12. Caleb
12
CALEB
I usually got home before midnight. I didn’t have a curfew because my parents weren’t strict about when we came in, as long as we didn’t abuse the privileges. After midnight was abusing my freedom without getting prior permission.
I turned my phone on and called my sister and got her voicemail. I left her and my parents text messages telling them I was at a friend’s house. The last thing I needed was for my mother to call 911 because she woke up and didn’t find me in my room the next morning.
I had eleven missed calls and over fifteen texts from Bradley. In the first few texts, he was angry and talking about how he would beat Marcus’s ass, but as the latter text poured in, he apologized and asked me not to have sex with him. I turned off my phone and placed it back in my pocket.
Why did guys always have to fuck up for them to be the man you wanted? Why couldn’t they be sensitive, kind, and caring without the drama?
Bradley texted and called me more tonight than in the last year. He only wanted me because I didn’t want him. I was pulled from my inner thoughts when the hotel desk clerk kept waving her hand and snapping her fingers in my face.
Her long red nails and the smacking of her gum were unprofessional. I would have informed her manager of her behavior in any other situation, but I’d had enough drama for the night.
“Sir, the total is 359.00 for the night,” she said. I handed her my credit card, and she examined it like she’d never seen an American Express Card before.
“Can I see some identification? You look too young to have one of these cards.” I pulled out my ID and handed it to her. She examined my driver’s license and credit card like she was loss prevention at a department store. After a few precious seconds, she handed me my card, receipt, and key cards.
“What time is checkout?”
“Noon.”
“Can I get a late checkout?”
“Sure, how does 1:00 p.m. sound?”
“That’s perfect.”
“Your suite is on the twelfth floor. It’s room 1226. Thank you for choosing Hilton and for being a Hilton Honors member. Have a wonderful stay.” I nodded and walked around the corner to the elevator, where I saw Marcus pacing up and down the foyer like an anxious father awaiting his newborn child.
“What’s wrong?” I asked as we stepped inside the elevator.
“Just a little nervous, that’s all; I’ve never been to a hotel with a guy. Honestly, I’ve never stayed a night in a hotel before.” My mouth dropped. I guess I wasn’t aware of how privileged my life was until I started hanging with Marcus. Marcus lifted the edge of my chin and playfully closed my mouth.
“Sorry; I assumed everyone had been to a hotel before.”
“You don’t have to apologize, Caleb. You weren’t making fun of me. It was a genuine reaction. Most people have been in a hotel room. I just haven’t. There wasn’t a lot of money with my mom being a single mother. That’s why it’s so imperative that I don’t fuck up. Me and my entire family’s future is riding on me and football.”
The elevator doors opened, and we stepped inside, happy to have some privacy when the doors closed.
“I’ll make sure you don’t fuck up. I know this sounds gay, but I feel safe around you.” Marcus stepped toward me and grabbed my ass, but we both quickly moved to opposite sides of the elevator when the door dinged, and a man and a young lady entered the elevator holding hands.
So much for our privacy. Here I was, falling for this awesome guy, but we still felt the need in the 21st century not to be open in public. Once we arrived at our floor, I stepped off first and turned right, and headed to the hotel room. When I looked behind me, Marcus wasn’t following me. He was walking in the opposite direction.
“Marcus!” I yelled in the softest voice I could. He turned around and waved at me, gesturing me to go toward the room and to keep walking in the other direction. I grabbed my phone and called him.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“I’m going to take care of something. What’s the room number? I’ll be there in 5 minutes.”
“It’s 1226,” I said.
“Okay, I’ll see you in a few minutes,” he said. I entered my hotel room and collapsed on the bed. Deep down, I felt Marcus didn’t want to risk anyone seeing him enter a hotel room with a man. That’s why he was walking in the opposite direction. This is the primary reason I decided not to date jocks, bisexual, or straight men because I always had to hide when dating or being intimate with them.
They wanted to appear straight to the world and still get the benefits of male-on-male sex behind closed doors. This is not what I wanted. I had been through this with Bradley, and I would not relive this with Marcus. A knock on the door interrupted my doubtful thoughts.
I walked to the door, and when I opened it, Marcus was standing there with two bags of popcorn, two cokes, and three types of candy—Twizzlers, Reese’s, and Twix.
“I may not have the funds to cover a 300-a-night hotel room, but I can handle twenty-dollar snacks.” And just like that, I was spun back into his web of charm. I smiled like a fan seeing his celebrity crush for the first time. I stepped aside and let him in. Marcus was getting laid tonight, and it would be the best sex of both of our lives.