stroking himself, amazed at how swiftly his cock was swelling, and how very
painfully. It had never been like
this on his own, in the shower block, in the back of the
garage at night…
Reizo made a small sound in the
back of his throat, like an animal.
His whole body was rigid.
His eyes were glazed over, fixed on the place where Goh’s hand vanished
under the denim of his open jeans.
“You’ve never done it before, have you? Been with a
man.”
Goh’s heart was hammering in his
chest but he kept his voice steady.
“So you’ll teach me how.
Won’t you?”
And then he stared back, eyes
stretched wide, as Reizo’s body shook itself back to life, and the man began to
walk towards him.
*
The bunk creaked underneath him as
Goh crawled back in. His back felt
stiff and his ass hurt. He’d run
quickly to the washrooms in the pale early morning light and he was pretty sure
that no-one had seen him. Now that
he was back in the trailer he’d shucked off his jeans and boots and he felt
chilled through again.
An arm stretched out lazily and
curled over his waist, tugging him in against the other body in the bunk. The sheets were crumpled underneath them
both, but the other man’s skin was warm.
As soon as he rolled back against it, Goh felt his tension seep
away.
“Very… very… good,” Reizo murmured, sleepily. Goh could see the smile on his bedmate’s face, even though the light still struggled to
pierce the dark corners of the trailer.
He grinned back, the memory of the night’s excitement racing through his
veins.
“Yeah, it was a good distraction,”
he whispered in the older man’s ear.
He bent his leg, nudging his knee in between Reizo’s thighs. “A damned good trick
to learn.”
Reizo laughed softly, the bunk
shaking under him. “You were a fine
pupil. You’ll go
far.”
“Don’t want to,” muttered
Goh. “Gonna stay here and learn
some more.” He was suckling at the
other man’s shoulder, savouring the taste of his sweat and wrinkling his nose
when Reizo’s stray blond hairs tickled his lips. Reizo had hair over his chest and legs,
too - a fine, comfortable down that rubbed goose bumps along Goh’s bare
skin. It made Goh feel young in
comparison, though he thought he might always be smooth-skinned; it was the way
he’d grown. It didn’t bother
him. Besides, the contrast with
Reizo’s naked body was part of the thrill.
The man was taller than Goh, broader, thicker-set. The hair on his head was fine and
smelled of lemon. His skin was
softer along his arms; his feet smaller.
But his strong, adult cock was thicker than Goh’s and more purplish in
colour – now it was swollen with early morning need, rearing out from his groin,
curving upwards.
It had tasted good, Goh
remembered. His own cock stirred
eagerly between his legs at the memory.
Reizo’s dick had been firm and hot inside him, too, even though Goh had
sworn more than a few times when Reizo first pushed in. It had been weird; painful;
amazing! And then there’d been a
few times when they got too enthusiastic, when they’d nearly fallen out of the
bunk.
Goh moaned softly, a
self-satisfied smile on his face and his own cock getting uncomfortably heavy
under his belly. He rolled around
again and clambered astride Reizo’s thighs, nudging the damp head of Reizo’s
dick so that it pushed up between his thighs. He lowered himself on to it, wincing
with the repeated invasion of his already sore ass, but welcoming it
too.
Reizo groaned deeply and began
thrusting upwards. Goh let his head
drop back and he rode the cock, slowly, rhythmically, greedily, until he felt
Reizo’s hips tense underneath him and felt the new warmth up inside him of
Reizo’s cum.
He listened to the man’s panting
as his breathing slowed. Then he
lifted himself off Reizo’s softening cock and sat back on his heels. “Watch me,” he whispered, taking his own
arousal in his palm and starting to pump it.
Reizo wriggled up on to his
elbows, his eyes on Goh, the sweat on his chest starting to dry in silver
shadows. “You’re astonishing,” he
said, so very softly that Goh had to lean forward to hear him. “You’re so bold. So
gorgeous. I’ve never… been
with someone like you.” He laughed
gently, as if embarrassed at saying such things.
Goh shrugged but he was pleased in
return. He grinned as he stroked
himself, knowing he wasn’t far from orgasm this morning. “It was great for me too,” he
grunted. “Will be great… gonna be with you, help
you find what you’re looking for, what’ll please you…”
When he looked down at Reizo
again, the man looked startled. He
was shaking his head. “Goh... God,
no, I can’t do this. I have to keep
moving on, I can’t put down roots.
I shouldn’t have let this happen… it was…”
“It was what?” gasped Goh, too far
gone to stop jerking off but suddenly alert to Reizo’s mood. What the hell did he mean? “This was just some fun, you mean? Well, OK, that’s fine by me, and we’ll
have plenty more. You want to,
don’t you?”
Reizo’s eyes fell away from Goh’s
face. He flushed, watching the
muscles tense across Goh’s young belly as he teased at the tip of his cock,
watching it throb in the boy’s fist, watching a single bead of sweat trickling
down under Goh’s ear. His hand
lifted involuntarily from the bed, reaching to join Goh’s, to link together
around his cock, caressing him.
“God, yes, I want to. You know that,” Reizo groaned. “But it won’t be enough for you, in the
end. It shouldn’t be! You’ll have your fun but one day soon
you’ll know you need something else.
You deserve it. You’ve worked for it, dreamt about
it…”
“Do it together –“ moaned Goh.
If Goh’s vision hadn’t been marred
by the poor light, he would have seen Reizo’s stricken look. “No, I can’t be here for that. And I don’t want to be here for that and not be part
of it. To
disappoint you.”
Goh groaned. He was close and the added heat of
Reizo’s hand was pushing him over the edge very swiftly. He’d never been so sensitive; never
known such a sensual thrill through his whole body. “Worry about it later, OK?” He didn’t know what Reizo was worried
about, and he was afraid to consider it any more deeply. They could sort it out in the morning,
couldn’t they? In another couple of
mornings - whatever it took. This
was just too magnificent to waste, right now. “Fuck me,” he hissed through clenched
teeth. “Fuck me,
now.”
Reizo sucked in a breath and
shifted on the bed so that he was sitting upright. His cock was still only half erect but
he slipped his hand down under Goh’s balls and his fingers stroked over the
young man’s entrance. Goh cried
aloud as Reizo slipped a finger into him.
It took just a few thrusts by Reizo and a speeding up of Goh’s hand until
his climax shuddered through him, spitting out his cum over Reizo’s legs, making
his head swim and his body collapse down on to the bunk again.
There was a hesitation between
them for a moment, but eventually Goh felt Reizo’s arm slide around him and hold
him until he drifted off to sleep again.
*
Goh stirred once again before the
day started properly, feeling Reizo moving beside him. “Don’t go,” he said drowsily. He’d make breakfast for them both; he’d
go into town with Reizo, later on in the day, looking for jobs. Whatever he
wanted. “Got lots still to
learn,” he mumbled. “Lots of
tricks… gotta be sharp to get on in life, right?”
Reizo laughed softly. “You’re a sharp guy already, Goh.” His mouth touched at Goh’s shoulder,
making the boy arch gently on the bed.
“You’re sharp, and bright… and you care,
too. It’s a great combination. Don’t lose that edge, you
hear?”
Goh shrugged and yawned. “Can’t be vulnerable, you
said...”
“Be what you are,” whispered
Reizo. “Then nothing will ever disappoint you – nothing will ever defeat
you.”
Goh felt the chill air of the
early morning nagging at his skin.
He tugged the sheet back over himself, snuffling into the thin
pillow. He groped a hand out to see
if Reizo was willing for more sex, but he couldn’t connect with any flesh. He rolled over, grunted, and slept
again.
*
When Goh finally woke properly, he
was curled at the edge of the bunk and his aching muscles complained that he
should go back to sleep, he’d stirred too early. He heard birdsong and the playful cries
of the children on the commune, overlaid by the sound of distant
traffic.
Something told him he’d stirred
too late, too.
When he turned awkwardly in the
narrow bunk, with the fresh air from the open window tickling his naked flesh,
he knew what he’d find in the trailer.
Nothing. Reizo – and all his cases - had
gone. No warning – no
explanation. Just two of the
practice coins lying on the table, presumably forgotten in the rush of
departure.
Goh turned his face to the wall,
unable to make sense of anything, unable to feel anything beyond the tightness
inside his chest and the aches of his own body.
He’d worry about it later. OK?
End