The City of Rossford

CASEY WILLIAMS PICKED UP the phone .

“What’s up, Noah?”

“You know we all have a wedding to go to.”

“Yeah, Chay was telling me all about it.”

“See,” Noah said. “I didn’t expect Chay to be working today. On a Saturday.”

“Well, he said he needs the money—”

“Casey, he doesn’t need money. He’s our kid. He’s not some waif and—”

“I know, I know,” Casey waived it off. “He needs his independence though. That’s what he wants. He wants his own change, and his own adventures.”

“Yeah.”

“Didn’t you want yours when you were his age?”

“I had enough adventure, actually.”

“Is that why you went to California?”

“I didn’t go to California for adventure.”

“Well, see, Chay’s not in California. He’s right here with me, getting paid. Getting good work with me looking after him.”

“Yeah, well, just send him home in about an hour.”

“I will. I’ll even have Logan drop him off.”

Noah was quiet for a moment.

“Alright?” Casey said.

“Sure.”

“Thanks,” Casey’s voice was sour. And then he said, “You know what, Noah? I know you died and became this holier than thou parent, but I don’t see how you can run around looking down at what I do.”

“I’m not holier than thou. I just… Let me ask you something, Case? If you had a kid, would you want him to do porn?”

“God, Noah! He’s not doing porn. I just told you that. It wouldn’t even be legal. And everyone watches out for him.”

Neither one of them said anything for a moment, and then Casey said, “I know where you live. I know what’s going on with you. You just don’t want him hanging out with any undesirable elements. You don’t want him… contaminated.”

“I don’t want him to think it’s cool is all.”

“But it is cool, and it was cool for you for years.”

“What’s he gonna—” and then Noah stopped.

“It’s really no point in having this conversation.”

“No,” Casey said, tiredly. “No it’s not. I’ll ah… I’ll send him home soon, Noah.”

Noah nodded and said, “Thanks.”

He hung up the phone.

Noah always felt bad after talking to Casey. He always felt like he was condemning Casey for something that, frankly, if he didn’t have a son he probably wouldn’t think about. It was just that Chay knew everything about him. He had to. There was no way he could keep secrets from his son when half of Rossford remembered Noah being in porn, and especially not when he had suffered abuse just like Chay. He couldn’t hide anything. But then what in the world was Chay supposed to think about love, about sex, about anything when he was surrounded by slightly abused, slightly screwed up men who got fucked and sold their bodies for a living?

To Chay, Casey was something like a godfather, and when he was old enough, he couldn’t wait to go to work for him.

At a point in time that seemed more distant than it really was, Noah Riley had thought of being a great porn star. He was known for his sweet look, for his perfect, smooth little body, his large pornstar penis. He could fuck with abandon and take as good as he gave, and had a firm, perfect ass that could be, and had been, fucked all day. Some times all night.

And he had directed too. At the time when Guy McClintock’s house had been raided, ten or so years ago, Noah had gone into making his own junior movies with then Johnny Mellow, another favorite. And then he had gone to Brazil to shoot a few movies with beautiful brown boys. He was a hard worker, a good director, respected and well liked. Everyone said that he could have been the next Casey Williams.

Casey Williams already had his own site when Noah was quitting the business. He already had MySpace then Facebook, a fan club, hats, tee shirts and a blog. Casey was no up and coming star. Casey had already risen and was only rising higher. He had been raped and beaten, which he had posted online with pictures of himself. No one was quite sure if they believed it. And he had retired, or at least become significantly less visible for a year or so. Now and again he posted blogs where he talked about a new love in his life, or a new direction. He also wrote about Noah and Johnny Mellow. All of them had found love, but not with each other. Noah was, on occasion, willing to do little tours with Casey. These involved the two of them taking their shirts off, flexing, having a few drinks with a few homos who loved them and being paid well. There were weekends at resorts, the closest and the most frequent in Saugatuck where they mixed it up with folks from Falcon, and Corbin Nash, Sam Brody and others of Guy’s Rude Boys. Occasionally some of them snuck off and had sex with each other. Now Noah did not. He didn’t even feel tempted. He just didn’t want anyone but James. Casey was not all hype. He was in a new relationship too. Keith McDonald, freshly out of the priesthood, came with him.

James would not come with Noah, or rather Noah would not have James. Very soon Noah dropped out of the life as fully as Paul had, but Casey needed to get back on his feet.

“I’m going back into the business.”

“I thought you had something going on. I thought it was serious.”

“How many people have you fucked, Noah? How many have you been fucked by? Hell, you me and Paul and my boyfriend have pulled trains on each other. Fucking is just…” Casey searched for an expression, “shit going in shit.”

“That’s lovely!”

That’s true, and you know it. A relationship is the real work. I’m going to get back in the business, but I’m going to be at the head of it from now on.”

“You were at the head of it.”

“Not really. I mean like Guy. Or like Sean Cody.”

“I hate him.”

Casey shrugged. “I fucked him.”

“Anyway, I want to make movies.”

“But Guy already does that.”

“Are you stupid? Lots of people already do it. And lots of folks have niches. Look, I’ve got connections. I’m a pornstar with friends. It won’t be some fat ass director trying to get money out of you, or some skinny shit nobody wants to fuck paying dudes so he can watch them do stuff to each other and put it on the Net. It’ll be me, Casey Williams, and my friends. Making movies for ourselves, giving them—at a price—to the porn hungry world.”

“Sort of like a United Artists of pornstars.”

Casey raised an eyebrow.

“Even when you say it in such a smart ass way, yes Noah Riley. Just like United Artists.”

And so Casey opened UF. UF was in a house outside of Rossford that he shared with his boyfriend, and of course it stood for United Fuckers. It wasn’t nearly as ostentatious as Guy’s mansion in Port Ridge, and there were no loud raucous parties. When Casey said that he was all about business, he meant it. Porn was work, and when it was over it was over. It wasn’t like they made a great impact on the community. Now and again, if Noah was near there, for it was close to where his mother and Danasia had bought the diner, he might see Burt, and it was always fun when he came to visit, or Tristan or even once that Jorge, the short Mexican with the enormous dick who had fucked him the night before he had returned to Rossford years ago. All in all, it was a pretty live and let live business until about a year ago when Chay had said:

“I’m going to work for Casey.”

Will Klasko’s car swung up in front of the house and Sheridan, jacket hanging from his shoulders, jumped out of it. He looked at the large old house a couple of times. It never seemed that amazing, and then he tapped on the door.

“It’s open,” he heard a voice, and so he came in.

There was a good looking blond guy in a ball cap, not amazing, not over the top handsome, wearing black rimmed spectacles as he worked at a computer.

“I…” he began, as his tongue ran over his lip, “will be with you in… just a sec.”

“Oh, that’s alright,” Sheridan said. “I was looking for Chay.”

The youngish man frowned and said, “I told Noah I’d send him home in Logan’s car.”

“Are you Casey?”

“Yes,” he said, pushing his glasses up.

“Oh,” Sheridan stammered. “I thought… Well, you don’t look like I thought you would.”

“You thought I’d look sluttier?”

“Uh… yeah,” Sheridan laughed.

Casey shrugged, “Well, I can when I have too.”

He was wearing a long sleeved tee; he turned around and called, “Chay! You’ve been sent for.”

A moment later Chay came from down the hall.

“Sheridan?”

“You’ve been sent for,” Casey told him.

“I called your Dad,” Sheridan explained. “I was looking for you and he said just go get you and we’d go to the church together.”

“Ah, church,” Casey said. “I miss it so much.”

“Well, I’m sure you could… oh,” Sheridan began then blushed. “You were kidding.”

Casey grinned and said to Chay, “How much do I owe you?”

“You owe me this week and last week. I had to go get Ty’s cleaning when he came here, and I did the sets for that Roman epic you were trying.”

“I’m not trying, I’m succeeding and to hell with you, kid,” Casey said, reaching into his wallet and handing Chay a stack of money Sheridan politely refused to examine.

“Get into the habit of being paid in cash, and you may never pay taxes,” Casey said.

And then he said, “Ey, Sheridan?”

“Yeah?”

“For you.”

He reached into his wallet and handed Sheridan a bill.

Sheridan opened his mouth.

“Look,” Casey said, “it’s not right if two guys run around for only one of them to have cash. Now get the heck out of here.”

“He’s really…” Sheridan started as they drove back into town. “I mean… I didn’t think a pornstar would be like that.”

“My dad and Paul…?”

“Well, I guess,” Sheridan said. “But they’re like ex porn stars.”

“Casey doesn’t even swear,” Chay said as they went past the diner. “Except when he’s getting fucked.”

Sheridan splutterd.

“That’s what he told me!” Chay laughed. “He’s the best boss you could have really. And super, super protective—”

“Shit!”

“What?” Chay started as they nearly swerved off of the road.

Sheridan, eyes bugged, stuffed the bill into his pocket.

“He just gave me a hundred dollars!”