Love On Display

Tom frowned as he watched Jon climb the stairs to his apartment. He was sure he'd just watched Jon send a client up there. A guy who'd been in a private room with him more than once. And he didn't like it, not one bit. He put down the glass he was cleaning and glanced around. There was no sign of Eric or the bar manager, so he slipped out frohindhind the bar and made his way up the steps to Jon's apartment.

Richie turned from the window as he heard the door opening. He smiled at Jon as the younger man walked through the door. Jon grinned back and grabbed a can from the fridge, collapsing down on the sofa. Richie moved to sit on the small table opposite.

"Is… Is everything OK, Jon?"

Jon nodded. "Yeah, I guess." He shrugged his shoulders. "Why wouldn't it be?"

Richie ran his fingers through his hair. "I just thought…. After everything that happened with your parents and working here."

Jon sighed and sat up fully straight and put his can back down on the table. He looked up and met Richie's concerned gaze, eyes misting with tears a distressed expression on his face. "I can’t…" his voice broke and he dropped his head, hair covering his face.

"Jon?" Richie frowned and sat don ton the couch next to Jon. "Jon, talk to me." Jon shook his head, pressing his lips tightly together as he willed himself not to cry. Richie exhaled softly and wrapped his arm tightly around Jon, feeling the other man relax against him, head resting on his shoulder as he cried quietly.

"I don't wanna do this any more, Richie," he whispered.

"You don't have to," Richie replied just as softly.

Jon sighed shakily. "Yes, I do," he insisted. He wiped his tears away with his fingers and sniffed hard. "I've got nowhere else to go: no money, no job, nowhere to live, and I owe Eric… Fuck, I don't know how much I owe him. Hundreds of dollars."

"Hundreds…. What… Jon… how…. Why… You owe… Uhmm…. How many hundreds are we talking here? "

"A lot," Jon admitted. "Um… after… After my dad threw me out, I ended up on the streets. I didn't have anywhere else to go," he continued when Richie was about to interrupt. "Eric... he bailed me out when..."

"Whoa… Jon… stop right there. Bailed you…. You… You were arrested?"

Jon blushed and started picking at his nails. "Yeah. Breaking and entering and theft. I broke into a convenience store after it hadsed\sed" Jon admitted and squeezed his eyes shut, feeling Richie tense nexthim.him. "I was so cold, Richie. Cold and hungry and…" he trailed off, shaking his head as fresh tears fell. "I didn't know what else to do. I… I called Tom. He... He works here too, down in the bar. He got Eric to get me out of there. I didn't have any money to pay him back, so he said I could work behind the bar until I'd paid it off."

"Behind the bar?" Richie echoed. "So how the hell did you end up doing… "

"Dancing? Wh… whoring my body out?" Jon shrugged, not bothering to wipe away the tears that fell. "I don't know," he confessed, sobbing. "One night, I was cleaning up the bar area after we'd closed. Eric… He… he pushed me over one of the tables and s... st… started t... t… touching me, said… He said he had a job that would use bet…. Better use of my t… talents. I'd seen some of the other guys d… dancing for the customers, but… I didn't know they didn't just dance. Eric… Eric said he'd… said he'd pay me more, so… I… I thought it was a good i… idea, that I'd be able to pay him back sooner and have some money left over after the rent. Be able to start saving, but... he put the rent up… and it's… it's more… I can't…"

Richie swore under his breath and narrowed his eyes. If he ever got his hands on Eric Clarke… He took a deep breath and pushed that though away. Right now, Jon needed him. He wrapped his arms tighter around Jon, relieved when the younger man relaxed in his arms.

"It'll be ok," Richie reassured Jon, resting his head on Jon's wavy hair, resisting the temptation to press a kiss to his head as he cried against him.