Salvatore [√] / HALFWAY REVAMPED - DISCONTINUED

:.:nine:.:

Drink by drink Tyler felt his right sided mind slipping away with ease, hard alcohol sliding smoothly down his throat. He felt it burn down his esophagus and he sputtered, but nevertheless, he quickly finished off his iced rum.

He knew that drinking on the job wasn't a good idea and that Brendon frowned upon it but the ache in his chest drove away all thoughts of common sense.

"Tyler." Pete whispered, leaning over the counter to look at the young man. Tyler didn't even raise his head to look at the man. He stared at the ice swirling around his drink as he moved his cup back and forth.

"Tyler honey. You can't keep drinking the rum."

"Then get me something new," Tyler said quietly, clearing his throat and shifting his slim tanned body against the stool.

"I can't keep fueling this habit, Tyler. I'm not going to let you get drunk every night." Pete said, his voice stern. Tyler knew that what Pete was saying was the right thing but he didn't care. He wanted to forget about Josh. He wanted to pretend that he hadn't felt a little spark ignite in his stomach every time Josh looked at him.

"You're the one who fucking did this, Pete. How could you fucking do this? You fucking kicked out my best payers. How the fuck am I supposed to help pay for my place now?" Tyler growled lowly when he spoke, his eyes narrowed in a glare.

"He put his hands on you, Tyler. I'm not going to allow that and you know that too." Pete responded, snatching the glass with hard alcohol in it away from the doe-eyed and pink faced beauty. Tyler got up quickly, nearly tripping in his 3 inch high heels.

"Fuck you, Pete." He snarled, turning and strutting away, his steps messy. Multiple men reached to catch him when he stumbled but he slapped every hand away hastily, glaring and continuing on.

"Tyler, darling, what's wrong?" Tyler was welcomed by the beautiful face of Patrick, the stripper with golden hair and his scowl disappeared.

"Patty--" he choked, tears building in his pretty honey colored eyes. "Joshua- he's- he's gone. He's gone." He sobbed, allowing the shorter to wrap his arms around him in a tight embrace.

"Oh god, Ty. I'm so sorry babe." He whispered softly, smoothing Tyler's hair under his palm.

"Look at that."

Tyler immediately glanced up, Patrick following his gaze to an older man in his late thirties standing with his arms crossed expectantly. His hair was black, eyes dark brown and the way his eyebrows sat with ease, his eyes stood out even more. Tyler felt his throat tighten slightly and he immediately wiped his eyes before putting on his fake smile.

"Excuse me?" Patrick asked quietly, his tone polite but his eyes blazing. He stepped in front of Tyler quickly.

"Sorry, beautiful, I was just admiring the view. You are both very very pretty." The man spoke, holding his hand out to Patrick, who stared with hatred.

"I'm Patty, and this is TJ." Patrick said quickly, his eyes settling to a much more welcoming gaze.

"My name is Michael. Michael Cole, the CEO of cole enterprise." He explained quickly, looking over at Tyler, his eyes taking in the tight panties and garters, the heels and the furry little scarf that sat idly around Tyler's neck. "You boys are both beautiful. I'll pay both of you generously for a night."

"Listen, Michael, we're strippers, not prostitutes. If you want a piece of ass then-"

"I'll go with you." Tyler quickly piped up, stepping forward, sporting a gentle grin, his cheeks stained pink from his alcohol intake. Patrick glared at him in concern, eyebrows furrowed.

"Tyler no-"

"How much for one night?"

"I have three thousand in my wallet in my car. If you're good you can have it all." Michael offered, watching as Tyler's face lit up.

And just by the look in his eyes, Patrick and Michael knew that Tyler was caught on the hook.

Tyler followed behind the business man with haste, nervousness rising in his stomach when Pete made eye contact with him from the bar, obviously confused but also disappointed. Tyler was going to forget about Josh and move on. He was going to forget about those god damn eyes, that stupid wild pink hair, the tacky rose ring. He was going to forget it all and if going home and letting a man fuck him into his richy richy mattress was the way to do so then that was exactly what Tyler was going to do.