La Luna (BoyxBoy)

The Sendoff

"Alright boys," Satzki breathed as he spread a stack of folders across his desk and stepped back. "All of our applicants have been sorted into groups of six, and your names as well as pictures of my personal favourites are on top of the folders."

       The crowd of young men in front of him began to swarm around the table, each selecting their personal manilla folders. They'd been told earlier that it would be their job to act almost as mentors to the new recruits for La Luna, having been working as actors for the shop's pornography website for the last few months. Now it was time to see exactly who they'd be looking after.

       Joseph Michaels, or 'Sev' as he was known in the industry, hung back, watching as some of the folders were quickly snatched up. Satzki wanted them all to choose now, seeing as the others would be arriving on Thursday. As the crowd around the desk began to slowly dissipate, Sev moved forwards, glancing over the remaining candidates.

       His name and the photograph on top caught his eye: a simple shot of a man -- perhaps a few years younger than Sev -- with dark hair that fell in his mismatched eyes, and Sev picked up the folder.

       "Like him?" Satzki asked gently, leaning his weight against the desk and smiling coyly.

       Carmine eyes met golden ones, and Sev smirked. "He needs a haircut," he murmured lightly, but kept the papers tucked under his arm. He'd go through the other candidates later, but for now, Sev was fascinated solely by the boy on the front.

       He couldn't wait for Thursday.

~~~*~~~

       Kyle watched from his bedroom window as the dark green van turned onto his quiet suburban street, the white cursive writing obvious on its side: 'Rosy Fields Retirement Village'.

       When he'd received the message detailing his acceptance as one of La Luna's new employees, he hadn't known how to feel. Having entered solely on a whim, Kyle hadn't exactly planned on what to do upon receiving the job. It seemed, however, that his grandfather had everything figured out.

       Of course, Kyle hadn't explained the exact details of his new job -- after all, how do you tell your grandfather that you'll start working as a male escort by Thursday? All Kyle had said was that he was required to stay in his workplace as a resident -- something that isn't uncommon in this day and age -- and therefore had to move out.

       Apparently Wesley Phillips had been ready for months for his grandson to tell him exactly that. Not wanting to leave Kyle alone, he'd avoided calling Rosy Fields, even though they were already fully prepared for his arrival. The look of relief on his face had washed away all the guilt Kyle felt for moving out of their shared townhouse.

       Making his way downstairs, Kyle reached the door just in time to hear the retirement home's employees knocking. His grandfather, still in the living room, his suitcases packed and crowding the main hallway, didn't move. Kyle opened the door with a small smile, greeting the two beaming women politely and inviting them inside.

       He stood by the doorway, watching as the two nurses introduced themselves to his grandfather. Even with knowing he may not see the old man for a long time, Kyle couldn't help but let his smile grow wider as he watched his grandfather grin from ear to ear as he was led outside by the two attractive young women.

       "You'll come visit me, won't you?" he asked, stopping at the van, and Kyle's smile faltered.

       "I'll see what I can do," the young man murmured, trying to keep his perky expression plastered sincerely on his face.

       "Of course, of course," his grandfather said, waving his hand dismissively. "You'll be busy settling into your new job, won't you? Well, just as long as you don't forget about me -- I've even left the number for the village;s main office on the table."

       Kyle chuckled quietly as he watched his grandfather hop gracefully into his seat. "I'm not going to forget about you," he assured the old man, waiting for the door to close before leaning through the open window. "Thanks for looking after me all these years."

       Wesley's expression softened before his beaming smile returned, his eyes crinkling with happiness. "What kind of family would I be if I didn't?" he said half-heartedly, jolting lightly as the engine started.

       Kyle took a step back as the final suitcase was loaded and all the doors were shut. The van began to move, and Kyle watched as his grandfather lounged back comfortably in his seat. Staying put, Kyle waved as the van pulled away from the curb, refusing to drop his arm until the vehicle was completely out of sight.

       Quiet returned to the suburban street, and Kyle sighed as he headed back inside. The house felt empty without his grandfather there, but Kyle didn't mind. He'd only spend one more night there himself before heading to La Luna, and that idea alone was enough to distract him from the building's newfound loneliness.

       He -- probably like everyone else who had been accepted -- had no idea what he was getting into, and no idea what he was supposed to do upon arriving. Kyle made his way back up to his bedroom, opening his computer and going through the email he'd received one more time:

       Dear Kyle,

       Thank you for applying for a permanent position at La Luna. This message is to inform you that your application was successful and to give further information on your orientation.

       Please be at La Luna's main room with a minimal amount of luggage at 8:30 am on Thursday (03/03/XX) for your room designations and work schedule. Additionally, to preserve anonymity, a new name has been assigned to you. Please introduce yourself to others as Cyl [pron: sil] to protect your own identity.

       How do room designations work?

       Through extensive profiling, each new employee of La Luna has been paired with another new employee. The two of you will not only be roommates, but also close partners for the next five years of your employment.

       Congratulations on your successful application. We look forward to seeing you soon.

       Kind regards,

       Satzki

       La Luna Manager

       So, as far as Kyle -- or 'Cyl' as he was supposed to be called -- was concerned, he just had to show up. Fine. He could do that.

       He would pack his bags later that night and sleep relatively early in order to be ready for tomorrow, but for now, Kyle wanted to use his time to check through the new additions to La Luna's website. After all, Kyle couldn't think of a better way to relieve the built up adrenaline that thoughts of the next day had brought with them.