After their vacation, finally Jaume could meet his beloved athlete again. He met him one Sunday, at the exit to the gym. Felipe was with him. As soon as Jaume saw them, he approached, and after greeting them, asked his Pedro Augusto: "When can we meet alone, you and I?"
"What for?"
"Well... you know what for, don't you?"
"Ah, you still need help with your studies?"
"No, come on, don't play stupid! You and I, together. As always, right?"
"Ha, you mean to fuck? No, thank you. My boyfriend is Felipe. Just for awhile, as amusement, it was good. But you're still a little boy. I prefer my Felipe, a thousand times over, it's just logical."
Jaume stared at him, astounded. His eyes filled with tears. Hopelessly, he said: "But I love you Pedrito, you know that!"
"It will pass, don't worry. Look for a boy your own age. When it was just to amuse myself a little, it was okay. But I am with Felipe, you know that perfectly well. It was with him you saw me that first time, right?"
Jaume turned and ran away, and ran, and ran. His eyes were clouded by the teardrops which he angrily tried to hold back. Silently, he was shouting into himself all the most atrocious insults, all the bad words he knew, towards Pedro, like an obsessive litany.
A few days after that burning disappointment, Jaume met Miguel on the Rambla. As soon as he saw the young man, he greeted him and called to him, waving an arm while he ran towards him.
"Miguel, do you feel like fucking me?" he straight away asked; as soon as he was near him.
The young man looked at him, slightly embarrassed, then said: "Lower your voice! What's up, now?"
"Do you want to fuck me, yes or no?" the boy repeated, but in a low voice.
"Sure, you have a nice ass. But why did you change your mind?"
Jaume explained to him what had happened then added: "And if you have one or two friends who would like to fuck me, introduce us. I'll be very happy."
Miguel smiled, he didn't want to let this opportunity slip away. He took the boy with him into a construction yard, which had stopped work and was now closed. Unseen, they snuck inside through a hole in the enclosure's chain link fence and there, hidden by the heaps of building materials, first Miguel asked the boy to give him head. Next, making him turn around and lower his shorts, he took Jaume with real pleasure.
While they were buttoning their trousers back up, the boy asked Miguel: "I want to find other boys who want to fuck me. Do you know any?"
Miguel answered: "Well, you and I can fuck any time. You know I like you."
"Yes, sure. But I also want other boys or men, many others."
"There is one of my friends who might possibly like you. I can try and ask him. But if you want to find lots of males as you say, you just have to go to the Rambla around midnight. Or else, you can go to the railway station's toilets, at any time, even in day light..."
He explained to him another two or three places where it was possible to cruise. He also warned him to be careful about the police raids - at that time, homosexuality in Spain was illegal. It remained so for the entire following year, until the fall of General Francisco Franco's dictatorship.
Jaume made a mental note of everything, and proposed to give himself to everybody he could find. So, he started to cruise. In the beginning he didn't know how to single out who wanted to fuck with him or not, and anyway he didn't know how to pick them up. But soon it was the others, who picked him up, since he was a really handsome boy. When that happened, he always accepted. And when he went with these men, young or old, fat or thin, Spanish or foreigners, he did anything they asked of him, without any reservation. It was during this period, that for the first time, he had the chance to penetrate another person, and he discovered that he liked it at least as much as being penetrated.
But, after that first period of fury and frustration, Jaume started to calm down and became much more selective. He was no more going with just anybody, but only with people who appealed to him physically. Anyway he had a wide choice, because even if he was so young, he was well developed and had a remarkable beauty that seemed to increase as he was growing.
Soon he became aware of the fascination he was emanating, and learned how to profit from it. Around December, he picked up a young manager from Madrid. This was a nice man and Jaume thought that he would really enjoy himself with this man. He was a type with a self-confident, free and easy, likable and cheerful air. The man took him to his hotel room, and at once they undressed and started making love. Since he really liked the man, the boy successfully did his best to give him as much enjoyment as possible. So the man, while they were getting dressed a couple of hours later, placed on the night table near the boy some 100 pesetas notes.
He asked, "Is that all right? Normally the price is 1000 pesetas, but you deserve more than that."
Jaume took the money, counted it, then looked at the man questioningly: "Why are you giving me 1500 pesetas?"
"It's not enough? Do you want 2000? You become a little expensive but, for once, I'll splurge." he said and taking his wallet, counted 500 more pesetas and handed them to the boy. Jaume was even more stupefied. He didn't know that someone would pay a male to make love. A woman yes, everybody knows that there are prostitutes.
The man, misunderstanding Jaume's expression, told him, "Boy, look, I'm familiar with Barcelona, I come often here. Where I found you, hustlers at most ask for 1000 pesetas. More in other parts of town, that's true. But 2000 pesetas is the price only for the hustlers of the Plaza Cataluña. So, I think I'm treating you well."
Finally the boy said: "But I didn't come with you for money. I didn't ask you for money."
The man was embarrassed for a moment, before replying, "I didn't intend to offend you, I'm sorry. But normally there are just hustlers..."
"But, what do you mean, hustlers?"
"You really don't know? And yet you didn't seem a novice, before in bed. You are skilled, you know how to do it."
So, they talked for a while. Jaume told him his story. The man explained to him that many boys do sex for money. In the end, the man insisted that the boy accept the money as a present, and not as a payment. Jaume left the hotel with the bundle of money tight in his hand, deep inside the pocket of his shorts. In a couple of hours, he had earned one third of his mother's salary, or one fifth of his father's!
To Jaume this was almost like a sudden enlightenment. If he found even just ten men each month ready to pay, each even just 1000 pesetas, he could earn in a few hours as much as his father did in a full month of work! Therefore he could easily earn in one month, even if not yet fifteen, more than his father. He could become rich!
That thought buzzed inside his head. Becoming rich, just amusing himself. Being paid to have pleasure. Such incredible things happen only in fairy tales. Therefore, he was a character in a fairy tale, he amusingly thought.
But, of course, he couldn't bring all that money home - how could he explain how he got it? But where could he hide it? Back home, he thought about the problem all evening long. In the end, he decided that the next day, he would go open his own account in a bank.
But when he went to the bank, he discovered that, still being a minor, he needed his father's signature. But he couldn't keep all that money on him, neither in his pocket, nor at home, because his mother always pried into his business. He thought about this problem all the time, at school. Finally he got an idea: as soon as he finished his lessons, he went to look for Miguel.
"Hi, Jaume. I haven't seen you around for a while. Would you like to stop by my place? My parents won't be back until dinner time, so we can peacefully amuse ourselves."
"Yes, willingly. Provided you do me a favour."
"What sort of favour?"
Once in the house, Jaume explained his problem.
"You started hustling?" Miguel asked him, amazed.
"Sure. I would be stupid not to ask for money. There are so many people ready to do it; who want me. But don't worry, if you help me, I'll never ask you for money. If we go to the bank and you say you are my cousin, possibly you can open an account for me."
"Probably yes. But I'm afraid it would be a restricted "deposit only" account. Normally for minors, from what I know, they only handle that type of account."
"It means that I can't withdraw any money, until my coming of age?"
"Yes, that's right."
Jaume thought a while then said: "That suits me. Will you do me this favour?"
"Yes, sure."
"And for the moment, can you keep my money?"
"Do you trust me?"
"Certainly. If you try to cheat me, I'll tell everybody that you fucked my ass. You are of age, but I'm not, so you know, you'll be sent to jail."
Miguel smiled: "Yes, you are shrewd. But don't worry, I have no intention to steal from you."
"I thought so, otherwise I wouldn't have come to ask you." the boy said smiling.
So, Jaume solved his money problems.
But in reality, he soon discovered, it was not so simple to hustle. First of all, it was not easy to invent different excuses for returning home late at night, and during the day it was more difficult to find johns. And second, because, even if he seemed older than his age, it was evident that he was still a minor, and not many wanted to risk going with him, afraid of the legal consequences. So, in one month, Jaume could deposit only 7000 pesetas in the bank. But he was happy all the same.
For the year '75, Jaume would amass 76,500 pesetas. A remarkable sum for a boy, considering that he saved almost all his earning. He kept for himself only enough for small purchases, things that couldn't possibly alert his family. Moreover, he gained much experience. He learned to recognize potential clients, and to treat them so that they were fully satisfied, even if he himself did not always enjoy them. A happy client not only was likely to come again, but could also bring new clients.
In the Autumn of '75, General Francisco Franco's dictatorship had fallen. The gay scene became lively, and as a consequence, for Jaume things started to be better. So that at the end of '76, his bank account stood at 188,000 pesetas. This, besides the bigger freedom that was alive in Spain, was the result of the fact that Jaume was rapidly growing, and he was now sixteen and half years old, but he could pass for eighteen. School was proceeding so-so, but not badly - he had just two more years of studies to graduate.
Little by little, Jaume had singled out the best places to hustle, and the best techniques to pick up clients that appealed to him. The more success he had, the more selective he became in the choice of his clients, because he wanted above all to have his own enjoyment. Moreover, he started to go only with people who had their own place, or who were willing to pay for a room by the hour. Jaume knew four different landlords who did not object to giving a room to two males, and who pretended not to know that Jaume was still a minor.
He was, at that point, able to find at least a good client each week. Frequently, it was more than that, and his price seldom was lower than 2000 pesetas. But that didn't stop him, if he met a type he liked very much but with no money, then he went with him for free. Like the young conscripted Castilian sailor he met at the landing stage. When Jaume was making love, he always did his very best to make the other one really enjoy it; and to enjoy himself. So, little by little, some johns started to look quite exclusively for him.
At home, they didn't suspect anything about his double life. He was the good son, quiet and obliging, and now he was even cheerful about studying.
About his clients, he knew one thing: what attracted them the most towards him was, besides his growing physical beauty, his air of being a good son, slightly shy and timid; but when in bed, his gentleness mixed with force, like a young fawn.
So, Jaume started to care about his appearance, his attitudes, his gait, and his success increased. But family, school and his normal daily life, limited him very much; gave him too little free space. At times, he would go to see Miguel, who always willingly met him, and with whom the boy liked to make love. Jaume was not at all in love with the young man, and neither was Miguel with the boy, but a true friendship had developed between them. The boy, when he needed an opinion, or advice, knew that he could count on Miguel.
He never again met with Pedro Augusto, and seldom saw him even from a distance. He avoided him on purpose, even if now he was no longer in love or angry with him. But he despised the athlete for having used him the way he did. Taking advantage of his love, making Jaume fall in love for him to better manipulate the boy. At times, recalling that period, Jaume called himself a fool and promised himself that he would never again be caught in the trap of love.
1977 came, and he had his seventeenth birthday. He was now a well-shaped boy, tall, slender, with an uncommon beauty. He could easily pass for an adult. He was perfectly conscious that on the street, many people turned to look at him, especially girls, but also quite a few men. And his bank account was close to half a million pesetas. If he was free, he could earn the same amount of money in less than six months. Jaume more and more often thought that he had to leave home.
In July '77, he met a twenty-five year old New Zealander, a tourist. Since Jaume was on vacation, that is free from school, they met every day for a week. Jaume, apart from the first time they met, never asked for money from the young man. His name was John, and he couldn't afford it, but Jaume liked him very much, both as a person and as a sexual partner. They talked a lot, both before and after making love. It was the first time the boy heard about Sitges, or to be exact, about the flourishing gay life in Sitges. John, coming from there, described it to the boy like the gay capital of Spain.
Even if the small town was only 21 miles from Barcelona, Jaume had never been there. But he decided that he had to visit the place. When John left Barcelona going to France, Jaume went immediately to see Miguel. Agreeing with him, Jaume told his parents he intended to spend a couple of weeks of camping with some friends and got their permission. With Miguel and his tent, they went to Sitges and camped on the Riera de St. Pere de Ribes, not far from the sea.
>From there, they went daily on foot to the village. It was a delicious place, still impregnated with a medieval feeling, almost fairy-like. And there were people, literally from every corner of the world, it was evident that the majority of the tourists were gay.
"But this is heaven!" Jaume cheerfully exclaimed, the first evening, when they were back in their tent.
"Yes, for faggots and hustlers." Miguel, laughing, replied.
"Sure, like you and me, therefore. I feel we will enjoy it here."
"I rather feel that here life will be quite expensive."
"Don't worry, my friend. After a few tricks, I will earn enough to take care of both of us!"
Miguel laughed again and said: "I don't like very much the idea of becoming a pimp!"
"Idiot! Now don't be offensive!"
Miguel became serious and apologized: "I didn't intend to offend you, Jaume, I swear. I really consider you a friend, you know it. I feel so good with you."
"But the fact I'm a hustler, you couldn't do it, right?"
"Sincerely? No, I don't think so. I think it's a pity that you choose this life."
"I would go with those I go with, even if there was no money, I explained that to you. But if they are willing to pay, why should I refuse?"
"Because, that way the relationship changes. You see, I would enjoy it a lot less, if I knew you came with me, just because I was willing to pay you."
"But I'd go with them the same, even if they didn't pay. And sometimes, I do that, if they don't have enough money and I like them very much. You know that."
"But they don't know that, therefore the relationship changes."
"It doesn't seem so, to me."
"It's not true. In fact, if you like somebody very much, and you're strongly attracted to him, you don't even tell him you are a hustler, you don't ask for money... You told me so many times, a long time ago."
"Well, sometimes, when I ask for money, people might refuse to make love with me. In those cases, if I don't want to risk receiving a "No," if I really like the person, or if he is a friend like you, it makes me feel bad to make everything a question of money - a blowjob is this price, a hand job is that price and a fuck in the ass is another. It's not possible."
"But, if I'm not wrong, you have only one price, correct?"
"Sure, it's true, because if I were different I would feel like being a... delicatessen seller. Yes, madam, six ounces of ham for 300, but if you prefer the raw ham, it is 500..."
"You are a strange hustler, anyway. You refuse clients and at times don't ask for money..."
"Yes, I'm the strangest hustler on the Coast of the Brave, but also the bravest hustler on the Coast of the Strange!" Jaume said laughing at his pun.
"And also the most beautiful." Miguel underlined, smiling at him.
"Fuck me now, Miguel. I really need a good fuck!" the boy said starting to undress.
Miguel nodded smiling and he too undressed. They laid down on their sleeping bags and Jaume started at once to suck the hard member of his friend, lovingly preparing it, before offering to his friend his nice, firm little ass. Miguel took him with sheer pleasure.
Jaume was literally conquered by Sitges and by its plethora of tourists. He understood that he had to move there at any price. Possibly with the pretext of a job. Or rather, why not really look for a job?
So, the following days, walking downtown with his friend, he started to enter all the shops, the restaurants and bars, all the hotels, asking if they were hiring. The answers he received were several "no" and some "we'll see". But he never lost hope.
When he stopped in front of the restaurant La Brasa, Miguel said: "This is a luxury place. Here they would possibly hire only people licensed from a tourist-hotel school or with lot of experience behind them. It's useless to try here."
Jaume shrugged his shoulders and entered all the same. He remained inside for half an hour. When he left, he had a triumphant smile.
"The manager told me all the documents I have to prepare, and that I must also have written authorization from my father, since I'm still a minor. Then I have to have a medical check up and vaccinations. Then he will hire me for sure. Do you see that I was right to enter here?"
"I'm happy for you. Is the pay good, anyway?"
"Oh... I forgot to ask them. Well, the important thing for me is that I can move here."