Strange Fruit Ch.7 Cocktail
It was the night of King's show. It was being held at some underground hush hush art facility known as "The Warehouse". King told me few people knew about The Warehouse because it was exclusive, but I think our town just lacked the type of crowd that would be into a place like that. Ill be honest I was proven wrong. I had no idea our town had so much going on that places could afford to exclude people from getting in. I was also starting to notice that our small dirt road town was more diverse and complicated than I'd written it off to be at a young age. None the less I was invited to Kings show. He told me he left a pass for me with security and an extra in case I invited anyone.
I thought about inviting Trent, but honestly I didn't feel like explaining how I was invited to the show. I wasn't being dishonest. So I omitted a bit of information I wasn't cheating or doing anything wrong after all. I saw it as sparing myself some amount of embarrassment.
I thought about inviting my mom, or my dad, but I wasn't up to it. Since I'd last seen them together I found it harder and harder to avoid asking if they were getting back together each time I was alone with them. It was a conversation I didn't need to have. If that conversation ever started it would undoubtedly lead to discussing what I saw that could possibly make me ask such a thing.
That only left Watson. We had never hung out before, aside from when we first met. I called him a few hours before the show and the conversation took a sharp turn from the moment I asked him to come.
Watson - Look at your boyfriend he just wants to be out in the open with someone, so of course hes pressuring you to come out
Leon- What are you getting at
Watson- You said you found your parents banging it out, so they probably want to start over, or get back together, or something
Leon- Let's not talk about my parents
Watson- OK, well look at me, I want to do every guy worth dropping my pants for, so I do.... what I do
Leon- I'm not seeing the point of this whole analysis your doing Watson
Watson- The point is people do stuff for a reason, why do you think this guy invited you to his show
Leon- I don't know, because he wants people to see him perform
Watson- Sure, maybe, but from what you told me he invited you in a way that was less than professional, and only after a few minutes alone no less
Leon- It's not like that
Watson- Maybe it's not, but that brings us to you
Leon- What about me
Watson- Why am I the one your asking to go with you to this guy's show and not your boyfriend
Leon- I don't know, we've never hung out before
Watson- Look , I told you to figure out what you wanted, it doesn't look like you have
Leon- Of course I have , I'm with Trent now
Watson- But is that what you want
Leon- Yes
Watson- Then why do you wanna go see some guy that you hardly know put on show
Leon- Do you want to go or not Watson
Watson- Yea I'll go, but Leon , you gotta figure your shit out man
He laughed, but I was less than amused even though I understood his point.
Watson- This is how some reality TV drama starts man
Leon- I know what I want Watson
At the very least I thought I knew what I wanted.
There's a joke about a monkey in a suit, but I didn't get to make that joke because Watson decide to wear something else. Who shows up to an art show in swim shorts? Apparently Watson does, but I was no better. I thought it was a fancy type of event, so I wore a tux that had been in the back of my closest since my cousins wedding a few years back. We looked ridiculous , I was over dressed and he was under. I'm surprised the guard gave us our passes into the building.
The Warehouse was a three story red brick building hidden on the outskirts of town. It was surrounded by forest and almost impossible to find. The inside was your typical art building, or what I thought was typical anyway. White walls, sculptures built into every support beam , exposed brick, tile floors, and art everywhere, it was nice, nicer than I ever thought our town capable of. We were escorted upstairs to the third floor. We couldn't take the elevators for some reason, so things were a bit cramped as everyone filled the stairwells.
I lost Watson as we made it up to the third floor, he seemed to be taken by the crowd. People thought he was a performance artist because of the way he was dressed. The entire third floor was dedicated to performance art. It was just a long maze of hallways with different rooms. There was a room with a live band , another smaller room had a contortionist, and there was another with exotic dancers.
I looked for Kings room, room 319, but I couldn't find it. There seemed to only be rooms that went up to 318. Where there should have been a door to enter 319 there was a single sign that read "room 319 will return shortly ". A group of people, myself included, tried to figure out what it meant but came up short. His show was scheduled to start in less than five minutes. It's only when an elevator door started to open, which was conveniently next to where room 319 should have been, that we realized the elevators were room 319. As the doors opened everyone could see that on the red walls of the elevators the number 319 was written over and over again in white paint. As the last elevator opened we finally found King , he stepped out carrying a small plastic chair. He walked past everyone knowing he had their attention and stood next to the wall with the sign on it . He waited a minute, I suppose to let tension rise. Suddenly he raised the kid sized chair and used it to break down what I and everyone else learned was a false wall hiding the door to room 319. He didn't stop until the entire false wall was torn down , in fact he broke the chair faster than the wall. And when he could no longer use the chair he started to use his hands. It was a long process, and I could see the amount of strain and effort he was putting into it.
When King was done there was a mess of dry wall on the floor and he was covered in a type of dry chalk that must have came from said wall. He opened the door and once again everyone was surprised to find that it was a supply closet. King took from the small room paint, glue, hammers, and nails. He started to rebuild the wall he'd just torn down. His entire show took hours, and the crowd faded as he worked to undo his start with his end. When I was left standing the only person still watching I tried to offer help, but he wouldn't utter a single word to me much less allow me close enough to interfere.
Eventually Watson found me watching King work.
Watson - so this is the guy
We were standing only a few feet away and yet he couldn't help but talk about King as though he weren't right there.
Leon- yea, this is him
Watson- I see why you didn't bring Trent
Leon- it's not like that
Watson- Sure it's not , but if it ever is just remember I don't know Your boyfriend but I know you
Leon- meaning?
Watson- friends keep secrets man
Leon- there is no secret to keep
Watson - you keep telling yourself that
The night had come on strong , King didn't finish his show until close to midnight.
Watson- is he done yet
King- yes , I'm done
I was shocked we he turned around and spoke, he hadn't said a word to anyone in hours.
Leon- so you can speak now
King - I could always speak , but I chose not to
Watson- is that supposed to be deep or cheesy because it's one or the other
King- I thought you were bringing your boyfriend Leon , who is this... ape
Leon- this is Watson
Watson - Yea and I'm a monkey, there's a difference
King- I'm not seeing one
Watson was not amused, for a change.
Watson - Hey Leon I think I'll leave you to your "friend"
Leon- what
He had already started walking away, I tried to follow him but my hand was caught by King's.
King- let him go
Leon- why did call him an ape, that wasn't funny
King- he showed up to an art show in swim shorts , and I saw him the entire night acting like a zoo animal
Leon- that zoo animal is my friend, he might not be as soft spoken or refined as some of these other people but he's a cool guy
King- I'll have to take your word for it
I was a little pissed off at how he treated my friend, my one real friend.
King- don't tell me your mad
Leon- no I'm not mad
That was a lie. I was trying not to be mad but failing at it.
King- can we go somewhere
Leon- like where
He stepped into an open elevator and held his hand out for me to follow him inside. I looked across the room and my eyes found Watson's. In a way I asked him if it was OK and he gave me a look that said he if I wanted to then go ahead. I took King's hand and followed him into the elevator. The doors shut and the white paint on the walls glowed neon while everything else was dark.
King- OK, I may have been a dick to your friend
Leon- you don't say
King - but I put a lot of work into getting people to these things and he was drawing people away from the art
Leon- he means we'll
King - I bet he does, but what did you think
Leon- about?
King- everything, my show and how it unfolded
I didn't know how to interpret what I'd seen , but I wanted to sound cultured.
Leon- it was very ... exotic, and the way you tore down that wall was ... triumphant and rebellious
I could tell he knew I was talking out of my ass.
King-Triumphant and rebellious?
Leon- it was a lot
King- yea I try to be different but sometimes I worry I'm just over complicating things
Leon- I get that , I think I get that
I noticed the elevator didn't seem to be moving.
Leon- did you push a button
King- I thought we might stay in here for a while
He was standing pretty close but we were in a tight space. Even if I wanted to pull away there was little room to pull away to. It felt like he was slowly inching himself into my space until we were breathing the same air standing so close his whiskers almost touched my face.
King - I was expecting you to bring your boyfriend
Leon- he was busy
King- doing what
He started touching my face, and I turned my head to look away but I saw him lick his lips.
Leon- I can't do this
King- I'm sure you can
Leon- I'm with someone
King- then why isn't he here
He slipped his thumb over my bottom lip and started to work it into my mouth forcing me to open it slowly. I let it happen for a minute. I was sucking his thumb while he held my chin keep our eyes locked on one another, but I pushed him off of me.
King- OK , OK , you came here , is it just me or did you not want this
Leon- I don't know
It was so quiet that every second of silence screamed for something to be said and in that dark place our eyes were glowing, and they were all we needed to see.
King- I guess that's twice tonight I've been a dick
Leon- no , this is on me , I don't know what I want and I should have figured it out before I came here
King- don't sweat it , it's not like we did anything
Leon- your thumb was in my mouth a moment ago
King- but you know what hasn't been in you yet
He made me laugh.
King- tell me something
Leon- sure
King- why are you with your boyfriend
I had to think for a moment. I sank down and sat on the floor, King came and sat beside me while I thought.
Leon- he's a nice guy
King- that's it
Leon- he's mature, and he's nice
King- there must be more to it than that , do you love him
Leon- we haven't been together for very long , he's my first real relationship
King- oh , I guess that explains it then
Leon- explains what
He took something out of his pocket and as he lit it I figured it was weed, the smell helped too. He took a drag before answering.
King- he's your first , the first never lasts
Leon- we could
King- you almost slept with me a few seconds ago
Leon- but I didn't
King- you still could
Leon- what
King- let's say we do do something together, who would know , who would care , I know I wouldn't say anything
Leon- I'm not gonna sleep with you
King- but let's say you did , could you live with yourself after
Leon- I don't know
King- then let's look at this way , how much does your boyfriend really matter to you , if you can say you don't want to hurt him then I'll open the elevator and we can go do something less in the dark, but if your honest with yourself and you know your not gonna stay with this guy then I say you let yourself half some fun
Leon- you really know how to make cheating sound almost harmless
King- I'm an artist, I could make cutting your finger sound like a vacation, but what do you say
His smoke was filling the room and I may have been under the influence, but I still had my morals.
Leon- I can't
He gave me a sigh of disappointment but reluctantly stood up to open the elevator. I stood up with him.
Leon- I'm sorry
The buttons were behind my back , as he reached to push one our faces were close again. He paused and it was just enough time for me to make a mistake. It was just a kiss , a long breathless kiss. He pushed the button and we broke away from one another as the doors opened. There were people standing around, and for the life of me I had no idea why.
Watson broke through the crowd and pulled me away dragging me out of the building and to my car. He didn't tell me why he felt the need to leave in such a hurry but it was late so I figured it was because of the time. That is only until he spoke.
Watson- well at least you didn't fuck him
Leon- what
Watson- you know everyone heard you guys right
Leon- Watson, what are you talking about
Watson - while you were in the elevator, everyone could hear you man
I stopped the car.
Leon- what
Watson- yea man , every word , those walls must have been tight because we heard you guys loud and clear, when you started moaning
Leon- I wasn't moaning
Watson- you were doing something
Leon- Fuck
Watson - yea , it's a good thing I was here and not what's his name
Leon- Trent ?
Watson- yea him, if he heard half of what I did
Leon- but he didn't , and he won't, so it's ok
I started driving again.
Watson - assuming he doesn't know anyone who was there
Leon- are you trying to stress me out
Watson - I don't know how many times I can say it man , you have to figure your shit out