"I was the one that asked him to say that." Dakota answered for Sylvester.
"Why? So I can see this?"
"No, of course not. I know you know what he does for a living. I just want you to know that I know what you have been up to with him." He smiled with a devilish gleam in his eyes.
Oh! He wanted to blackmail me? What a fool. Even though I already figured out where he was going, I decided to play along.
"What do you mean?" I stuttered, making sure to sound a little scared.
"You promised to leave her alone. You can't go back on your word!" Sylvester suddenly hit Dakota in the groan, making him let go immediately.
"Fuck you man, that hurts." Dakota groaned, holding his stomach.
I watched them, more confused.
"What do you mean? What deal did you make with this bastard?" I faced Sylvester, hoping for some sensible response but again, he didn't answer.
Dakota had wisely decided to create some distance between himself and Sylvester seeing that he had managed to get him really angry. He slowly dropped himself into one of the chairs, still rubbing his stomach and looking pained. I really wanted to gloat at his present predicament, but I also needed Sylvester to clarify things. I hate being in the dark.
I walked up to Sylvester and grabbed his shoulders. "What deal did you make with him? What is going on? Tell me!"
He tried to turn away from me but I wasn't having any of that. He had to talk.
"We have been meeting twice a week for the past one year without me having to pay for his exquisite services, using my silence as the means of payment."
Dakota was the one that responded again.
"What do you mean? What is he talking about Slyvester?"
First, I have always known that he was servicing men so even though finding out that Dakota was into men was shocking, finding out that he was Sylvester's client wasn't. So why was he all red in the face and refusing to talk to me? What was the big deal? I was beginning to lose my cool. In fact, I wanted to just leave them and walk out but the mention of a deal got me hooked. I needed to know what deal he made and what it was about.
"Sylvester. It's okay. Just tell me what's going on." I tried to shake his large frame with my tiny arms.
"He found out we were together and threatened to tell Riley unless I agreed to his demands."
He looked up at me and I could see fear in his eyes. Why was he afraid? What was he afraid of?
" Why didn't you tell me?" I asked him.
"I didn't want to lose you. If he told Riley, they might come beat me up again which is okay but I can't lose you. I can't."
He grabbed my hands that were holding his shoulders, he clasped them together and brought them to his mouth for a gentle kiss.
I turned to give Dakota a disdainful look only to find him with his head tilted up, a roll of marijuana in his mouth and a lighter in his hand. It was as if he was not involved in whatever was going on. He kept snapping the lighter but it was not cooperating with him. I hissed and turned back to Sylvester. "I can't lose you." He repeated.
"You should have told me." I snapped at him, unable to control my anger.
A year ago, I had no idea I was from a perverted family and I was still in love with Riley. Madly in love if i may say so. A year ago, that threat would have been very valid and I would have done anything to cover it up. Imagine if Sylvester didn't take the load off me? What would have happened? How would I have dealt with the situation only to discover later that it wouldn't have mattered.
I was pissed.
Not at Sylvester but at everyone who had kept me in the dark. But Sylvester was the only one I could vent that anger on so I snapped at him.
"I am sorry. I am sorry. You weren't supposed to know. I didn't want you to worry about anything so I kept it a secret." He hurriedly told me, trying to make me calm down.
"If you didn't want me to know, then why did you bring me here?" I demanded.
"He secretly recorded me having sex with him and threatened to upload it tonight, if I don't get you to come here. If I knew he was around, I would have come for this party. Babe, I am so sorry."
I watched Sylvester breakdown and my heart clenched with pain. He didn't need to tell me why that video shouldn't ever see the breaking of the day. It will ruin his life as a prospective medical doctor. It wouldn't be because he was gay but because it would be considered as porn. If any of the high profile schools should get to know, he can forget about the scholarships he was hoping to get. Some schools may even find a way to reject his admission. He may have to settle for one of those low level medical schools with no prospects. In America, where you get your certification from is very important and lots of these institutions display high moral grounds even though they are all rotten inside out.
"Wouldn't his face also show in the video? I thought you were smarter than this. How can you let him fool you so easily." I groaned, promising myself right there that I would find a way to make Dakota pay for what he had done.
"Hahahahaha" Dakota's laughter suddenly rented the air.
"What is so funny?" Sylvester asked. His eyes were no longer looking scared, they looked angry. Yes. That was what I wanted. For him to be angry. Not scared of a scum like Dakota. We just have to think about a way to outsmart him and get the video from him. As I watched the idiot laugh at our predicament, I was already forming an action plot in my head. Since I discovered that Mum and Dad had used Uncle Liam to clear up their mess, killing Riley and hiding his body had crossed my mind several times. In fact, it was all I could think about last night after Mum told me I would have to share my New York apartment with him.
As I stared daggers at Dakota, I started trying to find a way to convince Uncle Liam to get rid of him. No Dakota, No sex video. That seemed very simple to me.