He sat in the back of my taxi and I could tell he was nervous. "Do you know any gay bars?" he asked timidly.
I looked at him in the rearview mirror. "Sure," I said. "We have two in town β the Hide 'N Seek and the Q Club." He was Latino. I had seen him before. Then I remembered when β he was with a bunch of other Peruvians who had just started working at one of Colorado's premier resorts.
They had called for a taxi on a Sunday afternoon and I had been first up in the queue so I got them. They had wanted to go buy some soccer balls and some athletic gear. I took them to the city's biggest sporting goods store, waited for them and took them home afterwards. They lived in one apartment...two bedrooms...to save money.
They hadn't tipped very well. But they were fun to be with. They asked a million questions about the area, where to find girls, how cute were they, how old did you have to be to get into the bars, where the libraries were, the best cheap restaurants and where and how to catch the bus. I filled them in on the city, pointed out a couple of our tallest mountains, and warned them about some of the rougher parts of town.
And I gave them my card. They called me on my cell phone a number of times to get them to work on time (the bus system was terrible and they couldn't depend on it) and to pick them up from the bars.
But this was the first time that Paco had called me. He wasn't old enough to go to the bars β he was only 19 he told me.
So now here he was, after midnight on a Saturday, asking me about gay bars. I've got to admit, I was surprised. He hadn't seemed like the type. He was a good looking kid, light olive skin, black wavy hair, dark brown eyes with long lashes, high cheeks, a long thin nose, full lips, beautiful white teeth and a strong-looking chin. He was a little taller than his friends and he seemed conscious of that fact because he sort of stooped over when he was with them. He had a big chest that led to a tapered waist and narrow hips, creating a V look. I made him to be a Latin lover. No American girl was going to be able to resist those soft eyes of his.
"Paco, you are underage," I said to him. "And both of those bars really check ID's. They are constantly getting hassled by the cops. But the Hide 'N Seek does stay open after 2:00 a.m. They don't serve booze then. But they do serve soft drinks and food. And they let kids in then. Maybe you would like to do that?"
Paco sighed. "I don't have a lot of money yet. So I don't know where I might go for a couple of hours," he said.
"Yes, it's too late for the movies. How about a restaurant? There's a Denny's near the Hide 'N Seek. I could drop you off there, then come get you around 2:00 or you could even walk over to the bar. What do you think?" I asked him.
"Could you pick me up?" he asked. "I don't know the place. I would feel better being with you if you don't mind."
I grimaced a little bit, but he didn't see it. Closing time on Friday and Saturday nights was money time for us cabbies. We would all be busy from 1:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m., ferrying the drunks home. Now he wanted me to cut into my most profitable time in order to take him on a $3.00 cab ride to a gay bar.
But there was something about the kid that I really liked. I guess it was his vulnerability. "Okay. I'll pick you up at 2:15 a.m. okay? But be ready to go. I get really busy around then." He assured me that he would be ready.
I dropped him off at the Denny's and sped downtown to try to cram as many rides as possible in the next two hours. But at 2:15 a.m., I was there to pick him up. I told myself, Kid you better be outside in two minutes or I'm gone. He was waiting for me.
We drove the four blocks to Hide 'N Seek. There was already a long line of underaged kids waiting outside. The fare was $3.20. But I turned to Paco and said, "Don't worry about it. Have fun. They close at 4:00. Do you want me to pick you up?""Please," he said. He thanked me for not charging him and I watched him get into the line outside. He stood out from many of them. He was a young man with quiet dignity. Many of the kids in the line outside the gay bar were really freaky looking, with spiked hair, facial piercings, or acting really femme. But Paco could have fit in anywhere.
I waved at him as I drove away, worrying a little about him being in such a strange-looking environment. I hoped he knew what he was getting into. But then the next call was waiting and I was off to make more money.
Driving a cab was certainly not my image of what I would be doing after I retired from the Army. I had survived four wars or "conflicts" as some of them were called, earned a Silver Star, a couple of Bronze Stars and three Purple Hearts. Some people kept warning me that driving a cab was a dangerous job, one of the most dangerous in America. But it was a good source of cash while I was waiting to be accepted for the next police academy. And as for dangerous ... compared to the guys on the end of the AK-47's, RPG's and B-40 rockets that I had run into in Vietnam, this job was a picnic.
At 4:00 a.m. I was back in the parking lot of the Hide 'N Seek. Paco was one of the first people out the door as the bar was closing.
He jumped into the back seat of my cab. I could tell from the look on his face that he was disappointed.
"How did it go Paco?" I asked.
He sighed. "Not so good."
"Can I ask you something, Paco?"
"Sure Senor Prince. You can ask me anything you want."
"What was it that you were looking for, exactly, at that place?"
There was a pause. "I guess I was looking for someone who would be nice. Treat me with respect ... be a friend. But the people tonight β one said he wanted to ride me bareback. I am not used to people talking like that."
I suppressed a smile. Paco was so earnest and I felt a twinge of compassion for him. I had many gay passengers in the past, but never one quite as vulnerable and naΓ―ve as Paco.
As we traveled towards his apartment, I wanted to continue our conversation.
"Paco, I think the guy who wanted to ride you bareback was really wanting to fuck you in the ass."
"Yes, I thought so. But in Peru, we are never that forward. We are polite and act like gentlemen. If I said that to someone in Peru, I would be hit."
"I understand. This is a cultural issue, Paco. In the United States, it seems some gay men are very aggressive in making their feelings known. I have had many of them ask me if I want to have sex with them."
"They have? What did you say?"
"Most of the time I politely decline. But I must admit that I gave in one time. I had a guy offer to give me a blowjob and I took him up on it."
I could hear an intake of air from the back seat. There was a long pause. I think Paco was shocked.
"Did you like?"
"Yes I did. It was one of the best blowjobs I ever had. He spent a lot of time licking my scrotum and really knew all the right spots to concentrate on with my cock," I said. "And when I came, I came so much that my cum ran out his nose."
"You are joking."
"No I'm serious. I am a very heavy cummer. I used to have a girlfriend in San Jose who always wanted me to cum on her face because I would completely coat her face. She was into S&M and she would wear my cum on her face the entire weekend, even when we went out to eat. It was wild."
"So you are bisexual?" Paco asked.
"You know I've never really thought about it. But yes, I guess I am."
We were now parked in front of Paco's apartment, but he made no move to pay up and leave.