Slender Beggar

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SLENDER BEGGAR CHAPTER SIX

"Okay, that's perfect...now turn to your right and stare into the distance...perfect...okay turn around and give us your best raw pose...fabulous! The camera loves you, Slender! Okay, everyone, take a fifteen minute break! Wardrobe, get him ready for the next shoot, come on, hurry up, it's costing Phil and Max about a million bucks a minute to be in here!"

I turned way from the action and grabbed me some coffee.

I really prefer the South African blends we have back home because lord knows...the insanely beautiful tropical island of Mauritius might be known for a lot of things but their coffee certainly wasn't one of them. As I stirred three sugars into the sheer black pollution that I was about to pour down my throat, I sensed a shadowy movement next to me.

"Max...please..."

"Slender, you need to get ready, the director was serious when he said they were only taking a fifteen minute break and you still need to get changed and get to make up. Please."

A more sad and crestfallen look on a man's face, I had literally never seen before. Slender blushed, and complete with a gentle nod he marched away slowly...as if he was a lamb being led to the virtual slaughter. I focused on my coffee, if you could call it that, and just...silently kept on stirring. The sugar was long dissolved but in having my back turned to everyone...no one would be able to see my tears.

"You two better sort out whatever shit you have going on! Everyone here can see there is tension between you, and they're all wondering WHY! And you're the one who hired him for fuck sake!" Phil hissed towards me, as he casually strolled past in a hurry, holding checklists upon more checklists in his hands, but the moment he seemed to see that I was crying, he froze and immediately called over one of the several interns we had here on location to get the job done he was doing.

"Come on, lets have five minutes, yeah?" he whispered and placed his arm around my shoulders.

I actually shuddered at his touch. This was the first time since that terrible, awful, plain horrible evening at the hotel a week ago, that I had encountered any sort of physical affection from anyone and yes, that included my wife Jane and my little daughter, Molly. Because at the time that daddy managed to come home from work, Molly was already in dreamland for a couple of hours...and even worse, Daddy had to leave in the early hours of the morning long before Princess Molly had to be woken up for kindergarten We hardly ever actually saw each other.

And now...I was in Mauritius on this damn Ribbed photoshoot with the one person that I didn't know what the fuck to say to or how to be around with right now.

Phil led me to the outside patio and had me sit down on one of the several comfortable beach chairs that the hotel resort had provided.

"Come on, man. It's me. You're gonna fucking talk to me and tell me what's been bothering you since last week and you're gonna do it right here, right now. I'm actually sick and tired of looking at your face like it is now. You treat Slender like garbage, you near bite everyone who dares come close to you and that's not like you. I've known you for twenty five years, pal. Come on. What happened at that hotel? And don't tell me I'm imagining things. You've been like this ever wince that night. Talk!"

I slumped down more into the chair to support my lower back...which had been hurting like a severe motherfucker these past few days...stress and worrying about crap would do that to you...and I solemnly breathed out in slow staccato.

Man...where do I begin?

**

"He did what?"

I sat up quickly, at once recognizing that angry look and even more angrier demeanor that Phil had hidden so well inside him. He was not a violent person as such, our Phil, but if there was one thing you didn't mess with, it was Phil's lifelong best friend. Which just so happened to be me.

Or perhaps his current flavour of the month that he was fucking.

"Phil, don't you fucking dare!" I hissed as my back hurt even more with the sudden quick movement but in that moment my pain was the last thing on my mind. Phil was genuinely looking like he could punch Slender out like a light right then. Both of them were tall, lanky and muscular...make no mistake, both would be able to do serious damage to the other should this ever come to a fight. And that was the last thing I wanted.

Phil frowned and backed off. He sat down next to me and he looked me straight in the eyes.

"He...he said the name of his dead ex lover when he...you know...when he came? Jesus, man, that's some fucked up shit right there. I always thought he looked like such a decent dude..."

"...he is a decent dude! Phil...I don't think he meant to say Ricco's name. He'd never hurt me, trust me, you don't know him the way I do..."

"...I don't wanna know him the way you do..."

"...whatever! Okay, this is between him and me. And its not like he's messing up the shoot or being a diva like majority of our male models. He's literally going out of his way to be the best he can. Phil...he's never known any of this. He's been a beggar until a few months ago! Just...I'll handle this. Okay?"

Phil coughed and then made a groaning from his throat...a noise which I knew it meant that he wasn't exactly ecstatic with what I was asking from him, but in knowing him all these years, I knew he would do what I had asked. He stood up and looked at his watch.

"Shoot's about to start. You wanna be in there? Totally understand it if you don't. You have enough to deal with as it is."

The idea of Slender wearing nothing at all...with just a towel over him or even less...a mere prop covering his genitals was not something I was prepared to miss out on. I might have been slightly miffed with him right now but that was no reason not to treat myself . None whatsoever.

"You go ahead. I'll be right there."

Once Phil was gone, my mind flashed back to what had happened on that fateful night back at the infamous Cape town hotel, before Slender had uttered Ricco's name to me.

Before this all fucking changed.

I had actually sucked his dick. His big...beautiful eight inch monster. Oh...man, the taste. You couldn't describe it. His big phallus felt like a warm avatar inside my mouth and when he had actually spilled his seed into me...there was so much sperm I actually couldn't swallow it all. Sweet...with just a hint of metallic goodness. I didn't care...like I said in the pervious chapter...I loved it, because it belonged to Slender.

I saw cameras and flashes going off down at the resort area on the beautiful Mauritian beach, where the shoot was taking place. Slender looked...there was literally no words. Naked as the day he was born...not a single ounce of shyness in him...with nothing but a South Korean towel wrapped around his waist...where Ribbed International had originated...his abs glimmering in the afternoon sunlight...his biceps looking strong and healthy...his torso lean and muscled as anything...his blond hair which was starting to grow back after his buzz cut...clean and sparkling in the natural light we had been blessed with.

Not for the first time in this trip, I immediately saw a whole bunch of female...and male crew eye up the love of my life. And lord knows...I couldn't blame them. The man was a hunk.

No one except Phil knew that me and Slender had a thing going on...lord, not even my wife...and it was going to have to stay that way at least until after the shoot. I knew I had no reason to be worried...but like I had told Phil, this was all new to Slender. What if...what if he was actually beginning to be seduced by someone here and with his more than limited experience of the fashion world...I shook my head.

I had to solve this. I loved Slender, and that complicated things. He wasn't just a one night stand or a quick fling to get my rocks off...I had genuine feelings for the guy and I knew he felt the same for me.

At least...that's what I had thought...until he had screamed out Ricco's name after an earth shattering orgasm.

**

I was just saying good might to Molly on Skype when Phil barged into my swelteringly hot hotel room.

He had a look of absolute bewilderment on his handsome face. He also wasn't wearing a shirt...he never liked to show off his body, and instead chose to be fully suited up even when we were just hanging out...and it's not like I had never seen his body before in my life, it just didn't happen as often.

I hated getting turned on and that by my life long best buddy's beautiful hairless torso...his lanky body...his powerful set of six pack abs in so many ways like Slender's...now that I thought about it.

I chuckled to myself as I closed the laptop screen. Neither Jane nor Molly had to see this. Problem was, I had too much Slender on my mind. No wonder I have started to see Slender everywhere I fucking go. I needed my head examined.

"You wanna come with me? There's a motherfucking HUGE bonfire down at the beach and EVERYONE is gonna be there!" he screamed at the top of his voice whilst taking what seemed like several sips from the near empty beer bottle in his hand.

"Fucking hell, Phil, you're drunk! What will the Ribbed crew think of you? Of us?" I croaked angrily and rushed to keep him standing upright when it seemed that he was about to fall over from simply laughing at me.

Phil cackled as he leaned into me and held the now empty bottle of beer upwards to the sky.

"Who cares? I already fucked three of them!" he cried out and figuratively pissed himself at that statement. He pulled me down with him onto the bed, since we weighed a good 10 kg more than my scrawny ass.

"Get off me, you big lump!" I hissed to Phil and he luckily still had a few brain cells left to understand what I was saying as he gave me some much needed breathing space. My eyes once more caught the sight of his stomach...he was laughing so much, the ridges of his abs were displayed much more than usual. They were so flat and so taught that you could literally do the fucking ironing on them.

To my shock...utter shock at that, and sheer disbelief, I knew I was hard. I was stone cold sober...and I was getting hard over Phil's hot body.

This was insane and this was NOT happening.

"Come on, man. Get out. Get up, Phil! We need to work tomorrow!" I yelled and he finally got the message and tried standing on his own two feet. Gingerly, but he did. The empty bottle of beer was laying all forgotten at his feet. Suddenly...he had a funny look displayed in his eyes. It looked...it literally seemed as if they were on fire.

I stood there and wondered what to do...when he suddenly and very profoundly cleared his throat...before marching over to me, grabbing me and sticking his tongue down my throat!

**

"Phil...wha...hmmm..." I started to stumble but the feeling of his lips on mine...I was a gay male after all...fucking shoot me...I suddenly knew why Phil was so damn popular with all the girls at the office if THIS was the type of action they all were receiving from my best friend.

As much as, believe you me, I really wanted to stop all this, all this crap that I had going on with Slender...the fact that he had cried out his ex lovers name in what was such a momentous occasion for me...why I didn't just push Phil off me, I'll never know.

He might have been drunk...but he was really tender with me. He held my face in his hands...caressing my back and shoulders whilst he made love to my lips. I started giving as good as I was betting by reaching up and running my fingers through his clean, thick hair before pulling his face closer to mine and then really started going to town. It was animalistic, raw...sometimes romantic and slow...only then to be revved up once more in a passionate endeavor of mutual brotherly love and respect.

A noise at the door had me pulling away from Phil's tasty ass mouth so damn fast you would have sworn he had contacted the corona virus.

"Slender...!" Was all I could gasp out of my tried throat as I saw him...true to his nature wearing only a white tank top and some shorts...fame had obviously not changed him whatsoever...and the devastated look on his face was as hurt as I had ever seen him. Before I could say or do anything, he was gone.

**

"Why...why did you stop..." Phil slurred drunkenly before grabbing my shoulders yet again and wanting to continue our kiss but this time I had the good fortune to solemnly push his ass away.

"Get some sleep, we'll talk about this later. I hope," I rushed saying before running after Slender as quick as I could.

**

I saw his lanky figure near the beach, where the bonfire was taking place. He was standing away from all of that happenings, with both of his feet in the shallow water of the deep blue Mauritian ocean.

He was breathtaking. The perfect specimen of an adult male. In that moment guilt washed over me like his cum did in that fucking hotel room. I didn't mean to actually go as far as to kiss Phil, and even though he was the one who started it, in his drunken stupor, I could have pushed him away.

Why didn't I?

Was I that angry and disappointed in Slender that I wanted my own sort of twisted revenge? Not to even mention what damage all of this had now done to a friendship of twenty five fucking years!

"Slender...?"

A shudder going through him betrayed himself that he had heard me, but he didn't turn around. He simply kept staring at the moonlight reflecting off of the ocean floor.

"Slender...fuck...I have no right to even talk to you...man, come on...what you saw in there just now, wasn't real? It was Phil and his drunk ass not realizing what he was doing, for fuck sake!"

Slender kicked gently at the oncoming water with his foot before he finally turned around and looked me dead in my eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes that I had fallen in love with the very first time I had laid eyes on them...jesus christ, this man was so handsome...so innocent...and so beautiful. He was insanely beautiful.

What the fuck have I done?

Slender placed both his hands inside his shorts' pockets before sighing.

"I can't be angry, can I? Not after what I had done. I wanted to talk this over with you, so many times and you just refused. Max...I dunno why I cried out Ricco's name that night. I dunno, I honestly can't tell you. It was...reflex, or something. I haven't...before that night in the hotel, the last time I was intimate with anyone, was Ricco."

There was a slight silence between us as we watched and listen to all the commotion coming from the many partygoers and crew attending the bonfire party. I saw the fire of the flames reflecting themselves in Slender's eyes.

It was then...that I knew...I had to do something.

No matter how even crazy it seemed.

I loved this man. My heart ached for him.

I couldn't...I WILL not lose him!

**

Slender's eyes bulged as I went down on one knee...in the middle of the water cascading around us. He looked down as if in horror, of what he probably knew I was about to do.

`Max! Max, are you crazy, get the hell up..."

"Slender...I love you more than my own life. More than I've ever loved anyone. When all this is over and when I have divorced Jane...will you..."

"...don't say it..."

"...marry me?"

**

Fireworks were going off a rapid pace, so beautiful and yet so damning on this warm moonlit evening that we were having.

And there was Slender, the beggar, with his eyes on me like he had never seen me before in his life. His hands started shaking. His face was distraught in the little natural light that was shining on his gorgeous facial features.

"Max, get up. Please, just get up."

So much for wanting a romantic proposal.

Granted it had popped into my head at the last minute but still...we were on a magnificent beach, in the sheer paradise that was Mauritius...in a totally moonlit area...just him and me...and he had seemingly rejected me.

Once I was up, my legs felt like it was going to let me down, but I stood firm. Although it looked very much like he was going to say no, I still had some pride left. The pain in my lower back was suddenly back in full force, no doubt from the kneeling I just did in the luke warm ocean water...

Slender came towards me and held my hands inside his own. Surprisingly, as it were in old times between us, he leaned his head onto my shoulder and held it there. I snuck my own face into him and buried it inside the crook of his neck . He still smelled like the coconut baby oil that the make up department had slathered all over him before the shoot.

This was my man...and I loved this man.

I gently placed kisses on his neck and once more I felt him shudder underneath me.

"I love you Max...but you can be a real jerk sometimes..." he whispered before he kissed my cheek and stormed off, quicker than I have ever seen him before.

I take it that was a no...to my proposal?

I sunk down into the water, not caring who was seeing me, flat on my ass whilst the ocean continued to ebb and flow around me.

Who ever called Mauritius "paradise" needed to have their head examined.

**

Two enslaved days later and we were finally done with the Ribbed shoot. It took us four and a half days of hard work on this god forsaken, yet beautiful island but it was finally all done and dusted and we were so ready to pack up and get the hell outta here and back home to South Africa.

Me and Phil hadn't seen each other since that night...he phoned the casting director at around twelve yesterday afternoon and claimed he had a stomach bug and wouldn't be able to work.

Fuck that, I knew the truth.

The man probably had a fucking hangover and if he had remembered everything, he also probably didn't have the guts to actually face me. Why did he let the director know and not me? Piss off!

Slender and I were still civil to each other but something had definitely changed. I was stone cold sober when I had asked him to marry me and I think that's what upset him the most. The fact that I couldn't hide behind being intoxicated. And yet, I still damn well stood on one knee and proposed.

My back was literally killing me by now.

I knew I had to see a doctor perhaps at some point because it was getting to the point where my painkillers weren't helping anymore. It was probably some sprain or a tear somewhere which was causing all of this, but to be honest, I preferred my own doctor back in Cape Town. That, and the fact that I was constantly thirsty. I must have drank gallons of water in the last four says since being here. It was abnormally warm here after all, so I didn't think much of it at the time. But it was now so bad that I had to take a sip of water or Coke every few minutes.

God knows, I hoped it wasn't heatstroke...we needed to impress Ribbed. Our company was at stake.

Slender signaled to me to come over to him and without thinking, I did so.

"Hey...Max, look, I can't find my new phone anywhere. I'm so sorry to bother you with this now, but you got it for me and it was hella expensive...I'm afraid I lost it somewhere," he said, with a red blush on his cheeks.

I smiled and wanted so desperately to put my arm around him...even in just a friendly buddy manner...it just...it didn't feel right. This...FUCK...this was what I was afraid of and exactly what I didn't want to happen . Now things were so strained between us, and I hated it!

"It's okay. We'll get you a new one back home. No big deal. I...look, do you mind if we sit together on the flight home? We really need to talk."

Slender blinked and swallowed.

He looked down at his expensive clothes...still probably not convinced it was really him...a former beggar...that was dressed so formerly and dashing...before he smiled that beautiful smile one more time and nodded.

"Yeah. I'd like that," he whispered and winked before he was called over by some of the crew.

I saw police vans driving up towards the resort and hotel out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't think much of it. I had to find Phil.

He couldn't dodge me for ever.

**

Phil was busy packing his suitcase when I entered his hotel room without knocking. He looked up at me, as if he was somehow expecting someone else, before he nodded and went back to gathering up his things.

"Thought you and Slender would be on the plane already. I'm just finishing up here, buddy. You can go. I'll see you there."

No way, Jose. Not this time.

"Phil...are you seriously gonna ignore what happened between us the other night?"

Phil froze...but his face didn't. His eyes were red and droopy, as if he hadn't gotten any sleep or very little of it in the last two days. My back was still aching and even strangely throbbing as I sat down on the bed next to him.

"Phil..."

"Jesus, Max, what do you want me to say? That a straight guy got so pissed out of his skull, that he French kissed his best gay friend? There! I said it! And you know what...you know what's REALLY pissing me off?"

I stood up, clenched my teeth over the pain in my lower back and tried to reason with him.

"Phil, listen to me..."

"...what's pissing me off and what's making me so afraid like I had never been before in my life...was the fact...was the fact..."

Phil heaved and slowed down, and held his hand towards his heart in an attempt to calm down. Phil suffered from epilepsy...and for a tiny moment I thought he was having one of his attacks...lord help us...but eventually he got his breathing back and he smiled wryly.

"...I enjoyed it. Max...I actually enjoyed it. I can't remember much about what happened...but I do know this... I woke up with a fucking smile on my face yesterday morning. I have never messed around with a dude in my fucking life. And then when I did...I liked it. That...oh boy...that freaked me out like nothing ever has. I dunno how to say sorry, man. I'm so not ever drinking again."

I doubted very much that was the end of it...a straight man kissing another...you couldn't just... FORGET that, my god!

"You need a hand with anything...?"

"No...no buddy, thank you. I'll be okay. I'll be there soon."

I sighed as I trotted out of the room.

In less than three days I have now managed to seamlessly fuck up my relationship with Slender and my friendship with Phil. Urgh!!! I had to actually stop and stand still, a little distance from the small airport outside the resort because my back felt on fire. It literally felt like I couldn't move.

I saw the cops was still outside the resort. What the fuck was going on?

**

Getting my luggage, after my back had finally gotten to some sort of state of normalcy, I walked outside to where the cops were patrolling.

All and all they were busy talking to members of the island crew and to our employees. My head pounding at that moment, I pulled my luggage to where I saw one of the cops was in fact interrogating Slender. Feeling a desperate need to be there and somehow protect him, I breathed in and composed myself.

"Excuse me Sir, I'm Max Jackson and I'm the co-owner of the advertising company that had been filming here. Is there a problem?"

The Mauritian cop turned towards me and made some more notes as I spoke.

"Sergeant Dubois, pleasure to meet you. There has been an allegation made against one of the men working here. I'm afraid to say, a woman has been raped. According to her, she and the guilty party had met each other here at the bonfire two nights ago and they went back to her place. Whoever did this...she says he has a strong South African accent. He unfortunately didn't give her a name."

Jesus...who the fuck would do such a thing? Even worse...it was someone working for us!

"Sergeant...we were supposed to catch a flight back to Cape Town any minute now..."

"Not gonna happen, Mister Jackson. Someone here raped one of our own Mauritian women and I refuse to have this happen on my watch. Oh...whilst I have you here, Mister Jackson and...Mister Slender whatever your name is...do any of you recognize this?

The moment I saw the object inside the sealed plastic bag I wanted to stop Slender from speaking but I was too late...

"That's mine! That's my phone! I've been looking for it everywhere! Max! Now you don't have to get me a new one!" Slender said in his natural naivety...the damage has been done...

The Sargent stopped up and faced Slender.

"Are you sure this phone belongs to you?" he asked, his voice suddenly thick with pent up emotion.

How I wished Slender would just...LOOK at me...so I can try and save him...he was gonna dig himself an even bigger grave...

"Yes, it is. Why would I lie? Max, I mean, Mister Jackson got it for me before we left South Africa...?" Slender said softly...not quote realizing what he had just admitted to.

I saw Phil come out of the resort with his own piles of baggage...and he stopped the moment he saw me and Slender, together.

"Slender...or whatever you real make might be, I'm placing you under arrest for the rape of a female minor in the past forty-eight hours. Anything you say, can and will be hold against you..."

Slender's long years of living in the streets...his unforgotten instincts kicked in immediately. He dodged the arrest masterfully before he was unfortunately nabbed by three more cops. He was so amazingly strong...it took THREE of these idiots to subdue him.

"What the hell? I didn't do anything!" Slender screamed as he tried and struggled to get lose but the three cops held him firm.

Sergeant Dubois near shoved the phone into Slender's face before he spat out...

"This phone belongs to the man who RAPED that woman! You bastard! You white people think that you're above the law...well, NOT IN HERE! Take him away!

Jesus! No!

"Phil! Get over here!" I managed to scream out before the pain in my back seemed to suddenly and unexpectedly, evolve into a million times worse.

I gasped for air as I felt my body tumble down onto the warm sand as I was losing control. I could still see faces...hear voices...but I couldn't move.

The last thing I saw...was Slender screaming towards me to help him...that he was innocent...and Phil kneeling beside me, his face full of concern...before darkness completely took over.

**

THANKS FOR READING!

So much covered in one chapter! Slender has been arrested for rape! How??

Phil kissed Max. He actually kissed him. Is Phil secretly gay?

And what...just what, is wrong with Max?

If you enjoyed it and want more, please throw me a line at liciousryan@gmail.com