big boy he threw himself onto the bed.
When the surfer passed Justin's window again he looked in. In the fleeting moment as he passed he saw Justin smiling, eyes closed on his bed. The innocent pleasure that Justin exuded made the surfer think only one thing, 'Baby boy.' That's what I'll call him, he decided. The neighbor then continued to his door and retreated inside.
*****
Chapter 2
Justin remained locked in his room as the sun went down. He had moved from his small Nebraska farm town with his clothes and the money his dad gave him for his summer spent on the farm. The money wasn't much but it did allow him the cost of a bus ticket, two months' rent and three meals a day.
Fantasizing about his adventure lying in his Nebraska bedroom the summer's wages allowed him an extravagant life. But now in the lonely, TV-less room he was scared to spend any of it. He had never worked outside of their farm, so faced with the prospect of having to find work in this overwhelming city intimidated him to the point of paralyzing fear.
He was thinking about his need for money when at nine o'clock he heard an unexpected knock on his door. Staring without moving he considered who it could be. Having not left his room except to buy food, he couldn't figure it out.
Hesitantly he made his way to the door and peered though the peephole. It was his neighbor looking back.
"Who is it?" Justin asked nervously not knowing what he should do.
"It's your neighbor. We met today," he replied in a raspy young voice, rougher than his 24 years would indicate.
Justin rested his hand on the knob debating what to do when he found his door open and the beautiful man staring in.
"Hey. I'm Rex, your neighbor. I just thought that I would stop by and say hi".
"Oh. Hi," Justin said leaning on the edge of the open door.
A silence developed before Rex spoke again.
"Can I come in?"
"Oh, um, sure," Justin replied in his soft yet masculine Nebraska accent.
Justin let Rex in and then apologized for the lack of places to sit.
"No, don't worry about it. I've been there," he said before copping a squat on the ground. "Listen, I hope I'm not too loud," Rex said with a smile. "It can get kinda wild over there."
"Really? I don't hear anything," Justin lied.
"No huh?" he said with a knowing smile. "That's cool. I'm glad. So what's your name?"
"Justin," he said before sitting where the shadows appeared on his floor.
"Oh okay. Do you know what I call you?"
"What do you mean?" Justin asked confused.
"I've seen you around a couple of times. I call you Baby Boy," he said with a blush.
Justin didn't know what it was about that name but he liked it. It made him feel safe with Rex and feeling safe wasn't a luxury he could often afford living in Hollywood.
"So what do you do during the day?" Rex asked trying to get Justin out of his shell.
"Nothing really. Looking for a job, I guess?"
"Do you go out much?"
"I can't afford it."
"Seriously? Ah no, man. You don't need money to go out. You just let people buy you drinks."
"You mean like at a bar?"
"Yeah," Rex said enthusiastically.
"I'm not 21. I used to go to this bar back home but they didn't care."
"Where you from?
"Nebraska. Where you from?"
"Northern California. Aw man we should totally go out. I can't believe you haven't gone out yet."
"How am I gonna get in anywhere?" Justin asked embarrassed.
"Man, I know people. Don't even worry about it. You could totally get in. You definitely look 21."
That made Justin feel good. Everyone had always told him that he looked 16. So to hear this cool, hot guy tell him that he looked even older than he was, made him happy.
"Yeah, you could totally pass. Throw on some clothes and let's go."
Justin looked down at what he was wearing. He only had tee shirts and two pairs of jeans in his wardrobe and he was already wearing his nice jeans.
"Is this okay?" Justin asked meekly.
Rex looked at the baby boy standing in front of him. He looked tantalizingly innocent and
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