Chapter Sixteen

Like the Cinderella of the fairy tale, Phoenix had gotten his wish; he was now somebody to be reckoned with in the movie screens. He was a known star, loved by those that really did appreciate the efforts he was making to entertain them and have them carry his face in their promotional campaigns for their products; one company had even bought him a car. But there was the negative attention he’d incurred; many men, young and old, rich and poor, were all seeking for him for sex.  Secretly, they came, with their fake smiles that were more of a leer than real smiles, all hinting at what they wanted to do with him in bed. And then there was the media that seemed to have sworn to sell their papers with his face and the insinuations they made as to his sexuality.

What do those bastards know? He was wondering this as he drove to Lawrence’s beauty salon. They were now confusing his natural effeminate behavior and gender presentation with homosexuality, but he knew that the two of them operated on entirely different pedestals. Oh, they were bastards all right, saying it in such a way that rendered it impossible for him to drag them to court and then have them sued for libel.

He stopped the car in a parking slot that had just been rendered empty by a convertible BMW that had just pulled out, and then he walked to the salon and sought Lawrence out in the small private office he had. The man was there, eating chocolate.

‘Have you noticed something about Dan?’ he asked as he plunked his ass down into a chair. Dan was one of the very handsome guys that Lawrence employed to work for him.

Lawrence seemed to be more interested in the chocolate than in the question. ‘Have I noticed what?’ he asked in annoyance.

‘The guy is some kind of gay queen though he seems to be oblivious about it.’

‘As if I didn’t know that,’ Lawrence snorted as he shoved a piece of the delicacy into his mouth and threw his head back to savor the taste of it. ‘In case you haven’t noticed, I employ only gay young men to work here. I have my own special ways of sniffing them out. That way, there won’t be any problems of them going around trying to get in the pants of my female clients－ they just won’t be interested in the women. That way, it keeps a lot of problems at bay.’

‘But I am not a homo,’ Phoenix protested. ‘I am just bisexual.’

‘Who cares if you’re not gay? The point is not whether you’re gay or not but that you fit in perfectly into the stereotype of who is to be pointed out to be gay and everybody will be just happy to pick on you for being the way you are; after all, you are the embodiment of what they detest in gay people. You’re way too beautiful, with those perfectly defined features of yours, and I think you know what they say about very beautiful men being almost always gay. In your case, add in the effeminate behavior and the perfect gay man is out.

‘You dey craze,’ Phoenix said disgustedly in pidgin, though he knew his mother would have wrung his neck if she’d caught him saying that. But in a way he felt very badly shaken. ‘Who says that an effeminate man has to be always gay? You really are very crazy.’

‘I dey talk true,’ Lawrence replied, leering at him with faux-annoyance. ‘You know how homophobic this country is, and all the brunt of their anger and their hatred is dumped on you guys. Those guys who act normal－ whatever that means－ have no way of being beaten about their sexuality unless they’re outed by people who caught them in the act, so effeminate guys are the worse hit. And besides that, there is the theory that effeminate young men grow up with a high capability of being considered gay or at least bisexual. You fall into a stereotype and nothing you say or do will convince people otherwise.’

‘Do not spit science at me with whatever it is you’ve eaten that has addled your brain,’ Phoenix snapped angrily. ‘Those kpokpo garri scientists are not the ones that wear the shoes that pinch; I do.’

Lawrence conceded, and then they laughed it off, but he knew that Lawrence was right about what he’d said. Two days later he received a bouquet of roses that had been ordered from a very popular florist shop in Lekki and was signed H. J. and with a laugh he threw the thing away. Then there were the letters from anonymous men who wanted to have him over for drinks, and then there were those that accosted him physically on the road and in the places where he loved hanging out at the Alpha Beach and the Lekki Beach. But he ignored them all.

There was Henry Johnson too. Somehow or the other the guy had managed to get the phone number to their apartment and was always calling him and mysteriously appearing when he was least expected, badgering Phoenix with invitations for lunch, and what about dinner? But Phoenix would merely smile at him in that faux-perfect way he’d perfected in front of his mirror and decline the offer. He did not hate the handsome guy; rather, he just wanted to be left alone.

Shortly after his third movie, Darkened Hearts was released, he received another call from Henry, and when he heard the voice on the other end of the line, felt like hanging up.

‘Phoenix, you really hate me.’ It was the voice of Henry Johnson, low and calm, and also wounded. Phoenix almost rolled his eyes. ‘You treat me like vermin.’

Phoenix sighed. ‘Don’t you ever let things rest? You are married, and you are also the son of one of the biggest female names in this country; plus the fact that this is taboo. You know that.’

‘I know that, but it never stopped you from collecting my thing and having sex with me. I keep on hoping and praying that one day you’ll say yes, that you’ll choose to be mine again. And I know that I am ready to give you anything you want.’

‘What do you want from me?’

‘You know what I want, Phoenix. All you have to do is to say the word and anything you want from me will be yours for the taking.’

Without saying anything, Phoenix hung up. He was shaken about the fact the young tycoon liked him passionately and wouldn’t take no for an answer, but he wasn’t ready to give it to hmm. He wanted to make his bones, not go about spreading his ass for anything with a dick or jump into any crevice that looked like a woman’s shoki. Even the women wanted him. God, it was so disgusting. And the reason why he felt so was because of the fact that he just wanted to be left alone to pursue the career that he had always wanted without the pressure of having to deal with the sexual attraction of so many people.