“Calm down,” Maury chirped, cupping Jimmy’s cheek. “That stupid pig is all fucking talk. He’s a piece of shit, but even he ain’t that much of a piece of shit, okay? Don’t worry your pretty little head about it. Gonna give you wrinkles.”
Jimmy nodded weakly, trying to let Maury reassure him. He really didn’t feel that much better, but he smiled anyway. “Wrinkles, huh?”
“Yeah,” Maury chuckled, “and we gotta keep you pretty lookin’ for Boss Cold. Can’t have you looking all scruffy and shit.” He gave Jimmy one last squeeze before letting him go. “Go home. Wash your ass. Handle your shit, kid.”
Jimmy ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath. “Got it. Home. Wash ass. Will do.”
“And you know, just sayin’?” Maury offered with a tiny smirk. “Maybe it really wouldn’t be such a bad idea for you to get a phone?”
“Let’s see how broke I am after I buy food and pay my rent,” Jimmy laughed. “If I do, trust me, you’ll be the first one I call!”
“I fuckin’ better be. Get the fuck outta here,” Maury chuckled. “Big night tonight, right? Have fun, kid.”
“Fun, yup,” Jimmy said with a blushing smile, giving Maury one last hug before departing. He hurried home, anxiously bouncing in the backseat of the cab the whole way.
Even though Augustus had soured his morning, he refused to let it bother him. He was still going to see Boss Cold and do whatever he had to do to erase his debt. He knew in his heart that Augustus probably did mean well, but it hurt all the same that his intentions were not entirely pure.
They hadn’t seen one another since their last fight when Augustus was trying to get Jimmy to come home again. It had ended just as all the others had, screaming and in tears. It had been at least two or three years, he figured, his brow furrowing as he tried to recall the exact date.
Whatever. It wasn’t important.
Tonight was important. He had to get himself ready for another exciting evening with Boss Cold, and he had officially run out of nice things to wear. He smirked to himself, blushing as he realized that if tonight was anything like last night, then it really didn’t matter what he wore.
He was actually looking forward to being with Cold again, shuddering at the memory of what it felt like to have the mob boss inside him. He had never experienced anything like giving himself over to Roderick Legrand’s every desire, and he couldn’t wait to do it again. He was still bouncing, full of nervous energy, smiling dopily as he gazed out the window.
It was enough that the cab driver laughed, teasing, “What’s up, slim? Hot date tonight?”
Jimmy bowed his head, trying to hide a shy grin. “Yeah. Something like that.”
Chapter Four
Rent taken care of and groceries purchased, Jimmy spent the rest of the day tidying up and dragging clothes downstairs to wash a few loads. He didn’t have units in his apartment, but there were several coin-operated ones in the basement. It was nice to have fresh, clean clothes again instead of washing them out in his bathtub. As he put the laundry away, he debated what to wear for his evening with Cold. He had washed his red shirt, but he didn’t want to wear the same outfit twice.
Doubting that Cold would care what he wore, he settled on jeans and a faded t-shirt. He washed up the dish he had liberated from the hotel, humming lightly to himself. He was in such a good mood he wasn’t even going to let his confrontation with Augustus ruin it.
Jimmy briefly wondered if he should bring that up to Cold. Certainly the gangster knew the police were always watching him, but did he know about Jimmy’s family? Did he know about Augustus? Would he have agreed to the deal if he knew?
Jimmy wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t want to anger Cold, and he certainly didn’t want to do anything to upset their arrangement. Maury had said that Augustus wouldn’t do something so mean, and he wanted to trust his friend. Maury had been watching out for Jimmy ever since he ran away, and he decided not to worry about it. If anything got weird or hairy, good old Maury would let him know.
Wait. How would he let him know?
A phone, Jimmy groaned to himself. He picked back through the cash left over from Cold’s tip, finding only a hundred and seventy-eight dollars left. Oh, and two cents. He dragged the pennies around on his counter, pouting. Definitely not enough to purchase a phone, or pay the phone company what he owed to get his landline restored.
Maybe tonight he could earn himself another big tip, he decided, pushing his worries to the back of his mind as he got ready to leave.
A quick cab ride brought him back to the hotel, and he grinned shyly as he approached the front desk. He offered out the dish, explaining, “Look, so, I borrowed this, but... well, here.”
The clerk gave him a funny look but didn’t question his odd return. Jimmy practically skipped to the elevator, his body flush with excited energy. He wasn’t as nervous as before, the dinging of the passing floors almost soothing as he ascended to his destination.
The army of suited men was back again, Jules Price front and center, pursing his lips thoughtfully as he looked at his watch and grinned. “Look at you, Twig. Bein’ all on time and shit again. Boss likes that.”
“Thanks?” Jimmy replied awkwardly.
“Search time,” Jules said, gesturing two of his fellows forward to give Jimmy a quick pat down.
Jimmy obliged, certain that this was probably going to be part of his normal routine when visiting Boss Cold.
All clear, Jules chuckled with a wink, “You go have some fun.”
