cervantes

“Thank you. It means heavenly.” He winked. “It is a rare name even to those of my own country. The female one, which is Celestina is far more used. One of my grandmas has that name.” He explained to him. “Well, you have to talk to strangers before they become your friend.” He shrugged.

“Who says strangers want to become your friend?” he questioned. The two obviously had very different views about the intentions of the general public, Jacob leaning heavily on the more pessimistic side. “I think exercising appropriate caution is a good idea.”

Mateo smiled at the other and shrugged. “I like to think of myself as smart. And I will become a lawyer someday, though I’m not sure when exactly. “I’ve got my internship as I finish out law school.” He shrugged easily and smiled at the other. He noticed the other’s look and smiled slightly. “You know they always say that models are all about looks, but you’ve certainly disproved that stereotype for me. Perhaps if you have free time again, you’ll allow me to take up some of it?” He tilted his head, grinning brightly.

Jacob bit his lip. “Oh, I don’t know. I have a tight schedule...” he began, immediately falling back into his habit of excuse-making. He was always hesitant about new people, but Mateo seemed so genuine, it was difficult not to have a conflicting feeling inside of him, urging him to let down his walls for a moment to make a new friend. He let out a breath and looked over at the smiling boy. “Well, I guess it couldn’t hurt, I could tell you when I’m free.”

     “  oh,  well,  that’s  unfortunate,  ”   he  responded,  teasing  the  other  slightly.    he  grinned,  eyes  fixated  on  the  younger  male.   “  possibly,   depends  on  the  mood,  maybe  after  a  couple  more  drinks.   but  i  think  one  did  the  trick,  ”   he  chuckled.    “  plus,  i  don’t  think  the  rest  of  the  crowd  wants  a  drunk  old  man  like  me  to  go  up  again.  ”

“I would say I could buy you another one, but my fake I.D is like a 50-50 shot most of the time, and I don’t wanna get kicked out when I’m enjoying myself so much watching all these...performances,” he laughed. He truly wanted to see the other sing again and keep the entertainment rolling, but buying a drink just wasn’t in the picture. “Well, I’ll let you get back to your company, I suppose.”

Enzo kept his movements sharp, as some of the drag queens he brought in to instruct some classes showed him. It was all about face, leave them thirsty and wanting more. You could be campy, you could be fishy. If you ain’t workin’, you ain’t servin’, as one drag queen taught him. He had modeled many times in the past, for photoshoots and carpet events, every now and then a fashion show. It wasn’t really his forte but when the opportunity came up, he and his crew would take on the project. It was a lot of fun, and he was enjoying the impromptu voguing he and Jacob did in front of the mirror. He was sure they would look ridiculous to some others, but right now the two of them were on fire. Enzo chuckled when the other asked if he’s modeled before. “A few times. My abs have been on demand, but I’m nothing compared to you.” He had noticed Jacob at the corner of his eye and fuck the kid could work it. If there were others with them, he was sure there would be a lot of cheering and clapping, a lot of fan waving because the kid was naturally hot in his element. “That was amazing, man. Do you feel good? Because you looked incredible doing it.” He gave him an approving pat on the shoulder.

Jacob turned his palms upward and shrugged. “I suppose I do. After all, you made me look completely ridiculous but at least it was fun. More fun than tripping over my own feet in front of everyone else in your classes,” he said, though his tone was no longer bitter and he even gave a bit of a laugh. “Thanks for the help, Mr. Valdez. I know I come off as stand-offish,” he admitted, “but it’s just because not everyone is so well-intentioned, and it’s hard for me to sort through those who are.” He sighed, shifting his weight between his feet. “I didn’t give you much of a chance right off the bat, so I’m sorry.”

Enzo knew a face of insecurity, and it was clear on the kid’s face. Jacob put up a bit of a front but he could see a more vulnerable side to Jacob. He wasn’t the kid’s enemy, he didn’t want Jacob to think that. He didn’t want Jacob to resent coming here to dance, when it was a place to just be yourself and to have fun. He wanted to approach this another way, in a way that spoke more to Jacob’s language. Which was fashion, and serving face. “I wanna approach this in a territory I know you can dominate in. It’s just us in the room, but I want you to imagine…1987. New York. The centre of art and culture. Most of all, fashion. Cameras flash, people got their eyes on you, but it’s just you against the world. Now…work this room like a runway. We’re gonna vogue and pose, just like ballroom culture.” He took Jacob and guided him to the far end of the room, away from the mirrored walls. The song was picking up. “Now approach the mirror, move that body of yours only you can do, and just…pose, man.” Enzo demonstrated by voguing toward the mirrors, just like some of the drag queens he’d asked to come in to instruct a few classes taught him to do. Working his body, serving face, and at the mirror, he posed.

Now Enzo was speaking Jacob’s language, and the confidence it gave him was remarkable. He watched with a bright smile as the dance instructor completely transformed his demeanor into that of a fierce and strong model, walking the walk as though he had been taking the came catwalk classes that Jake had been taking for years. Rubbing his hands together and twisting his head from side to side to loosen up, he moved in place where the older male had begun his walk, and when he reached three-quarters of the way to the mirror, switched it on. He mimicked the other in several respects, all pertaining to the vogue-ing and the era that Enzo was trying to evoke, all while utilizing the tips and tricks that he learned from his fashion modeling instructors. His posture was strong as his body moved with strength and elegance across the floor. He didn’t feel silly at all that he was doing this in an empty studio with only one other person, because all he really heard was the loud music blasting off to the side and all he saw were cameras flashing ahead of him. When the two had finished their loop, Jacob blinked, set his hands on his hips again, and turned to Enzo. “You modeled before? New York Fashion Week, I’m guessing?” he laughed.

“Nice to meet you Jacob. I’m Celestino, but if that’s too hard, Emma works.” He said and offered his hand for the other to shake in case he wanted to. “I do. I was raised to be friendly.”

“Celestino,” he repeated for the purposes of memorization, despite being bad with names. “That’s a really handsome name, actually. I really like it.” He took the hand and shook it twice before releasing it. “That’s odd, because I was raised not to talk to strangers.”

Mateo grinned easily and nodded his head as he listened to the other. “Wow… so it’s more than just a job, it’s an entire lifestyle. I’m in awe of someone with dedication like yours. I’m not sure I could manage to have my work affect my entire life.” He smiled as he looked over at the jam. “I’m an intern at my father’s law firm. And while it might be frustrating… at least you have an excuse to slow down and live in the moment, right?” He smiled over at the other and placed his hands in his pockets. “Sorry… my life isn’t nearly as interesting as yours. Rather mundane to be honest.”

Excuses didn’t exist in the modeling industry. Either something occurred, or it didn’t, and the reasoning behind why was obsolete. He didn’t relay this fact, however, for fear of talking about himself too much, something he did often without realizing but in this moment was acutely aware of, for whatever reason. “A law firm? So you must be like, insanely smart and really dramatic, like in all those TV shows. How To Get Away With Murder and all that,” he chatted. “It’s interesting, in a different way, probably to a different social circle. Don’t talk yourself down, either, I can tell you’re probably a hot-shot.” He bit his lip and his gaze distanced itself for a moment, attempting to suppress a painful memory or two, then hopped back into conversation, having succeeded. “Do you want to be a lawyer yourself?”

“You rely on that pretty face of yours?” Enzo joked as he got closer to Jacob and put his hands on both the kid’s shoulders, looking him in the eyes. “There’s a ferocious lion somewhere in there, compa,” the older man said, “Always ready to serve face. He comes out when you do your thing on the runway or in front of the camera, I’m sure you’ve got game to when you’re interested in someone one, yeah? It’s not that hard, just…release yourself.” Letting his hands down from Jacob’s shoulders, he went over to play a song on the stereo, U Wear It Well, by RuPaul. “I wanna try something with you,” he said over the music, joining Jacob’s side again, “But you gotta trust me. Do you trust me?” The dancer gave him a reassuring smile.

It was rather obvious that Jacob did indeed rely on his pretty face for things to be done with him, as that was the entire basis for his significant source of income. He wasn’t going to give Enzo the satisfaction of admitting just a thing, though, so he kept quiet all the while the man’s heavy hands were on his shoulders, and he tried the best he could to look at pretty much anything else in the room, other than his abnormally handsome dance instructor. He felt like he could breathe again when he was released, and turned to look at himself in the large mirror, setting his hands on his hips as he exhaled the stale air from his lungs. He watched Enzo in the mirror as he rejoined his side. Trust him? What could they possibly need to do that would require trust in a dance studio? Jacob was about to make a snide comment about how useless trust-fall exercises were, but hesitated, figuring Enzo would contradict whatever he’d say. “Yeah,” he spoke up finally. “Yeah, I do, why?”

“I mean…You can.” He shrugged. Anyone could be alone, pretty or not. “It’s just odd to not see someone like you without someone there to ogle you.” That’s what he was doing. Ogling. It was kind of rude when the other clearly wanted to be left alone, but Xander was a determined guy.

“Not happy, but I have a cute guy talking to me and that reduces my annoyance a little.” He commented a she walked. “You are a good distraction. Hopefully I can offer some solace as well to you so you are not frustrated all morning.”

Jacob clenched his jaw tightly and shrugged his shoulders as though to let the compliment roll off of him like a bit of water. “I’m Jacob,” he introduced himself to get that out of the way. Perhaps they could get on to talking about something a bit more intriguing if they got passed the names part first. “Do you usually chat with strangers on your way across town?”

He smiled brightly when he noticed the other walking closer to the bike carriage. “Awesome.” He was always excited to help and make new friends. “Do you know what happened?” He asked, in reference to the traffic. Lloyd got on the bike part with his body turned to look at the other male. “Roman, like the empire? No, I think those were pulled by horses, or people running. And you had to be standing in the carriage. It’s not tough. Unless we’re going uphill, or I carry more than three people, or I hurt my ankle again.”

“Not a clue. I’ve been busy,” he answered dismissively as he climbed into the carriage which rolled back and forth slightly as he did. He sat with care and was sure to brace himself using the sides, his hands gripping firmly. “Oh- wow,” he narrowed his eyebrows with concern, “well, I don’t want you to do any of those things...”

Mateo smiled when the other seemed to relax a bit around him, easily beginning to walk with the other. “Model-worthy? I’m flattered. You think far too highly of me.” He nodded his head when he heard the other’s name, a small smile on his lips. “Jacob Cervantes… I’ve heard that name before.” He took a second before realizing what the other had said. “Oh, you’re a model… I must’ve seen your pictures before.” He placed his hands in his pockets. “So what is the modeling life like? I work in an office so I imagine it must be… different.”

Jacob wasn’t one to pile on the compliments, so he let it sink rather than reassuring Mateo that he was quite attractive. “It’s alright. Very time-consuming, you know, flying places a lot, spending hours in hair and makeup, the shoots themselves taking hours as well. And then, when you’re not working, you still have to work but working out, meal-prepping, all that stuff. I barely have a nickel’s worth of free time on my hands, which is why this,” he motioned to the traffic jam, “is frustrating.” His eyes bore into Mateo’s face, soaking up every sharp, symmetrical feature. “What’s your job?”

      “   maybe,  a  little  early,  but  it’s  my  day  off,  and  i  think  i  deserve  a  little  fun,  ”   he  responded.    “   i  definitely  am  enjoying  myself  so  i  don’t  regret  being  at  this  state,  ”   he  grinned.    he  definitely  loved  it.    “   so,  are  you  enjoying  the  entertainment ??   you  going  up  there ??  ”

“Oh, I don’t think so.” Jacob had a significantly above-average singing voice, and his stage presence could be turned on and off at the flip of a switch from his runway training. At the same time, however, he preferred to keep a low profile in public, drawing attention to himself being the last thing on his agenda. “I hope to see an encore performance, though.”

Mateo could see the hesitation on the other’s face and smiled. “It’s fine to say no. I recognize it’s a bit odd asking to accompany a stranger. Truth be told I’ve been standing around for a bit and I’m bored. And then I saw you, a rather handsome man, and figured I might as well try my luck, though I’m clearly no Casanova.” He smiled and gave a soft laugh. “I’m Mateo. It’s my pleasure.”

Jacob hadn’t asked for an explanation, and was going to point that out rather bluntly, but upon consideration he figured an explanation was more than others might give in merely asking to walk him home, or even cat-calling. He stood still for a bit, eyes narrowed at Mateo, but both his handsome looks and honesty convinced Jacob to let his guard down an inch. “Jacob Cervantes,” he replied with a nod. “My home is this way,” he motioned with a hand to his right, “and I guess it couldn’t hurt my image to be seen with other model-worthy men.” He actually cracked a smile, and added, “Kidding. About my image, not the model-worthy thing.”

“Well, this is nothing too serious.” And nearly said the famous Kardanshian line about people dying in other countries, but he kept to himself, even when he chuckled just at the thought of it. He then patted the other on the arm lightly as the officer told them they could cross. “Come on Hulk.” He teased.

Jacob twitched at the touch of the other, unable to help the physical reaction. He brought his fingers up and pressed the place where he was patted and pressed his hand to it like he was trying to remind himself that it was okay, and something so minor mattered so little. He followed after Celestino grumpily, nodding at the officer as he passed. “You seem unusually happy at a traffic jam.”

Kaiden watched the other’s fists clench and he laughed softly as he was just amused at how angry he was making the other. “You seem to be getting pretty angry over there, buddy.”

Jacob threw his eyes off of Kaiden, his fingers curling tightly as if to squeeze away his frustration. “I wish you’d fuck out of my life.”

Avi preferred his bike to other modes of transportation. Unless he had to get on the interstate, bikes could navigate the city streets of Chicago, unencumbered by whatever traffic nightmare befell. He was even more grateful on this particular occasion that he could zip in and out, weaving around the mess of cars. He stopped, however, to the groan of another, obviously caught in the frustration of navigation.

“Yeah, dude, I get it.” He tapped the handlebars of his bike with a palm. “Good investment here. Dead stop. But, uh… my ass could use a break.” No one could tell Avi he wasn’t occasionally considerate. “What way are you headed? Conversation makes the miles go by quicker. That, and EDM.”

Jacob’s eyes slid to the man who literally stopped his bike at his self-discussion. He was always wary of strangers, especially with their tendency to use him for his looks, his money, his notoriety. Every man that happened to approach him had ill-intent. Perhaps that was just more of Jacob’s narcissism leaking through, but nevertheless he held everyone at further-than-arm’s-length, metaphorically speaking. He motioned noncommittally in the direction of home. “And why should you be so keen on having ‘conversation’ with me?”