Paradise Street

10

The last thing that Yu Teng needed, other than meet Sam's wife was descover that he already knew Sam's wife. In the last weeks, she has been coming to the bakery several times, always with another woman. But today she came with Sam, her husband.

He still wasn't fully recovered from the panic attack he'd just had in the bathroom, the amount of cocaine he used was enough to calm him down a little, but not completely, he's at work and couldn't use more than that. Yu Teng mentally thanks Sam for making Joyce leave them alone, he can feel himself starting to shake and can't do anything about it. He sees the panic in Sam's eyes and knows he is the same. Yu Teng doesn't even remember what he were supposed to do, he remains motionless when Sam takes the block from his hand and starts to fill it out.

"Lin Zi Hong," Yu Teng says quietly, almost in a whisper, when Sam hands him back the block.

His real name is Lin Zi Hong.

Lin Zi Hong;

it is a beautiful name.

Yu Teng practically runs to the bathroom when Sam walks away, telling him to wait for him there, and Yu Teng throws himself into Sam's arms as he enters the bathroom. He needed it, Sam's body heat, Yu Teng needed it, even if is only for a few minutes. For a moment, he doesn't care that Joyce is sitting outside somewhere. Sam, them, it's the only thing that matters. Sam says that they are going to stay there until he comes down, so Yu Teng lets himself cry in Sam's arms.

Yu Teng trusts Sam, he's no longer trying to look strong in front of him, and that's what scares him the most, even more with the person, who is a great reminder of what's really going on here out there.

"I see you tonight, right?" Yu Teng asks a little before they get out of the bathroom.

"Of course," Sam says, giving him a last hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Sam leaves and Yu Teng back to work. The rest of the day is normal and without any other surprise. Li Qi was distracted as usual and didn't recognise Sam. When Yu Teng leaves the bakery, he goes straight home. The effect of cocaine has passed a long time, but now he can deal with his panic.

At home, Yu Teng takes a quick shower and go make dinner, he's not hungry at all because of the mess in his stomach, but Yu Teng doesn't want to risk feeling sick when he's with Sam, so he eats noodles and sleeps until it's time to leave. He should be studying, but he can't concentrate on anything right now. It's eleven o'clock when he arrives at Paradise Street. Sam isn't there yet, so he kills time with Chih Tian.

"The cute guy comes today?" Chih Tian asks when Yu Teng get close.

"Yes," Yu Teng says.

"You are so lucky for finding someone who pays for your whole night," Chih Tian says, and Yu Teng can feel a little jealous in his voice. "What you did for letting him addicted on you?"

Chih Tian Shih is basically Yu Teng's only friend. They two have spent several nights between clients, talking about their dreams and what they would do if they weren't there. Chih Tian understands him, their reality is the same, actually, in fact, Chih Tian's reality is worse. Yu Teng has a light at the end of the tunnel, he has a chance to get out of here, Chih Tian doesn't, selling his body is his only way to survive. They met on the streets, Yu Teng had just finished a program, his body ached, and he could barely walk.

Chih Tian found him lying on a sidewalk and helped him back home. And after this, they always stayed together. Chih Tian started working at We Best Love, when Yu Teng was trying to live only with the bakery's salary. Yu Teng was glad that his friend wouldn't be out on the street alone, and when Chih Tian got him the spot, he was glad he didn't have to be out on the street alone.

"I don't know why he likes me," Yu Teng answers Chih Tian.

"Probably for the same reason as the others, you always were popular," Chih Tian says, and a man gets in the place. 'Man' is an exaggeration, if that boy has more than twenty, it will be a surprise. He comes towards Yu Teng, but Chih Tian is faster and manages to capture his attention.

"Good luck," Yu Teng says quietly as Chih Tian approaches him again to get the orange room key.

Chih Tian goes to the room with the boy, and Sam arrives a few minutes later, and Yu Teng doesn't lose one minute before dragging Sam to the purple room. Sam giggles, when Yu Teng press him against the door and just hug him.

"You are adorable," Sam says and hug Yu Teng back.

Yu Teng loves to hug Sam, he can just hug Sam for the rest of his life. He feels warm and safe inside Sam's arms.

"Hi," Yu Teng says, putting their foreheads together and fixing their gaze on the man in front of him.

"Hey," Sam says, " Yang Yu Teng."

Hearing his name come out of those beautiful lips is something strangely pleasurable. Yu Teng can hear forever that deep voice saying his name, he can hear it as he hugs Sam.

Actually...

"Lin Zi Hong," Yu Teng says, and they laugh together.

Zi Hong picks him up and walks to the bed, laying him down carefully in the middle of it. He sits between Yu Teng's legs and stares at him with a silly smile on his face.

"Stop staring at me," Yu Teng says, turning over on his stomach and hiding his red face with his hands and the bed.

"I can't, you are so beautiful," Zi Hong says and lies down beside him and hugs him.

Yu Teng turns to face Zi Hong and hugs him too. His mouth opens, and Yu Teng almost says things that he shouldn't say. He's starting to think that maybe Zi Hong might like him too, but Yu Teng has no idea what kind of liking it can be. So, he doesn't know if he wants to be the first to say 'I like you'.

"Do you want to say something?" Zi Hong asks.

Zi Hong takes a few strands of hair from Yu Teng's face and tucks them behind his ear, taking the opportunity to caress Yu Teng's cheek, who closes his eyes, enjoying the touch. He has another thing that he wants to say too, something he's afraid of how Zi Hong will react because honestly, that's what they're there for.

"Can we...," Yu Teng starts to say and opens his eyes, "can we not fuck today?" He asks.

Yu Teng is exhausted, everything that happened today drained all his strength. He could just stand by and let Zi Hong fuck him like he's done so many times with other clients, but Zi Hong isn't like the other clients, Yu Teng likes when they fuck, and he doesn't want to be forced to do it without to want.

And he just hopes Zi Hong thinks the same.

"We can do whatever you want, you are who decides," Zi Hong says and Yu Teng's eyes fill with water, how can he be so weak for this man? Some caresses and nice words, and he is completely in love with Zi Hong. "What happened? Why are you crying?" He asks worriedly, carefully wiping the tears that fall.

"I like you," Yu Teng end up saying. The sentence escapes before Yu Teng has a chance to stop it, he just says it, and the expression on Zi Hong's face is shock.

Zi Hong just stares at him without saying or doing anything, so all of a sudden, he hugs him and says, "I like you too."

Neither of them says anything else, they don't need to say anything else, the hug is enough to let them know what the other is feeling.