I Got You | A Gay Romance: A Boyfriend for Rent Book | Gay For You (3 page)

“Hmm.” Benjamin said, his expression softening. “You just look like someone I know  ... Anyway, we’re closed man. Maybe come back tomorrow and I can put you on a waiting list.”

“A waiting list?” Jake said incredulously.

Had this not been the only self-defense gym within the next few towns, maybe Jake would have entertained going somewhere else. But he'd ridden his bicycle all this way and with that bully Steve’s threat, he needed to do something and soon.

As soon as he got out of the hospital and was able to walk halfway decently, he was hell-bent on doing something. He’d tried to learn what he could on the Internet, but with his dad’s spotty WIFI service, YouTube videos could only go so far. What he needed was a teacher, a real teacher, someone like Benjamin.

“I came all this way.” Jake's voice cracked with emotion. The wind picked up, making his body shake like a wet chihuahua despite his best efforts to stop himself.

Benjamin’s face softened for a second and he groaned. “Thirty minutes in the gym, that’s all.”

“I really appreciate it,” Jake said, stepping inside. “My name’s Jake.”

“Benjamin.” He shook his hand, firm and strong, his eyes unwavering and stable. Jake felt the heat from his leathery skin and a haze descended over his mind. Benjamin was his step-brother. He had to stop himself from going down that path. It was wrong, so wrong.

Jake took his soaked hoody off his head to reveal the damage to his face. The place wasn’t huge by any means, but had high ceilings. It was like a concrete case; filthy and cluttered, it needed a good scrubbing. A huge boxing ring took up most of the space. Jake didn’t care about the cobwebs or the fact it smelled like mildew.

He was excited about the possibilities of learning what he needed to to defend himself and his friend. The building was old as dirt and had a small efficiency apartment attached to the back that Jake noticed.

A few punching bags hung from the ceiling and weights sat on the floor. The small windows only let a little light in and since it was gloomy outside, the place was dark.

“Shit. What happened to you?” Ben asked, strolling over to the side of the room and switched on the lights. Suddenly, the place was illuminated. He couldn’t hide the gash on the side of his face. He sniffed and tried to ignore the stench of sweat that permeated the place. A few rags and clothes were tossed around the room, stained with all the efforts of the day.

“Uh … accident,” Jake stuttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets. The last thing he needed was someone in this small town knowing he was gay bashed. That was only an invitation for more trouble.

“Fuck. What kind of accident was that? With a sledgehammer? A semi?” He tossed the blond bangs out of his face and walked back to Jake.

“Nice boxing ring.” Jake changed the subject, walking around the gym. He repositioned the backpack he’d carried around and traced his finger along the boxing ring’s dusty mat.

“Yeah, well it’s falling apart.” Benjamin followed him around and spoke with a wistful tone. This man had spent a lot of time in the gym, and it was apparent that it was more to him than just a building.

Jake unzipped his soaked vinyl backpack and pulled out two worn boxing gloves, 14 oz. He hoped to use them for bag work because he’d heard gloves of that weight were not suitable in the ring for an amateur. He just wasn’t ready for them yet.

“Where’d you get those?” Benjamin nodded in his direction.

“A garage sale. They’re a little big, but—" Jake conjured up a smile.

“A little?” Benjamin repeated with a sexy side smile.
Fuck, he is hotter than hot.
Jake pushed those thoughts out of his mind. He couldn’t let his mind drift in that direction. The last thing he needed was some straight guy getting a vibe from him and that was only asking for trouble.

“It’s just for now, ‘till I can afford better ones,” Jake said defensively. Money had always been a problem for him, and these gloves were the best he could get.

“Whatever you want. But break anything in here and I swear to God, I’ll break you.”

“I won’t,” he called out unsure whether Benjamin was joking or not. His young voice echoed off the empty concrete walls. He tried to lower his pitch to sound more butch. He could still hear Steve’s taunts in his head about his voice. He felt so small against all this big equipment.

“Take a look around, I gotta hit the weights,” Benjamin said, heading to the bench press. But after Jake tried to climb into the boxing ring, he shot up.

“Goddammit, dude. Last thing I need is an ambulance here.”

“I’m cool,” Jake said, tripping over the ropes and landing face first in the ring.

“Shit,” Benjamin mumbled, slamming the weights down and jogging over to him. “Are you alright? I told you to be careful.” He reached out a hand, offering Jake some help, but he ignored it.

Jake took a hard fall, but got back up. “I’m cool.” And as if to prove his point, he bounced up and threw a few punches with his oversized boxing gloves. He tossed his fists through the air like he’d seen in the movies. But he quickly stopped when he heard Benjamin laugh heartily.

“What are you doing?” the handsome man asked. “You look like a rag doll in spin cycle.”

Jake shrugged. “Boxing.”

Benjamin approached him. “No precision lines, no arcs. Dude, are you sure you don’t want to take up yoga or something?”

“Yoga?” Jake asked, narrowing his eyes.

“I mean, boxing or whatever that’s supposed to be, is not a game.” Benjamin said, stretching his neck back and forth. He had a limp that Jake hadn't noticed before, but figured it must have come from years in the gym.

“I know that. I just need a few pointers and I’ll be alright,” Jake said, resuming his stance.

“Pointers? Kid, I’ve been boxing for my whole life. I’m twenty-four, and I’m telling you, you’re gonna get hurt if you keep fucking around. Why don’t you climb out of there?” His voice stern, the man held the ropes open, ready for Jake to clamber out and get back to safety. And kid? Jake was only a few years younger than him. He acted like he was some older wiser man.

“No.” Jake planted his feet in one place and stared defiantly.

“No?” Benjamin repeated. His eyes narrowed. “Now, listen up—"

“You heard me. You said I could have thirty minutes in here and I’m going to use it.” Jake's voice cracked again, standing up for himself. He was tired of always being told he couldn't do things, told that he wasn't good enough. He was done with bullies. Enough is enough.

The two men squared off, Jake wasn’t backing down. Fear flooded Jake. Benjamin could easily have broken him, but he managed to maintain a steady face. He sighed and shook his head. “Whatever, just pay the fee when you’re done. Then get out.”

“Fee?” Jake asked. He hadn't expected a fee or maybe he had but he hoped to rely on his good looks and charm to ease his way out of it. All of his money had gone into getting the gloves after all, and the last thing he needed was more things he couldn't afford. Everything needed paying for in the world, and Jake was all out of cash.

“Yeah, fee. Why?” Benjamin asked, lowering his tone.

“Can we talk for a second?” Jake asked, dropping his hands by his side and hunching his shoulders.

CHAPTER 6

“So what’s up?” Benjamin slammed the door to his office shut. Jake didn't know how anyone could work in this dark cesspool with so many piles of paper packed on the messy desk. Benjamin leaned against a filing cabinet. Jake remained standing, worried he’d cause even more mess if he tried to move the pile of clothes currently on the chair.

Jake’s heart pounded in his throat. He didn’t know if it was because the muscular man intimidated him, or if being alone with such a handsome guy turned him on and he was afraid Benjamin might pick up on it. Maybe he was afraid he’d say “no” to what he was about to propose or maybe all of the above.

And then, there was the fact the man was his step-brother. He hoped he wouldn’t put two and two together. He swallowed, wishing he had something to wipe his clammy hands on. In the end, he settled for rubbing them on the backs of his thighs. Benjamin folded his arms, a stern expression on his face. How was he going to get out of this?

I don’t know why you’re making a big deal about this,
he thought. 
What’s going to happen? Is he going to beat you up for asking? Probably not.
He hoped Benjamin wasn’t as frightening and intense as he seemed to be.

“Let’s make this quick. I’ve got shit to do,” Benjamin said in his deep baritone voice and leaning against his desk. The vibration of his tone gave Jake chills. The office was cramped and just as cluttered as the rest of the gym.  Certificates lined the walls and small photos of what looked like him and a little boy sat on his junky desk.

“That’s the thing,” Jake said. “I know you’re busy and I—"

“Three minutes,” he said, glancing at the ticking clock on the wall.

“I beg your pardon?”

Benjamin folded his arms. “Now, two minutes and forty-five seconds. Say what you need to say so I can get the hell out of here.”

“I know you’re busy and I think I know how I can help with that.”

Tick.

“What are you saying?” he asked, his lips twisting into disapproval.

Tock.

“So, I’ve kind of got a cash flow issue.” Jake couldn’t even look at him when he said that.

Tick.

Benjamin got up and palmed the doorknob.  “Get out.”

Jake swallowed the lump around his throat. He could almost feel the repercussions of disobeying the man. He couldn’t leave, not yet. “Please, hear me out.”

Tock.

“Out.” The man repeated, his voice with an edge of irritation in it. He bristled with anger and it took all of Jake's willpower not to leave. He had to stay, to convince the man to help him or he’d never defend himself against Steve. This was his only hope, his last chance, and he was done running.

Jake planted his feet in one place. If he was going to fail, he’d fail, but not before he’d made his case. “This place is a dump. The ceiling is filled with cobwebs. The floor looks like it hasn’t been washed in years. The exercise equipment is all over the place and your billing system ... I bet you don’t even have one.” The words came out in a flurry and Jake could barely believe he’d said them.

Benjamin’s eyes narrowed. “What’s your point?”

“I could help you with all that. You help me, I help you.”

Benjamin shook his head and chuckled. “Dude, that’s not how the real world works. This is an all-cash business, not a charity.”

“But I need you,” Jake heard himself say. The words came without him thinking about them. He regretted them instantly, but there was no use in backtracking.

Benjamin raised an eyebrow as if encouraging him to go on. Jake didn’t know how to explain it to this perfect stranger. The clock ticked loud in his head as he scrambled how to frame what he needed to say.

“Ninety seconds.” Benjamin sighed, and shook his head a little.

Shit, just tell him.
Jake thought. He lifted his eyes from the floor and zeroed in on the man’s crystal blue ones.

“There’s this guy at the college I go to. He … I just really need to know how to defend myself.”

That’s all he could make out, or his voice would crack again and his eyes would mist from the memories. He wouldn’t do that. He’d been through enough humiliation. The pain was still raw, and though the wounds on his body would heal, the ones that ran deeper would take more time, if they ever did.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Benjamin rose from the edge of his desk.

“Everybody’s got a story. Good luck, kid.” He opened the door, and waited for Jake to leave.

Callous asshole,
Jake thought. He didn’t give a fuck about anyone or anything except for making money. Maybe Jake should have told him every detail, but a lot of good that would do. He couldn’t imagine this straight guy having any sympathy for a poor little gay boy who was picked on, not in this redneck town. Even if technically speaking, he was his little brother. This whole thing was a bad idea and he hated himself for thinking he’d have a shot at it.

“I could, if you want—" Jake started to say before he was cut off.

“I think I made it clear to you that I’m not in the business of providing charity. There are lots of broke kids here that find a way to pay for class. I’ve got my own bills to pay, you know? My charity is for little kids, homeless families, people who really need it.”

“I realize that, I do. And I feel bad even asking you for this, sir. It’s just
—
if I had any other way to pay, believe me I would.”

Benjamin wasn’t impressed. He’d heard this speech before. But he hadn’t kicked Jake out yet. It gave him hope, little as it was. Maybe he was getting through to him.

“Why don’t you borrow money from a friend? Why don’t you pick up an extra job or two? Why don’t you
—
?”