Unmasked Attraction

Oliver

I scooped water from a pail close to me, splashing it on the tyres of the Mercedes I was washing. I was already tired because I had been washing all morning without a break. I was feeling sleepy also but nevertheless, I picked up the pace. Mr Kale, my boss could not find me sleeping when I had four more vehicles to wash: two tow trucks, a Ford and a Camry. I was working at Kale's Carwash and Cafe to raise a little money for my upkeep. It wasn't the best job and Mr Kale wasn't the best boss but a man had to do what a man had to do.

My stomach rumbled endlessly, reminding me that I had not had my breakfast or lunch and it was already past two in the afternoon. Mr Kale was talking on the phone, laughing at an unshared joke and leaving the bulk of the work to me. Luckily, I had a strong resolve or perhaps because it was the only job I had managed to keep while still in college. I was studying Theatre Arts at UBC, Anniversary in Texas and I hated it there. If you were not sporting the latest shoes, car or watch, you were practically nobody.

Weaklings got picked on but I was not a weakling, only impoverished. I stood at six feet one inches with all the useful bulk that came with it. I played basketball and soccer for the local team in my free time and at night, I was a bouncer at Sultry Kisses, a club for rich snobs and the lot. My parents were long gone and I had only my little sister as family. She was in a boarding school for girls and we only spoke occasionally.

"Hey, Ollie. You done with the 'Cedes yet?" Mr Kale called out loud from within the store.

"Yeah. Just wiping out the excess water, that's all."

"Hurry up already," he nagged and sat his fat ass down.

I bit back my retort and whistled instead to a tune I had been obsessed with all week. It was a guitar riff by my favourite band, Unmasked. They were the local favourite and I might have a tiny crush on the lead singer, Julian Cross. I had a tattoo of his initials on my spine and I felt tingles in my gut whenever I heard him sing or simply play his guitar in a concert. I knew everything about him and I had attended all their concerts, sometimes even missing classes to do so.

By the time I was done washing all the cars, it was past four and I was famished. I laid on the floor of the garage, trying to catch my breath. The owners who had been waiting patiently in the store drove out at last, leaving me all by myself. Fortunately for me, it was a Saturday so I didn't have any classes or I wouldn't have been able to attend anyways. My shoulders and back ached and I was so tired I could have passed out.

"Hey, Ollie! Git outta there, boy," my boss scolded and I dragged my tired body up, heading for the showers. The odour of sweat stunk to me and it was quite unpleasant, judging from the stares I was getting from the customers. I hung a towel across my big shoulders and slammed the door of one of the bathroom stalls behind me.

Julian

It was hot, freaking hot in Texas and more so because of the heavy disguise I was wearing. I needed a break from the fame, the fuss and somehow, the band's current lapses were giving me reasons to escape. When Unmasked was earlier formed, it only consisted of three members: me, my buddy, Marc and his brother, Phil. Two years later, we expanded to seven with an addition of Marc and Phil's girlfriends, Ronnie and Becca and two other guys from college, Luke and Jerry. Truthfully with all our tours and showbiz, I had never really attended college but I had my degrees intact courtesy of my agent, Mitch Barclay.

The band was in crisis because of the relationships within. I was the only unattached member and I preferred it that way. Ronnie had confessed to making out with Luke in a game of Truth or Dare while drunk and it had escalated into a big fight between the two guys. There had been no band practice in weeks and so no shows but we were still number one on the chart, our song, Forgotten Melody holding the fort for us.

I decided to take a break, had gotten on my Harley and left the drama behind. They could settle their issues on their own, adults as they were. I thought myself wise for not getting involved in relationships, love or whatever bullshit that had to do with matters of the heart. I only loved two things: my guitar and my Harley. They were all I need to be happy and they were eternally loyal compared to fickle humans.

It got so hot that I decided to stop by at the closest cafe I found. I had a recent craving for vanilla yoghurt and it was the perfect treat for the weather. It didn't take long before I saw a huge sign outside a little store. It said Kale's Carwash and Cafe and I stepped on my brakes to slow down. I turned off the ignition with the twist of my keys and swung my hoodie over my head. I had come this far to relax and I wasn't Julian Cross the Popstar at that time. I was simply Jules.

The glass doors swung open at a slightest push from me and the air within was warm like the interior of an oven. I dabbed perspiration off my forehead and sucked on a breath mint. Skipping meals could really do something to your system. The store was smaller on the inside, probably because it was crowded with junk at the corners and the seats were almost touching each other. For a popstar, I strangely always preferred my privacy, an outlook that allowed me to access situations quickly from a distance. It was why I was the leader of the band.

"Hey, there, mister," a rotund, bald man approached me, a greasy smile across his lips. His stumpy fingers were before him, big and knotty. His white shirt had an obvious oily stain on his breast pocket, some kind of sauce or ketchup. It looked like blood and immediately, I felt irritated, regretting walking into the store.