Four mechanics — Brandon Anderson, Roman Todd, Justin Matthews, and Elliot Finn — are working late one Friday night to finish their jobs for the week. Brandon, the newest and most introverted of the group, walks into the foreground and thumbs through various tools before grabbing the wrench. Walking back, he uses it to tinker under the open hood of a car. You can sense a distance between him and the others.
Brandon is closeted and feels very uneasy around his crass and chauvinistic colleagues – especially if they were to catch wind of his sexuality. He prefers to just do his work and keep his profile low. A mechanic’s light hangs from the open hood.
Nearby, Roman is cleaning up, wiping a surface with a rag, while Justin and Elliot are chatting in a nearby break area, standing next to a table with a coffee machine on it as they sip coffee. There is one old chair next to the table and a small radio sits on the table, quietly playing hard rock music in the background.
Suddenly, Justin remembers something and perks up, eagerly reminding the guys that it’s the first of the month. Three of the guys (everyone but Brandon) whoop and wolf-whistle excitedly – as of yet, no one notices Brandon’s lack of excitement. The three other mechanics go to a wall, where a calendar has been hung.
The photo shows a barely clothed woman in a pin-up pose. Brandon stays behind to continue working on the car. The guys looking at the calendar mention that it’s going to be hard to top Miss November here, making lewd and raunchy comments about what a hot piece of ass she was.
They fake saying goodbye to her and continue to make degrading comments. Brandon can hear them while he works and can barely contain his disgust. But, at the same time, he is also desperate to keep his secret and so he bites his tongue.
Elliot and Justin notice that Brandon hasn’t joined them and call him out on it. Brandon makes a feeble excuse about needing to finish the work on the car, but Elliot and Justin goad him into coming over, mocking him as they insist that a nice pair of titties always takes priority over work. Brandon swallows hard as he slams down the hood of the car.
He walks over to the calendar as Elliot and Justin continue to tease Brandon about not joining them right away.Roman shoots Brandon a subtle questioning glance, but no one – including Brandon – seems to notice. Roman gives Brandon a hard time, and the guys all seem shocked that Brandon is talking back.
There is a moment of stunned silence before Elliot and Justin burst out laughing, commenting that maybe Brandon is finally ‘growing a pair.’ Brandon laughs along with them tentatively, seemingly. The gang cheers.
They change the subject to the new hot girl of the month on their calendar. Brandon seems relieved that the spotlight is off him and subtly moves away from Roman.In what is obviously a monthly ritual, the guys count down, whooping and hollering as their excitement builds.
With each number, they lift the calendar page a bit, a slow reveal. When they reach the end of the countdown, they finally turn the calendar page to Miss December with a big reveal, unveiling another scantily dressed woman. The guys whoop and wolf-whistle.
Brandon joins in, but his excitement seems more muted and fake than his coworkers. Leering at the photo, three of the four guys (everyone but Brandon) talk excitedly with shockingly rowdy comments about the calendar. Now that the spotlight is off of him, Brandon tries to recede into the background, laughing at the guy’s comments but saying nothing in an effort to fit in but not draw attention to himself.
The guys begin a lewd and crude conversation – typical ‘guy talk’ about what they would do with/to Miss December, which naturally segues into a conversation about their past sexual conquests with various women and making fun of each other with jabs at their dick size and sexual performance.
As Elliot, Roman, and Justin share easy banter, Brandon chuckles along with them, but he doesn’t offer anything to the conversation. One of them – Justin or Elliot – calls Brandon out on being quiet, mockingly asking him if he’s a virgin. Brandon seems a little nervous at this question, but tries to cover it up with a dismissive laugh.
Brandon seems nervous. But he has no other choice but to push forward now, so he tells the guys a seemingly true story about the last time he met a girl during a night out, brought her home, and had sex with her.His story seems believable on a surface level, but does feel a little stilted and awkward.
There are some very small details that indicate that something is off about what Brandon is saying, such as using ‘they’/’them’ pronouns and avoiding using ‘she’/’her’ pronouns, not describing her body in much detail, and similar.
While Elliot and Justin don’t seem to notice this – interacting and still teasing Brandon throughout his story – Roman clearly catches on. He listens closely with a scrutinizing look as Brandon speaks (althoughBrandon doesn’t notice him watching), his eyes narrowed in skepticism. Finally, Roman’s eyes widen ever-so-slightly, a conclusion clearly forming in his mind.
As the story winds down, Brandon seems anxious to get out of the conversation, insisting that he needs to get back to working on the car. Elliot and Justin say they were just about to grab dinner anyway, inviting Roman to join them. As Elliot and Justin walk out of the room, Roman – looking at Brandon with a somewhat sinister glint in his eye – insists that he’ll catch up with them – he just needs to take care of something first.
Brandon seems a little distracted, not paying attention to this exchange. He seems relieved to be out of the spotlight and eager to shake things off. Getting onto his back on a mechanic’s slider with a wrench in hand, he slides under the car.
He tinkers for a moment before sliding back out to reach for another tool. When he does, he’s startled to see Roman looming over him, looking down. He yelps a bit in surprise, then chuckles nervously, remarking that Roman gave him a bit of a scare there.
Roman isn’t and he lets Brandon know he’s onto his secret at Disruptive Films. Brandon looks as white as a sheet, like a deer in the headlights. Fear and confusion cross his face. Brandon still tries to stammer denials but Roman cuts him off.
Brandon looks anguished and conflicted for another moment before his shoulders finally slump in defeat. He then goes on to lay it out for Brandon — if the other guys find out that Brandon’s gay, they’ll make his life a living hell. But luckily for Brandon, Roman’s the only one who knows… for now. And he promises to keep Brandon’s secret… IF Brandon lets him fuck him.
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