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“I'm not touching you.” Anderson wiggled his index finger near Hotch’s belly but didn’t touch him.
“You're clearly insane.” Hotch folded his arms.
“I'm not touching you, Aaron.” He moved his finger up to Hotch’s ear. “Doesn’t it bug you?”
“I think I’ll survive.”
“I'm totally not touching you.” he started pointing at his cock.
“Grant.” He looked at Anderson, talking through clenched teeth.
“What's the problem? I'm not touching you.”
“Don’t make me spank you.”
“That’s not something that’s going to make me stop.” Anderson shook his head. “Not even close.”
“Can I interrupt for a moment?” Amanda turned around in her chair, smiling at her best friend and his boyfriend.
LBJ high school seniors were 30 minutes into their trip to Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. While most had already figured out where they would be going in the fall, many piled onto the bus anyway. It was a day out of school, the chance to see another campus, and free food. Elle didn’t go; she knew where she was going and stayed behind for some extra credit in classes. Penelope was still in school as well though Kevin got on the bus with his friend Josh Beardsley.
“I need him for like 15 minutes or so. Do you mind bunking with Spencer?”
“We’re not bunking.” The 16 year old genius poked his head up too. “We’re sitting up on a bus.”
“I appreciate the clarification, Spencer.” Anderson said.
“No problem.”
“Yeah, you can borrow him.” Hotch got up from his seat. “He was driving me crazy anyway.”
“Is that any way to talk to your future husband?” Anderson asked.
Amanda laughed and switched seats with Hotch. As soon as he sat down next to Spencer, the younger teen put his ear buds back in. Hotch did his best not to be offended. He liked Spencer.
He wasn’t the most social creature Hotch ever met but he certainly wasn’t going to call the kettle black. Spencer was a genius, and a rather sheltered one. Still, he could make jokes and be fun and his friends adored him. Maybe Hotch would just relax his eyes for a little while if nothing else of interest was happening.
“I need your advice.” Amanda whispered. “I need your advice as a best friend and as a totally objective, pays attention to the details human being.”
“Um…OK. This sounds important.”
“It is. Viper offered to pay for my boob job.”
“Viper?” Anderson raised an eyebrow. “The wannabe photographer and guy who sells coke to wannabe celebrities?”
“He's more than that.” Amanda said.
“Oh yes, I forgot he also wears ridiculous hats. I'm all ears; tell me what's happening.”
“I mean, yes, he sells pharmaceutical refreshment to the masses. Let’s not judge him since some of the people we know and love do as well.”
“You have me there.” Anderson conceded.
“But his photography is really coming into the spotlight. He’s good, G…I like his work. I like him. I mean, c'mon, it’s not as if I don’t know that he's not exactly an angel. I don’t care.” Amanda shook her head. “We’re cool and he's been good to me.”
“And what does he expect you to do in exchange for this approximately $5000 favor?”
“He just wants me to pose nude for him after I'm all healed up.”
“Amanda!”
“Lower your voice.” She put her hand on his arm. “It’s not some gross thing that’s going to end up in Hustler. Viper’s doing a coffee table book.”
“You're shitting me?” Anderson could hardly hide his skepticism.
“I'm not. It’s gonna be black and white, classy and shit. There are going to be a variety of different women and he wants to feature transgender women as well. They're just boobs; I could care less about bearing them. I'm never going to run for Congress or have kids so there’s no one to try to embarrass or blackmail me later. It’s a good deal for the both of us.”
“I still don’t understand why he would suddenly do this for you. You’ve been saving up for that surgery for almost 3 years.”
“And I'm not even close.” Amanda said. “I've had to dip into the funds countless times. Even if I get the assistant manager gig I could still be like 30 before I'm able to truly start transitioning. I need to get serious about this.
“I’ve been seeing the psychiatrist now for almost 4 months. Medicaid wouldn’t cover it so the case worker said it’s because of my abuse. It’s not like that’s not true; we've discussed it on more than one occasion. She's going to give me the OK for the transition, I know she is. It’s gonna take time but I'm getting there.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were seeing the psychiatrist?” Anderson asked.
Many people in their lives knew that Amanda was transgender. Parents, friends, people at school, and the people she worked with. It hadn’t always been easy…it had never been easy. She had been bullied, attacked, slandered, and a lot of that happened at home. She rarely felt safe in her own skin but their circle of friends had always been loving and welcoming. Even LBJ did their best to make it a safe place for all students. They didn’t always succeed but Amanda had really come into her own since she started there in her sophomore year.
“I don't know.” She shrugged. “I kinda burden you with everything, and I know you don’t think it’s a burden. I gotta do something on my own. I have to be out there making it happen. It ain't gonna to happen on hoping and wishing, G. I gotta get my hustle on.”
“I wish you were hustling with anyone but Viper.” Anderson said. “Just make me a promise.”
“What?”
“Don’t lose yourself. I know you want this, I want this for you. But make sure you talk to someone you trust before making any decisions. Even if it’s not me, promise me it’s gonna be someone.”
“I promise.” Amanda crossed her heart. “The process still averages two to three years before surgery, even something like breast augmentation. I have to do the therapy and then the hormones. The plastic surgeon is Dr. Benjamin Hargrove.
“They say he's one of the best in the South. I think he owes Viper some money but can't quite come up with it all. So the deal is he gives Viper half and the other half will be my surgery. Viper said it would wipe his slate clean. Hargrove didn’t want to say no.”
“I can't blame him. If he's that good then giving someone a pair of shiny boobs is a cakewalk. I want to check this guy out though. Surely he has a website.”
“Yeah, of course.” Amanda nodded.
“We’ll check him out together and then I’ll tell you what I think. I just don’t want you to do something that you could regret.”
“I hear you.”
“Have you finally decided on what kind of breasts you want? Oh my God, do you remember how we always snuck and bought Playboys at the bodega near Pizza Pete’s. My mom used that to comfort herself that my coming out was a phase for like a year.”
“She had no idea that I was looking for breasts I wanted.” Amanda smiled at the memory. “I think I'm going for the Cindy Crawford special. It’s classic, sexy, and elegant. Plus I have a small frame so I don’t really want to go over a B cup. I've seen enough breasts to last me a lifetime but Cindy’s will always be my favorite.”
“Me too.” Anderson nodded. “Good choice. And you're sure you want to do this?”
“What, start the transition?”
“No I mean get into bed with Viper…so to speak?” Anderson asked.
“I'm sure, after we research the dude. And babe, I've been in bed with Viper. More than once.”
“He's like 35. Aww Amanda…eww.”
Anderson shuddered. He wasn’t judging his best friend, he never would. There was just something smarmy about Viper. He was like the dude that was a little too old for the club and always hitting on the coeds. Women still seemed to flock to him for some reason.
Maybe it was because he had money or because he was marginally good looking and could get VIP in a lot of the hot places in town. But Anderson couldn’t imagine having a conversation with him that wasn’t about fucking, drugs, or his serious narcissism. What the hell was Viper’s favorite color, or the song he sang in the shower? What did he look like without his ‘I'm cooler than you’ get up on? Anderson was peeved that questions like this would probably plague him for the next few days.
“This from the kid who secretly stans Christoph Waltz but only with the bush beard. Viper's 33, or so he told me once. And though I count it as 15 minutes of my life I’ll never get back, times 3, there have surely been worse.”
“Fifteen minutes? That’s it?”
“From start to finish.” She rolled her eyes. “Viper’s idea of foreplay is pumping his own cock.”
“I knew it.” Anderson shuddered. “Eww, I totally knew it. You put enough 15 minutes together and that’s like an entire episode of Revenge. Don’t waste serious Victoria Grayson time on dudes like him.”
“One day my Prince Charming will come. He's gonna be a cross between Lenny Kravitz, Morrissey, and Detective Olivia Benson.”
“Um…”
“Let me have my dream, K?” Amanda looked at him.
“It’s all yours babe. I love Olivia Benson.”
“You can have Baseball Boy back now.”
Amanda kissed Anderson's cheek. Then she tapped Hotch on the shoulder. They were switching seats again. Hotch couldn’t help but smile at his boyfriend as he rolled his eyes.
“What?” Anderson asked.
“You.”
“What about me? Is it my eyes?”
“It’s just you.” Hotch replied. “You're a great friend…you're a great guy.”
“Don’t let that get around, Hotchner. My air of aloof awesomeness is part of my charm.”
“Mmm hmm.” He leaned his head on Anderson's shoulder for just a moment. Then he whispered in his ear. “Love you, Grant.”
“Your use of my first name will never cease to irritate me while simultaneously making me giddy. Stop that.”
“I'm not entirely sure that I can.”
He was sure that he was OK with that. He was OK with almost anything where Aaron Hotchner was concerned. It was quite a hopeless situation. If his boyfriend wanted to call him Grant until the cows came home, Anderson knew the smile wouldn’t leave his face while they were together.
***