Baby Boy 1: Sacrificed

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 fresh off the farm. Even his wardrobe, or lack thereof, played into the part. "You know what, you look perfect," Rex offered with a smile. "Let's go."
    Justin with barely enough money to ride the bus was impressed that Rex had a car. And what was even more impressive was that it was nice. It had very shiny chrome rims and inside was a stereo system with multicolored lights flashing. Justin had never seen a car stereo like that before. He thought it made the inside of the car look like a spaceship. Justin decided that everything about Rex made him smile.
    After a short drive down Hollywood Boulevard then Sunset, Rex and Justin parked and walked up to 'The Top Hat.' And like Rex had promised, all it took was a nod to the bouncer to get them both in without an ID.
    The outside was like any of the other doors that opened onto Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. Inside, the place was unlike anything Justin had ever seen. It was elegantly decorated with chandeliers and felt-covered blue/gray walls. Unlike the bar back home, the people at The Top Hat were wearing expensive clothes. He had not considered how fancy the place could be. And walking past the tables of wealthy looking older men in his tee shirt and tennis, he felt incredibly out of place.
    "I think everyone's staring at me," Justin whispered to Rex. "I think I'm not dressed up enough."
    "That's not why they're staring at you, Baby Boy."
    There it was again, the name that put Justin at ease. "Wait, there're only men in here,"