This work contains scenes of non-consensual behavior and violence. If you are triggered by such imagery, please, do not continue.
I'm stranded.
Way to spend time in New York, sitting alone in an old, gigantic house in the middle of the Bronx. The blizzard caught everything off--the metro doesn't go, the streets are impassable. I can't count on any company either. I called Mishka, he won't be coming, no use in such weather.
Not that I would want him to. I never cared much for queers, but Mishka is the worst of them all. Might as well pin a "free entry" note on the back of his trousers. But, when you've planned the trip since forever, your flight is booked months in advance and then your housing cancels two weeks before the big day, what can one do? After frantically sending e-mails to all people you think can possibly help you and hearing from each and every one of them "Mishka has a house in NYC!" you buckle up and ask him. He agrees, of course, and you can have the whole place for yourself, but not before spending an hour in his obnoxious, gloating presence, taking the obligatory tour through all the shitty little rooms, with nothing save for mirrors on the walls. Disgusting, vain motherfucker. And then a blizzard comes and you're fucking stuck.
I'm bored. Not so bored as to shovel the snow away from the driveway--I'm not doing HIM any favors. I got tired of reading. Nothing new on Facebook or email. I had to drink, like, fifteen coffees already since the morning. What shit.
With nothing better to do, I start walking through the house. The place is nearly empty, no furniture except some beds and the accursed mirrors. I open the doors to the staircase. Well, why not take a stroll on the second floor while I'm at it. It's the same up there, only few cupboards still stand here and there. Mishka will have this house renovated, he told me, that's why he took everything out. That's why he's coming back every day, to still take away the last stuff. Meanwhile he's renting a condo somewhere, admittedly. I cannot think of how he can afford all this. I mean, this place is dilapidated, but it's still a house in New York. I doubt there is so much money in sucking cock.
I wander into the corner room furthest north. Again, same story, only one small desk pushed all the way to the wall. A bare nail sticking out of the wall above it catches my attention. My eyes trail down to the desk again. A stack of big pages, spiral bound, is lying on the surface. A calendar, Mishka had to take it off the wall last time he was here. I step closer and take it into my hands. A red, double-headed arrow stretches between the 12th and the 20th. Dates of my arrival and departure. Above it, scribbled with the same red ink, one word: "chipmunk".
I angrily toss the calendar back on the desk. Who does he think he is, the faggot. In search of retaliation I pull the uppermost drawer open. Some papers, paper clips, nothing interesting. Disappointed, I open the next one. Paper again and some pens thrown loosely in. I notice a box in the corner of the drawer. I pull at it slightly, just to see what it is. "Trojan XXL". My whole body cringes and I push the drawer closed with the tip of my finger. Disgusting troll.
That's enough, I turn around sharply to get away from there but then jump in terror when my eyes meet someone else's sharp gaze. I clutch my chest, trying to placate my heart pounding from shock. Fucking mirrors.
Anger befalls me again and rushes from my head to my fingers. I turn back to the bureau. I'm alone in the room. I'm bored. I'm being mocked behind my back by that fucking pillow-biter. And there are still two drawers left.
I go back and open the third drawer. It's full of stuff. I sit down on the floor to have a better look and plunge my hand inside. It comes back with a bottle of lube. Revolting, I think to myself, as I squeeze some on my palm. I close my fist on the slick, it comes out from between my fingers. Is that how it feels when you're squeezing into a guy? Not when you do so to a girl, that much I can tell.
I wipe my hand on my sweats, carelessly, and look inside the drawer again. More paper. Disappointed, I start shuffling it. There are some business cards and small flyers, I take one out and bring it to my eyes. "Boys4Boys sauna & bar". Of course. There is a miniature photo, I move my thumb to take a better look. A naked man is pushing his ass cheeks forward, his eyes shamelessly fixed on the viewer. My finger left a smudge of lube glistening across his back. Better get rid of it. I bring my other hand to the card but my fingers stop before they touch the printed skin. Abruptly, my arms drop, and I wipe the card on my crotch.
I throw it inside the drawer and plunge both hands in. I start to search, frantically. What am I looking for? I'm not sure, but it has to be somewhere here. I'm burning up, the heat stings my cheeks from the inside. What is this sensation? Shame. I'm ashamed, but also excited. It feels awesome. I jerk the last drawer open and, ah, there they are!
"Looking for something, chipmunk?"
I jerk up and look behind me, heart in throat. Mishka is leaning in the doorway, his hands crossed on his chest. Locks of hair, one of them dyed pink, fall around his face covering his pierced ears.
"What are you doing here?" I croak.
"It's my house. With a guest inside that I shamelessly failed to entertain. But it seems that you are not as miserable being stranded here as I thought. Having fun?"
I get up and kick the drawers closed.
"Far from it. It was disgusting. You people should be treated."
"How very straight of you," Mishka crooks his head at me. "To invade my privacy and then still be self-righteous about it"
I take a fidgety step forward. "Fuck you, I'm outta here."
Mishka flexes his back on the doorframe. Minus twenty outside, but the attention whore's sweater is open and parted, nothing except a wife-beater under it.
"And where will you go, little dove?" His head turns at me as I pass and it somehow makes me freeze. "There is no public transport and you don't have a car. You can walk, if you want, but there are a lot of," he snarls, "disgusting men lurking out there. Here, there is only one."
My eyes wander to the window. It's gotten dark, I don't know when. Mishka laughs, a low growl resonating between the empty walls.
"Admit it," he bares his teeth in a grin, "you feel like an ass."
I do. The other sensations gone, all I feel is shame now. I want to run away, but can't make a move and there is nowhere to go. Well, for me there isn't.
Mishka takes a step towards me. On shaking legs, I retreat back into the room. "I'll make it up," I squeal weakly.
"Oh you would, wouldn't you?" He moves in even closer and leans into my face. "But what do I want with a snoop like yourself? A common peeping Tom?"