And keep Bash off Eliazar.
The four of us had been pulling small jobs for Chi-chi over the past year. Small because Chi-chi wasn’t a big-time gangster, just a neighborhood king with grand ambitions. I dealt MDMA at clubs with Johnny and Eliazar. Cruz used his car to run hot merchandise to Seattle and Portland. The jobs didn’t happen often, and I didn’t mind the extra cash in my pocket. But we still had some sense. We refused whenever Chi-chi asked us to move real product, knowing it wasn’t worth the risk. Except deep down, I’d known Chi-chi wouldn’t take no for an answer forever.
A few weeks ago, Chi-chi summoned the four of us to his house to talk business. Leaving Johnny and Eliazar on the couch, Chi-chi took Cruz and me into the kitchen. He had a job in mind.A big one. He’d been “babying” us for years, he said, and it was time to man up. He told us how much Johnny and Eliazar owed him, saying if Cruz and I didn’t do what he wanted, he’d be forced to make our friends pay.
Despite the sinister gleam in his eyes, Chi-chi immediately acted like he hadn’t threatened us, insisting we stay and hang out. “We’ll get to an understanding, bruh.” He slung his beefy arm around my shoulders, squeezing too tight. “Te relajas, vato.No hablamos de chamba.”
Cruz and I knew we needed to get the hell out of that house, but we had to play it smart. We sat down on the couches where five of Chi-chi’s boys were already chilling with Johnny and Eliazar, passing a bong.
Half an hour went by. Chi-chi’s friends turned onMario Kart. The game noise competed with the wet slosh of the bong water as the dark green cylinder got handed around. I took a hit but was still as tense as I’d ever been. I’d never wanted to leave a room more. But we needed to stay cool. Making an enemy of Chi-chi was a bad idea.
Then one of Chi-chi’s friends made a shitty comment to Eliazar, asking like a perv whether an asshole felt as good as a pussy. Eliazar’s face went red, and Chi-chi’s boys laughed like it was the funniest thing they’d ever heard. I restrained Cruz with a firm hand on his thigh. “We can’t win,” I muttered under my breath. His eyes darkened, but he remained seated.
Suddenly, Bash piped up from the corner, “I want to try.”
Slivers of light creeping in through the tightly drawn curtains highlighted the smoke swirling above us.
“What’d you say, cuz?” Chi-chi drawled. “You want a hit?”
“No.” Bash licked his lips and took a step forward to where I sat pinned together with my friends on the couch. “I want to try Eliazar.”
Cruz’s hands balled up at Bash’s flat tone. His nostrils flared.
A few of the guys laughed again, but there was a hint of confusion in it.
“What do you mean?” Chi-chi asked Bash, chuckling menacingly. “Youmaricónnow?”
Bash shrugged. He kept his gaze on Eliazar but spoke to Chi-chi. “I’m whatever. And he’s…pretty.”
I wondered briefly if Chi-chi had invited us over with the intention to let Bash have a go at Eliazar to force our hand. But Chi-chi seemed as surprised by Bash’s words as we were.
Pure fury radiated from Cruz. Again, I put my hand on his knee. Chi-chi had Bash plus five other guys here. Johnny was so high he’d practically passed out.
Eliazar shrank into Cruz’s other side.
I’d heard rumors that Eliazar traded blow jobs for meth sometimes even though he’d denied it when I asked him directly. But even if my friend was tricking, he would never extend that offer to Bash. Or any of Chi-chi’s guys.
Bash must have heard the rumors, too, because the next second, he directed his eyes to Eliazar and said loudly, “I’ll pay.”
An eerie quiet fell over the room. All of us were some degree of fucked up, and I didn’t know how much the others were processing. But Chi-chi had told me and Cruz an hour ago that he’d been floating product to Eliazar and Johnny for months. He’d demanded Cruz make a special delivery for him. If Cruz didn’t agree, then Chi-chi would get payment from Johnny and Eliazar. One way or another.
Chi-chi gave Cruz and me a dead-eyed grin. He pointed at the hallway. “First bedroom’s free.”
Eliazar pressed his compact frame against Cruz. “Um…no…no thank you.” His voice was small. Scared. His jaw quivered, and I could hear his teeth clanking together.
Cruz stood, holding Eliazar against himself. “He’s not interested.” Cruz glanced side to side as though daring someoneto disagree. “We’re leaving.” I jumped up too, shaking a strung-out Johnny to awareness.
Bash made a move like he might try to stop us, but a subtle headshake from Chi-chi held him back.
In the entryway, Cruz said, “You’ll get your money. We’ll figure it out. Then we’re even.”
Cruz spoke with bravado, but everyone in that room knew the four of us were only getting out of there because Chi-chi allowed it.
Chi-chi rushed ahead of us and opened the door in an exaggerated motion. He leered at Eliazar. “If you ever want to take Bash up on his offer, you let me know, eh,guapo.” He brushed the hair off Eliazar’s forehead, chuckling when Eliazar flinched. “Shit. Maybe I should try you myself. A mouth’s a mouth, right?” He grabbed his crotch.
Vomit threatened in my throat. Next to me, Cruz vibrated.
“Like we said, you’ll get your money,” I reiterated.
