Rent Boy

by James Anthony Ford

  I was really feeling as though I was getting my life on a path that led to a bright future. I also had no trouble in picking up guys, well, actually guys picking up me. I think giving up the escort work years ago only made me hornier than ever. I was looking for sex practically anywhere. I never approached a guy, they always came to me. It was just the way it was back then for me. Even though the fact of having sex in public places may seem socially unacceptable it was the ‘naughty’ factor that was such a turn on for me. It was so wrong that made it so good. But all in all, I was always safe. Always. But I always had some curiosity about my health status just as confirmation that I was healthy and strong so I got routine blood tests every six months or so just to check for STD’s and stuff. I did these tests for years just to make sure as all gay men should be tested. Again as expected, my blood tests were great. Even though I would quite often catch the crabs almost every fortnight, I had no signs of any STD infection at all. It was confirmation that made me feel immortal, clean and healthy. HIV does not happen to people like me. So I thought I’d leave the next test for another year or so or whenever I remember next. I’ll be fine, I always have been.

  I also had a good job and was doing well at it yet for the next year or so but I ensured it was not all work and no play, so I still went out occasionally and partied but not to the extent like I did. I was getting great results at work and impressing my managers. I have probably by this stage been working for the bank for about four or five years now, I can’t recall exactly, but I know I had been there a while. I was also more health conscious and going to the gym a lot. I was still as horny as ever, that didn’t change. Sex at this point in my life was my personal adventure outside of work and was always chasing it, or perhaps I should say that I made the guys chase after me. It was thrill of the chase that ended in a dirty lustful sex romp. Apart from sauna’s I would cruise guys down the beach, in the park, shopping centres, anywhere, I was like a dog on heat. I was just plain horny there’s no way else to describe how I was. And I always got the guy I wanted, but they had to chase after me. I was quite pathetic if I think about it now. But I will say this though, I was, and always had been, safe. There’s no denying it.

  But I wanted to get more out of life and embrace it. There were so many places in the world I wanted to see. Japan was a dream to visit all my life so I decided to plan a trip there.

  I had a fascination with Japanese culture. It just looked so elegant and beautiful and Tokyo just sounded like a blast. I had to go. I was excited. I booked my trip with a travel agent about four or five months in advance and all I did before I went was talk about how excited I was about going to Japan. No one heard the end of it.

  Finally the day of departure bound for Tokyo I could barely contain myself with excitement. This was an adventure. I had also come to the realisation that my days of excessive wild behaviour was done with. I wanted to experience life to it’s full.

  When I arrived in Tokyo it immediately felt like another word. I felt so far from home. I couldn’t help but to get a little homesick but I ignored it and told myself to have a good time regardless. I was here to enjoy the experience of travel. I don’t know why but there was something about myself that made me feel uneasy. I was not on any medication as I had stopped the sedatives and I was not feeling sick but there was something that made me feel weird like there was something going on in my head but I couldn’t work out what was bothering me. I thought about it for a while and gave up and just dismissed it. I thought I was just my body adjusting to the fact that I was drug free and healthy and perhaps I was having flashbacks. But it was something else. Something that I had no idea about yet.

  Whilst in Tokyo I was wandering the streets of the Shinjuku district at night. This was the business and shopping district of Tokyo. If you had seen those images of flashing neon lights of Tokyo, this was the district it was at. It was full on. It was also a notorious re-light district too. In the back alleyways of this district lied so very strange and bizarre ‘sex for sale’ stores around. I noticed there was one particular one that sold underwear worn by school girls, and what men did was apparently pay only to smell the underwear for an hour or so. It was just plain weird. There were also vending machine everywhere. I actually saw one that sold real diamond rings in a vending machine! Crazy or what! But on one particular night I was wandering about the pavement jungle of Tokyo and saw a quaint store that looked like a pet shop and it had snakes in the front window. So I decided to go in and take a look. When I opened the door and went inside I was immediately greeted with a bunch of Japanese sitting around a bar yelling a friendly “Konnichi wa!”. This was no pet shop. The men seemed so pleased that a foreigner entered their store, whatever store it was but I was about to find out. Fortunately I could speak a little Japanese so communication was not really an issue. One of the Japanese men, I think he must have just been a patron, I’m not sure, asked me to take a seat on one of the bar stools. I said ‘okay’. Then they asked me if there were any of the snakes that I liked in the front window. I didn’t know what to say as I didn’t understand why they would ask me that. I just said “Well, the white snake in the window looked interesting, I had never seen a white snake before”. Then before my very eyes he went to the front window and grabbed the snake, brought it to the bar, held it in front of me then stuck it on some hook suspended above the bar. I just sat there in shock. Then he sliced the snakes open and put a glass underneath it for the glass to catch the oozing blood from the snake. I watched him in horror as he competently bled the snake right in front of me. Then once he was done he pushed the glass a little further towards me and said ‘drink’. Of course I hesitated and said I was not sure about this. The men in the bar laughed and one of them said to me in Japanese “It’s an aphrodisiac, you will love it, it’s good for you, try it!”. So I said what the hell, you only live once, so I took a sip then the guy who bled the snake said “No, you have too skull it”. I didn’t want to offend them with their generosity so I did exactly that, I skulled it. It just tasted like snakes blood, there’s no other way to describe it. But it did not make me feel horny. I offered to pay for the drink and they said as a first time foreigner entering their store, they said it was a gift. I was a bit apprehensive and said ‘thank you’ and went on my way.

  I was on my way back to my hotel and started to feel my head go numb. It was like a tingling sensation. Then the pins and needles ran all down my body. I could feel my body shake and sway back and forth, side to side. I thought Tokyo was having an earthquake but it was me. Then as I looked at peoples aces in the street I saw some alien like faces, then some clown faces, then some lizard like faces. I was hallucinating. I thought I was going out of my mind. I knew straight away it was the snakes blood. But ironically, it did not make me feel bad, not even sick, it was just like taking and LSD trip but in a sort of different way. I then felt lost. There was no way I was going to find my way back to the hotel. I just sat there on a nearby bus shelter waiting for the effect to wear off. Then a policeman off the street approached me and noticed I was acting a little strange and asked if I was okay. I told him what happened, you know, about the snake thing and he just laughed and said “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine, I will take you back to your hotel and if were you, I would a good night’s rest”. So that’s exactly what did. Lesson learnt.

  So that was quite a different travel experience but whilst in Japan I got the opportunity to see a wonderful country including climbing to the top of Mount Fuji. Well, not actually climbing, but in a bus. The whole experience of Japan was unforgettable. The food, the people, the shopping, the beautiful customs and traditions. It quite a world away from everything else and is true escapism.

  I spent about three weeks in Japan and arrived home back to Melbourne with a lot of photos and stories to tell. I loved the experience. Not just Japan but the whole travelling experience. I had to do it again. I found travelling so addictive. Not only does it broaden your horizons it also make you appreciate life
a lot more. It was something I really needed.

  I decided to take another trip even through again this would be funded by the allusive ‘available credit’ on the deadly credit cards. I never though about the consequences of debt at the time. I just wanted to have fun and I wanted to travel. I could worry about money later. So I decided to take a trip to New Zealand. I was going to go to Europe again but I just felt too guilty about the cost of it. New Zealand was close and much less expensive but it’s still international and my love of Duty Free shopping would still be satisfied.

  I think I departed for New Zealand about a month after Japan, I’m not sure about the exact timing but it was around about then. I started my journey from Auckland, then I would go to Rotorua for jet boating and black water rafting.

  I spent a few days in Auckland and whilst I was there I was in the mood for a bit of partying, even though I was on my own. Auckland surprisingly has a very cosmopolitan and vibrant nightlife. I went to a very hip club called, I think, ‘The Supper Club’. It was a funky little clubby sort of bar on a traffic island in one of the main roads. It was very cool and the music was fantastic. The DJ was playing very cool deep funky house, it was quite unexpected for New Zealand. But the kiwis are really in the know. They know their stuff and what’s hot. I met a guy in the bar. Now even though this bar was not exactly considered gay, or gay friendly or even straight, he still pursued me. I was trying to avoid him even though he was hot. The way we met was pure and simple. He just came up to me and said “I’m glad I’ve finally got your attention, my names’ Chris”. I introduced myself as Luke, I didn’t want to use my real name, not yet anyway. I got the impression he was quite a down to earth and unpretentious man, unlike the majority of the gay male community in Melbourne. He was just what I needed. A real man and most of all, the right sort of man to have a lot of fun with. I liked him and we were quite a couple for the week I was in Auckland.

  When it was time for me to leave Auckland it was kind of sad. Chris said he would take me to the airport but I said no. I think I was afraid to have my heart broken again and did not want the relationship to get any deeper. The week we had was just pure fun. I wanted no strings but I think Chris had other things on his mind.

  I made my own way to the airport via transfer and surprise, surprise Chris was there. He was patiently waiting for me at the bus stop where they dropped off the passengers for departure. My immediate reaction was “Uh, Oh...”

  I got off the bus very cautiously. He walked up to me with open arms. I think we attracted quite an audience. “I just had to see you before you go” he said with a tear in his eye. I just thought “Are you kidding?, are you for real?” He was really upset and sad. “Please, I need to see you again” he said softly as he looked into my eyes. I didn’t know how to react let alone how I should react. I was not in love with him. I was not sure about him though. He seemed quite taken by me. I wondered why. It had only been a week. Then I got the shock of my love when he said “I think I love you”. I froze. So did our audience! It was like a scene from a ‘chick flick’. I thought I should say something in return but I couldn’t get any words out. I was just too stunned. Then he slid into my pocket his business card with his phone number on it. “Please, I must see you in Melbourne....I have to” he pleaded. “Chris, uh....this would not work out with the distance and all that. I mean, I live in Melbourne, you live in Auckland, it just wouldn’t work. ”I said with a feeling of worry. He then interrupted me by putting the palm of his hand softly on my lips and said “Shhh....we can work this out, give me a chance, I will treat you like a prince”. I didn’t want to drag out this scene and just said “All right, call me when I get to Melbourne”. I really only said that to shut him up. I then realised this guy was not all right. You can’t fall in love with someone in one week. I did not feel the same way about him as he did with me. I also did not want to break his heart. I know how that pain fells like. I could not do that to another human being.

  So I arrive back in Melbourne. In the taxi on the way from Melbourne airport to my home I reminisced about the good time I had in New Zealand. I had a good time. I thought the idea about Chris and I being a couple was okay and began to feel good about it. So I was looking forward to his phone call. When I arrived home I was already staring at his business card. Perhaps this could work out?

  A week had passed and no phone call. Another week goes by and still no call from Chris. I must admit I was kind of relieved. Perhaps he realised that it would not work out or maybe he had a change of heart. Who knows? At least he wasn’t a stalker and that was actually my biggest concern. So there goes another opportunity, oh well, life goes on........

  ..............................................................................

  I was still suffering from the travel bug and wanted to do something else. So I went to my usual travel agent and said “So, where to next?” I was beginning to be one of their best customers but they did look after me though. My travel agent asked me “Why don’t you see some of Australia that you haven’t seen yet?” The idea sounded too simple for me but I was intrigued. “Have you been to Cairns?” she asked. “No” I replied with enthusiasm. I had never thought about going to Cairns. We chatted for a while about the things you could see and do while you were up there. It all sounded like complete paradise. Why did I not think of this before? So I decided to go to Cairns for a few days, then to Port Douglas for a week and then to Dunk Island for a few days. So there goes another few grand off the credit card!

  Remarkably my boss at work allowed me to take more holiday leave. I think if I didn’t do so well at work then he would not have allowed me to go. So I think he was reliant on this occasion.

  It was not even a month before I departed for Cairns. I think I was even more excited about this adventure then going to Japan.

  So I arrive in Cairns. Already it looked like paradise even stepping off the plane. The airport was surrounded in thick rainforest and as soon as you step off the plane the feel of the tropical heat was amazing. I knew I was going to love it here. After collecting my luggage I headed to the Hilton in the centre of Cairns.

  The first day I got there I just laid about the pool but the next day I had planned to go on a white water rafting tour. I was looking forward to that as I had never done it before.

  The next day I was to be picked up from my hotel. It was about a 10.15 am pick up. I arrived in the lobby around 10 past 10 and just sat there in the luxurious lounge area waiting for the bus. Finally it arrived but 20 minutes late. I was not sure if that was my actual bus picking me up so I just thought I was remain in the lobby and if that was the bus then they could just come and collect me from the lobby. Then some blond headed surfy looking guy stepped off the bus with a clipboard in his hand. I noticed there were rafts in a trailer behind the bus so I thought it was obvious that, that was my bus. So I went outside and walked towards his guy. This hot looking guy staring at his clipboard. The closer I walked towards him the hotter he looked and I started to feel nervous. Like I was weak at the knees. He was perfectly built, solid but not too stocky, blond sandy hair and very handsome. Then he looked up and noticed I was walking towards him. His eyes opened slightly wider then he dropped his pen. I picked it up for him and said “Hi, I’m Jay, I’m here for the rafting tour”. I said with a lump in my throat. He snatched the pen from my hand and immediately adjusted his body language to a ‘professional’ kind of way. He cleared his throat and said in a slight Swedish accent “Right!, Jay Beau Andrews,...there you are” he said in a sharp tome and ticked my name off. “Well, get on the bus!” he said in quite a rude tone. I think he likes me I thought.

  In the bus as we were making our way to the river the guy with the clipboard got on the microphone and introduced himself “Hello everyone, my name is Steve and I will be your tour guide and rafting instructor for today......” As he was talking with a very cute Swedish accent he kept looking to the back of the bus where I was sitting and every time he looked at me
I noticed his voice tone changed slightly with a nervous kind of twitch. I noticed it but I don’t think anyone else did. After his little intro thing on the microphone he sat down in the front of the bus next to the driver and then had a quick glimpse over his shoulder pretending not to look at me. I knew he was I mean, who was kidding who. We both liked each other and it was instant. Then he sort of shuffled his way towards the back of the bus. My heart started beating a bit faster. I thought to myself, oh my god he is going to come and sit next to me. And he did. The first few seconds felt awkward. It felt like the world stood still for a few seconds. It’s hard to explain. Then he said to me without looking at me “So......where you from?” “Melbourne” I replied. “Oh,....Iv’e....ummm....never been there but I heard it’s nice” he said nervously. “Yeah, it’s okay” I said. I kept thinking that this small talk was irritating. All I wanted to do was pounce on him. He was so cute and so very, very hot. He was also very masculine acting and really down to earth. He looked like the kind of guy that does not take shit from anyone. I like guys like that. Then I noticed he was staring at my biceps at the corner of his eye then he said “How often do you work out?” “Uh, about four times a week or so” “Oh, okay,.....it shows” he said with a sexy smirk on his face. Then that was the ice breaker. We both started to relax and just ended up chatting for the hour long ride to the river. I liked him, I liked him alot. He was my kind guy. Finally a gay man that acts like one! Acts like a man, that is.

  At the river we had the time of our lives going down the river rapids, falling out the boat a few time. It was all exciting fun. Steve was the instructor and was at the back of the boat. He was kind of steering it and giving us the passengers instructions what to do. Then Steve and I started messing around. I splashed him with some water in the face and then he retaliated. Then I splashed him again and so on. It was just childish fun. The other passengers looked at each other as if they knew something was going on between the instructor and myself. But they didn’t seem to worry, in fact, they were just laughing along with us and started to join in the splashing. Soon we were all splashing each other.