Room 304 (mxm)

Chapter 27

The following morning, Bill skipped classes because he was too tired and in a horrible mood. Though he had been so optimistic yesterday, today the harsh reality showed its ugly face: the man he was in love with was a prostitute, and they probably wouldn't get that record deal. Which led to the fact that there was no way he could... book Tyler all for himself for the rest of eternity. And if that weren't bad enough, he was failing most of his classes; if his parents found out, they would cut their financial support and he would never be able to see Tyler again. Though Tyler had said he didn't have to pay him to take him out – that meant he liked him –did that also count for more than just dinner? What if Tyler wouldn't want to see him on the long run if Bill couldn't afford... other things?
The more he thought about it, the deeper he sunk into his misery.

With nothing better to do, he began googling male prostitution. The topic turned out to be so vast, Bill didn't even know where to start. Just like female prostitution, it ranged back thousands of years, so clearly, he needed to be more precise with his search, but even searching specifically in the US, or even L.A., turned up with a lot of variety.
Apparently, most of the boys he had seen down at the Boulevard, were probably runaway, drug addicted teenagers who worked for very little money, sometimes just for a place to spend the night. Sometimes you only had to pay $20 dollars, if all you wanted was a blowjob or a 5-minute quicky somewhere in an alley. Many of them were underage and did over 20 or 30 men in one night. And most of them agreed to do it without protection for an extra 10 bucks.

Bill swallowed drily, feeling sick at the mere thought, and also suddenly nervous. He had tried to ignore the health implications of sleeping with a hustler, but now he was forced to think about it. He and Tyler had never used protection. What if Tyler was sick? What if he had given Bill something?
Though Google didn't present him with any specific numbers, it was estimated that over 50% of male sex workers were HIV positive, with the numbers being particularly high among streetwalkers. Is that what Tyler was?
There were so many different types of prostitution, with the most common ones being streetwalkers, escorts or ones working in brothels, with escorts being the most expensive ones, so that was probably not the case with Tyler, right?
Though he did look a lot more like an escort than a streetwalker... Except Bill had picked him up on the street...

With a groan, Bill closed his laptop, unable to look at it anymore. He had spent various hours researching the topic, but the more he found out, the more unsettled he felt. Not just because he was scared that he may have gotten infected with something, but also because he was uncertain about what it meant for Tyler.
Apparently, most escorts seemed to enjoy their job; it was easy money with very few hours, and most of the time the work wasn't that unpleasant either. Unlike for streetworkers who often just did it to survive because they had no other choice.
Both of those were terrible things for Bill though, because it either meant Tyler enjoyed his job, or his life was absolutely miserable and he was probably riddled with diseases. Which of those was worse...?

It was only by the time he heard George coming back from work sometime in the afternoon, that Bill decided to venture out of his room to try and find something to eat. Plus, he had promised Li Jing to take the afternoon shift at the Koi today, since she had given him off yesterday... To go to his grandmother's funeral. So bad.

Miserably, Bill stalked into the living room, only to stop dead in his tracks. "Andy!" he squeaked horrified.

"Hey!" Andy greeted cheerfully, though his expression changed to shock rather quickly. "Are you alright?" he asked concerned.

Bill wanted to kill George. How dare he bring over random people without telling him! He looked like crap! His hair was a total mess, he hadn't shaved, he was wearing an old, slightly torn shirt, and only one sock!