Charlie stood over the radiator and let pain return to his body. He'd stumbled through rain, sleet and hail for two hours, wind whipping the rain against him in sheets, in nothing but jeans and a thin shirt. Rain sapped the heat from his body, sleet seeping through his flesh, the hail going through to his bones. Indoors now, heat returned, sensation returned, pain returned, and he knew soon that fear would return.
His saviour threw a towel at him. "Take your clothes off and leave them by the washing machine, you're dripping all over the carpet."
He dried his face and hair before stripping off, no feeling in his hands, grasping at hems and zippers. Once the clothes were in the machine he dried the rest of his skin, or tried to. It was a hand towel. It was an inch too short to wrap around his waist, he held it in place with a hand to preserve his modesty.
"Hurry up, I'm in the living room."
The world tilted as he turned, lightheaded. He was weak. It was the hunger as much as the cold. He'd eaten his last granola bar yesterday. He could smell soup and grilled cheese and followed the smell, almost delirious.
Ash was on the couch. She'd taken off her dressing gown and now wore grey boxer briefs and a tank top. She was big. Even sitting down she still looked big. She had five inches on him and must have weighed twice as much, mostly in muscle. Her thighs were chubby and she had something of a beer belly, but you didn't get shoulders like hers without a lot of deadlifts and overhead presses. The free weights in the corner and the sheen of sweat on her skin said that she'd been doing exactly that before Charlie rang her doorbell.
"Take a seat," she said. She took up most of the couch, and even without touching him she radiated heat. On the coffee table were two bowls of tomato soup and a plate of grilled cheese sandwiches. He stared at them. "Eyes over here pal. I haven't decided what to do with you yet, and that includes whether I should feed you before I send you packing."
He looked her in the eye, swallowed, nodded. "Yeah."
"So, Cindy Wainwright told you to go see me, is that right?"
"Huh? Oh. Yeah." He swallowed again. "I mean, no, I guess. I told her I'd got a bus ticket to the city, and she told me she'd stayed with you and did some work for you. Then I ran out of calling credit. I wanted to look around the city first and see if I could call her again from somewhere, or call you, and then the storm started..."
"We're on a headland," she said, staring at him. "It's November." She spoke slowly. "We have storms." She drew out every syllable. "You didn't bring a coat?"
"I didn't have time. Didn't think to stop and grab one."
"Why the rush?"
"My stepdad tried to kill me again."
"Shit." Her face softened, for a second. She picked up a can of light beer, cracked it open, swigged it, and put it down. "Classic teenage runaway huh? That's rough."
"Yeah."
"So what did you want to do?"
Charlie shrugged. "Find some work and a place to stay, save some money, and move on with my life."
"You got any qualifications? Got a credit history and references for renting?"
He shook his head.
"That sucks. There's the YMCA and shelters I guess. They get a lot of use around here." She swept a lock of dirty-blond hair off her forehead and re-tied her ponytail.
He looked at her, scared and pleading, not wanting to put into words what he knew he needed to ask for. "Cindy, uh, she said that you and her didβthat you got some kind of work..."
"Cindy mostly did bartending at a dive, I got her the job because I knew the owner. He sold the place last year and moved to Montreal."
"Oh..." His guts tied up into a knot. Over Ash's shoulder he could see the sleet battering against the windows. He had no money, no shelter, and no food. It was going to get colder. "Was that enough to pay the rent? Doing bar work, I mean?"
"Not really. Wasn't enough to save up for the deposit on that nice place she's got down in New Mexico now, either."
Charlie blinked. She was dragging this out. She was taunting him. His eyes kept darting back and forth between Ash, the food, and the storm outside.
She grinned at him. She had hard features: a sharp jawline, a brow made for scowling, cold blue eyes and a predator's teeth. "Did she tell you how she made that extra money?"
She had told him. He shook his head anyway.
"The same way any pretty young thing without qualifications can make a bunch of money. She turned tricks for me. She got out of paying her rent that way too."
He said nothing. His head was empty, his stomach was empty, and he felt like he'd black out if he moved an inch in any direction.
Ash cleared her throat. "Well, you're young and pretty, so I'll give you two choices. First choice is that I give you a clean change of clothes and a Snickers bar and drop you off at the YMCA. You can wait around until someone sees you to put you on a bunch of waiting lists. They might get you picking litter for food, and shit, maybe you can parlay that into a real job. There's no soup and grilled cheese in that choice 'cause I need to get you out of here before the YMCA shuts, so keep that in mind."
She shifted on the couch, splaying out her legs and pushing her hips up. There was an obvious, enormous bulge in the front of her boxer briefs, growing more by the second. Cindy had mentioned that.
Charlie swallowed, breathing hard. Sensation had returned to his ears; he could feel his own heartbeat in them. He tried not to stare at her groin.
"Second choice is that you suck my cock," she said, matter-of-factly. "You'll get to eat grilled cheese sandwiches, you'll get to sleep in my bed tonight, and if you're a good little boy I'll let you continue to do so on a nightly basis. I'll set you up with some clients, you can turn a few tricks, and you can work as my maid to keep your rent low."
Charlie stared anyway. He could only think of sensations. Hot soup. Warm bed. Hard cock.
Ash stretched out. "So what'll it be, kiddo? Out of my house, or into your mouth?"
He looked at the door, heard the rain thudding against the windows. He tried to imagine walking back outside but his mind refused it as if he was telling himself to walk into a bonfire. He let his hand drop away from the towel around his waist. Quietly, he said, "I think I'd prefer the second choice."
"Show me."
Haltingly, hesitatingly, he shuffled towards her, out of exhaustion and clumsiness rather than reticence. When he reached a hand out towards her briefs, she pushed it away.
"Hold up, pretty boy, your fingers are icicles. Use your lips."
He got on all fours and tried to lean over her without his hands touching her. It put a strain on his tired shoulders and as he touched his lips to the waistband of her briefs he lost his balance, falling face-first against her navel. His face sunk into her pudge, her warmth flooding into his skin. She was the warmest thing he'd felt all week, driving out the cold, melting the band of pain that had been tightening around his temples since he'd left home. He realized how tired he was, how it had been three days since he'd slept longer than an hour, how hard he was working to keep his eyes open and how hot they burned when he shut them.
But he had work to do first.
He pushed forward, mouthing at the waistband to take it between his lips. He didn't try to bite at it, she'd told him to use his lips after all and she might take exception to having her clothes bitten. She giggled as he rooted for a grip, working his tongue and lips with all the grace of a dog cleaning out a jar of peanut butter. The elasticated fabric dug a half-inch into her flesh and was noticeably damp with the clean, milk-smelling sweat that comes from hard exercise.
A minute later he had the fabric bunched up between his lips, gumming onto it tightly, having half-smothered himself to do so. He dragged the fabric downwards and took in a desperately-needed breath. The smell almost sent him reeling: dried piss, sweaty balls, and the overwhelming stink of cum. She had a little thatch of pubic hair, damp with sweat and matted with jizz. It tickled his nose as he pulled the briefs down further. Finally, he pulled the waistband down past the tip of her cock. It sprang upwards, slapping him lightly across the temple. She reached down and slid her briefs down to her knees.
He looked at her cock and then looked up at her face, panting, cheeks flushed, head swimming. She stroked his cheek and cooed at him. "You're doing great so far, pretty boy, keep going..."