Happy World (8 page)

“Hi, Rory. Good to see you. Come on in and sit a spell,” Rory said with his usual sarcastic tone. He leaned against the doorjamb, arms folded across his chest, his cheek hitched in a lopsided grin.

Kyle frowned. “How did you find me?” he asked again.

“I asked a couple of the other guys if anyone knew where you lived. Said you forgot your cell phone, and I was going to drop it off to you.”

“So... you lied.”

Rory nonchalantly lifted a shoulder as he walked past Kyle into the living room, just as if Kyle had asked him in. “Sort of, I guess, if you want to get technical. But if you didn’t run off like you did, I wouldn’t have had to track you down. Nice place, by the way. You gonna ask me to sit down?”

“What do you want, Rory?” Kyle was in no mood to be hospitable. He was still angry at himself, and more than a little annoyed at Rory for following him home. He was also feeling embarrassed over his earlier outburst, and from leaving work early. Nice example you set for the new guy.

Rory turned to face Kyle and the full effect of Rory’s handsome face and gray eyes stopped Kyle cold. Somehow, while at work at Happy World, with Kyle’s mind consumed by the rules and regulations, he’d been more or less oblivious to the fact that Rory was gorgeous. In the small confines of his apartment, with nothing to distract him, Kyle was suddenly keenly aware of Rory’s good looks. He felt a stab of desire rip through him that went balls deep.

His annoyance forgotten, and embarrassed by his body’s reaction, Kyle tore his eyes away and looked toward the kitchen in an effort to distract himself. “So sit,” he said. “Do you want a glass of water? Soda? I have tuna salad.” He knew he was rambling, and bit his lip to stop himself.

Rory laughed, and the sound did funny things to pit of Kyle’s stomach. “Okay, a one-eighty. I can live with that. Water is good, and tuna salad sounds fabulous. I haven’t eaten anything since lunch, and I’m feeling a little funky.”

Funky? Kyle remembered Rory’s medical alert bracelet and diabetic condition. The last thing he needed after the day he’d had was Rory going into shock or whatever it was that diabetics did when their sugar dropped, especially not in the middle of his living room. “Are you okay? What can I do?”

“Feed me, Seymour,” Rory said.

Kyle was momentarily surprised by the quote from Little Shop of Horrors, one of his favorite movies. He wouldn’t have thought somebody like Rory would’ve seen the movie, let alone quote from it. “Sure. Come in the kitchen. Sit.” He hustled to the counter and finished whipping together the tuna salad, slapping a couple of white bread sandwiches together. He tossed a few potato chips on two plates, and poured them each a glass of water.

Placing a plate in front of Rory, he took the seat opposite him at the small table. He played with the chips on his plate, unwilling to look at Rory, still feeling self-conscious about his strong attraction to Rory. “So, why did you come here?” he asked.

Rory took a bite of his sandwich and answered around a mouthful of tuna. “I was worried about you. It’s not like you to leave work like you did, in the middle of a shift. I figured you were really pissed off at me.”

Kyle looked up, surprised that Rory would’ve given him a second thought. He was certain no one else would’ve bothered. “I was. Well, not really. I was more pissed off at myself,” Kyle confessed. “I should’ve been the one to say something to Charlie. You shouldn’t have had to do it.”

“Yeah, well, he’s an asshole, and he really got under my skin. I guess I stepped over the line... again. I shouldn’t have started anything in front of the guests, right?”

“Technically, you shouldn’t have started anything at all, but yeah, especially not in front of guests.”

“I know, but he shouldn’t have said the things he did to you, Kyle. You’re a good guy, even if you are a little, er, rigid when it comes to the rules. And the lies he told the managers about me... he’s an asshole of the first degree.” Rory polished off the rest of his sandwich in silence, then turned those smoky gray eyes on Kyle again. “I don’t want you to stop training me, Kyle. We have a good time together, don’t we? I mean, when I’m not screwing up.”

Kyle watched Rory drink a half glass of water at one shot, fascinated by the way Rory’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, finding it incredibly sexy. A drop of water dribbled down Rory’s chin, and Kyle was struck with the urge to lick it off.

He coughed and quickly picked up his own glass to cover his discomfort, taking a long drink. “Huh? Oh, yeah. I shouldn’t have said what I did. You’ve only got a few more days left anyway. I’ll finish training you.”

“Cool!” Rory’s grin was blinding.

A bolt of desire zipped through Kyle’s body. His cock reared, pressing hard against the zipper of his pants. His mouth went dry but when he lifted his glass to his mouth, he realized it was empty.

Standing up to get more water was not an option for Kyle. He hadn’t changed his clothes when he came home from work, and his thin, white Groundskeeper pants would do little to nothing to hide the erection straining at his fly. He cleared his throat and tried to think of other, less arousing things. After a few moments of silence, he asked Rory the question he’d asked himself often. “How do you do it, Rory? People always see you. The guests, the Actors... “ He almost said “Charlie,” but bit his tongue in time. “They take notice when you pass by, even when you’re just sweeping up trash. Nobody ever sees me. Practically no one remembers me, even if they do see me. It’s like I’m invisible. I mean, I know I’m not as good looking as you, but I don’t think I belong in a zoo. What’s the secret?”

Rory cocked his head, blinking. “You’re not invisible. Man, you have a really bad case of low self-esteem, don’t you? Look, I think you’re a really good-looking guy, Kyle. You’re just a little too caught up in the rules. If other people don’t pay attention to you, believe me, that’s their loss.”

Kyle felt himself blush at the compliment, even though he didn’t really believe it. “Thanks. I know I’m anal when it comes to the rules. I just always figured it was the only way to get out of Groundskeeping and move on.”

“You just need to relax once in a while and have some fun.” Rory offered Kyle another dazzling grin. “Don’t worry... I’ll pry that stick out of your ass soon enough.” This time when Rory looked at Kyle, something in his expression changed. His gray eyes darkened, his lips parting slightly. If Kyle didn’t know better, he’d think Rory was getting turned on.

Don’t be stupid. He’s into guys like Charlie, not you, no matter what he says. You wouldn’t stand a chance with him. He dropped his gaze and picked at his sandwich, his smile sliding from his face.

“We’re not at work, right?”

Kyle looked up at Rory’s question and cocked his head. “What are you talking about? Of course not.”

“I mean, even though we’re in costume, it doesn’t count, right? There’s nobody here to see us, right?”

“Rory, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Rory stared hard at Kyle for a moment, then bit his lip and shook his head. “Never mind. Stupid idea.” He stood up and patted his flat stomach. “Thanks for the sandwich, and I’m glad you’re not mad at me. I have to get going, though. See you tomorrow?”

“Bright and early,” Kyle answered, still confused. He followed Rory to the door, careful to stay behind Rory so Rory wouldn’t see the pitch his dick was making in his pants. It had to be one of the strangest afternoons of his life, but he had to admit, embarrassing hard-on aside, he’d enjoyed Rory’s impromptu visit.

Rory had yet another surprise for Kyle, it seemed. He stopped short of opening the door, his back to Kyle. “Wait. This isn’t me. I don’t back off just because of a few stupid rules.”

Kyle frowned. Something was wrong. Rory’s hands were at his sides, palms rubbing his pant legs as if he were nervous. “Rory? What are you talking about?”

“The fucking Handbook, that’s what.”

“What about the Handbook? Rory, you’re not making any sense.”

“I know. Never mind. Look, you like me, right?”

“Huh?”

“You like me. I mean, you don’t think I’m Quasimodo material, do you? You’re kind of attracted to me?”

Kyle’s jaw popped open, and his hands automatically dropped to cover his crotch. Had Rory noticed his hard-on? How? He’d been careful to stay behind Rory. He tried to deflect Rory’s question with sarcasm. “What? It’s been a few hours since your last compliment, and you’re going through withdrawal? Sheesh. You’re starting to sound like Charlie. “

“Fuck Charlie. Just answer me and be honest.” Rory hadn’t turned around; he was still facing the door, and it was really starting to make Kyle uncomfortable. “Are you attracted to me?”

Kyle’s brow wrinkled in confusion. What the hell is going on with him? “You know you’re hot, Rory. Even Charlie wanted you... and he could have anybody. So can you, and you know it. What I think is irrelevant.”

Did Rory’s shoulders slump slightly? No, surely Kyle was seeing things.

“So, you don’t like me?”

Kyle was bewildered. Obviously, something was wrong with Rory, although Kyle had no idea what it might be. “I guess I do.”

“You guess?”

“Damn it, Rory, what do you want from me? Okay, yeah. I think you’re hot. There, are you satisfied?”

“Are you sure?”

“I said so, didn’t I? Although I still don’t understand--”

Kyle didn’t finish his sentence. He couldn’t. Rory moved so quickly, Kyle didn’t have time to react. He suddenly found himself pushed up against the wall, his mouth full of Rory’s hot, wet tongue.

Rory’s body, lean and muscular, was pressed up against the full length of Kyle’s own. His head swam as it tried to process everything all at once -- the taste of Rory’s mouth, the touch of Rory’s hands on his hips, the roughness of Rory’s five o’clock shadow against his cheek, and especially the feel of Rory’s cock, hard and uncompromising, rubbing against his own. Kyle’s erection returned with a vengeance. The only sound Kyle could manage was a moan, low and throaty.

Then Rory’s hips began to rock, and suddenly the world exploded. All Kyle could do was throw his arms around Rory’s shoulders and hold on as his orgasm took him by surprise, ripping through him with roughly the same velocity as a tornado, and just as devastating. He heard Rory grunting softly, but it sounded far away, on a distant planet in another solar system.

Kyle’s eyes opened and his vision cleared, filling with the sight of Rory’s face mere inches from his own. He found he still couldn’t speak, although he didn’t know if it was because of the strength of his climax, or shock.

Maybe both. Probably both.

Rory broke eye contact first and looked down between them. He offered Kyle a sheepish grin. “Guess we’re going to have to wash these pants before we turn them into Wardrobe, huh? We made a mess in them.”

Kyle nodded. Reason returned, but he still didn’t know what to say. What did you say to a hot guy you never once thought would be interested in you after he practically attacks you in your living room?

His eyes remained wide open, staring as Rory leaned in and kissed him softly. “I don’t run away from what I want,” Rory said. “I go for it. You might want to remember that. See you tomorrow, Kyle. We’ve got a night shift tomorrow, right?”

Again Kyle nodded, and watched as Rory -- who, Kyle noticed absently, wore as big a stain on his crotch as the one Kyle sported -- let himself out of the apartment, closing the door with a soft click.

Kyle leaned back against the wall and let himself slide to the floor. He touched his crotch; his fingers came away wet. It had happened, he hadn’t imagined it. Rory, troublesome, exasperating, gorgeous, amazing Rory had given him an orgasm to remember.

Oh, my God. Why did I let him do it?

Another thought came close on the heels of the first. This is going to change everything.

Looking toward the closed door, Kyle smiled.

Chapter Eight

He purposely didn’t call that night or make any other kind of effort to get in touch with Kyle until their next shift. Rory was pretty confident that Kyle would show up, but there was still a tiny niggling of doubt that maybe Kyle had meant what he said about not training Rory anymore. That would be the worst of all possible scenarios.

They were scheduled for an evening shift from four to midnight. It was Rory’s first night shift. He was kind of excited about it, if only because it was something a little different, and he’d always been a night person anyway. Cool stuff happened after dark.

Okay, so working a night shift wasn’t really the only reason he was looking forward to working, for once. Aside from having a burning curiosity to see what, if anything, had happened to Charlie after his outburst, Rory was mostly just looking forward to seeing Kyle.

He’d known that Kyle would be responsive, but it had still been surprising. The poor guy was just so repressed all the time, it made Rory want to see what else he could do just to get Kyle to break out of his shell a little. Well, that and the fact that Rory simply thought Kyle was hot. Rory wanted him.

Rory checked in at Wardrobe and got his costume, donning the now-familiar white outfit and picking up his broom and dustpan from the supply closet. He didn’t see Kyle, but there were still ten minutes before their shift started, so he’d be along any time now. It occurred to Rory that he was actually early, for once.

When the digital time clock clicked over to 3:58 and Kyle hadn’t made an appearance, Rory found himself tapping his fingers anxiously on his broom handle while he waited. This wasn’t good. Maybe he’d been wrong. Kyle wasn’t going to show.

Four o’clock came and Rory knew he was right. Kyle Forester was never late. Yesterday had been for nothing. Shit, shit, shi--

“Hi.” Kyle grinned shyly at Rory just as the clock hit 4:01.

Rory licked his lips and cleared his throat. “You’re late.” Kyle looked delicious, his warm brown eyes watching Rory’s face.

Kyle shrugged. “I guess they can dock me a minute’s pay.” The words were casual, but Rory caught him darting a look around to see if there were any supervisors on the immediate area.

“Heh. Next shift, try being two minutes late. We’ll work on it.”