36. A boy returns
- And how exactly do you know he is a moneyboy? asked Larson.
- I know. I have seen him around, said Bjorn.
- Do you even know his name?
- No. But he is a moneyboy. Don’t fall for him.
- You don’t know his name but you know he is a prostitute? Sorry, but this is hard to believe. How can you possibly know who is what in a city the size of Bangkok?
- I have seen him in soi 2 and soi 4 for years. If you had lived here you would be able to spot a moneyboy when you saw one. They stand out. It is the way they dress, behave, where they go, who they are seen with. I have known for a long time that this boy you picked up at DJ Station is one of the moneyboy regulars. Be careful. Don’t be sucked in. How much did you pay him?
- Nothing.
- He didn’t want to be paid? That’s amazing.
- Lek is a good boy, said Larson. He has a job. I don’t know why you speak badly about him. If he were a moneyboy he would ask for money, right? He didn’t. Lek is a regular Thai boy who happens to like me. Maybe you need time off your job, Bjorn. You work too hard. You get stressed and see conspiracies everywhere.
- Don’t talk down to me, said Bjorn. I am trying to warn you. This guy is no good. If you are not careful you will get your fingers burned. When he didn’t ask for money right away it means he is scheming for something else.
- Whatever you say Sherlock, said Larson.
How predictable Bjorn has become, thought Larson. He talks to me as if I were incompetent at judging human character. Lek is a fine boy. I like him. I am not going to let Bjorn’s petty jealousy ruin this.
*
Duff slept late. First DJ Station and then the street kid affair had worn him out. He had been up until 4am. Now he only had two nights and three days left till his flight to London. Duff decided to save his energy for the nightlife.
Downstairs in the reception a Thai boy arrived and asked for Duff. The receptionist gave the boy the telephone so he could call to Duff’s room.
- Hello, said Duff.
- Hello, said the boy.
- Yes? said Duff.
- You remember me?
Duff rolled his eyes. Why could Thai boys never introduce themselves? They always called and said “you remember me?” They all sounded the same on the phone and if you didn’t know who it was they became offended.
- Of course I remember you, said Duff.
- I wan go room you, said the boy.
- Sure, said Duff. Come right up!
Who the hell is this? thought Duff. He had no idea who this boy could be. One of his old flames from last year maybe? Or some boy who had the wrong room number? Duff wasn’t fussy; if the boy were cute he would take him anyway.
Ding-dong! Duff peeked in the hole in the door. It was a Thai boy all right but the image in the fisheye hole was too distorted and dark to see who it was. Duff opened. In the corridor stood Bia, also known as Chalong, and smiled sweetly.
No TagsPages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141