Special Needs (9 page)

“What? You’ve got a new boss-slash-boyfriend already? The hell?” Bo opened his eyes wider and sat back on the bench. He was always hanging around the gym more than actually working out and it showed. Out of the three of them, he was the skinniest.

“Yeah, Liam. What’s up with that?” Lizzy looked worried.

Things calmed down a bit after Liam explained his
modus operandi
and made them swear to never reveal his sexual orientation to Ryan, but for some reason, Lizzy was less than impressed.

“This is the stupidest thing I have heard in a while,” he grumbled.

Liam blinked, taken aback. “What? Why? Cole thinks it’s a good idea...”

“Lying to a young, disabled, gay boy?” Lizzy sighed.

Bo scratched his head. “Is it really that important, Liz? Come on, at least he won’t sleep with another boss.”

Liam’s smile dropped. The way Bo said it made him sound like a teenage sex addict.

Lizzy gave up. “Yeah, maybe that’s not the worst thing he could do,” he said as if Liam wasn’t there.

“Duh, I could use my charms on someone vulnerable, but that’s not my style.” Liam huffed, challenging him with a stare.

“So what? You’re gonna do it until you find another job at a restaurant?”

Liam shifted his weight. How the hell was someone as freaky looking as Lizzy so goddamn stern and organized? “Dunno yet. It’s been nice so far.” He shrugged, silently begging Bo for help, and his friend did step in.

“Come on Liz, cut the man some slack. He’s got a house by the beach, peace and quiet, and good company.” He shrugged.

“You heard the man, Liz?” Liam gave Lizzy’s shoulder a meaningful pat. “Stop all that worrying, or you’ll get premature wrinkles.” He moved away towards the cardio space. “I’ll be back soon.”

He got a wave from his friends and made a turn towards the reception desk. The girl who worked there always smiled at him, so it could be a good place to ask the question he had.

“Hi there.” He leaned his elbow on the counter and gave her his best grin. “Been a long day?” he asked courteously.

“Yeah, but it’s so nice and sunny I don’t mind.” She smiled back and gave him all her attention. “Can I help with anything?”

“Kinda.” He changed his position until he was facing her and leaned over the counter. Those little touches always helped him get his way. “Was wondering if you exchanged leaflets with The Lust Pit? It’s only ten minutes from here, down by the Posen Beach.”

Her lips shaped into an ‘o’ and she stared at him blankly. “Uhm. No. Maybe I’ll ask my manager.” The receptionist quickly stood up, suddenly getting all fidgety.

He cocked an eyebrow, perplexed. “That’s a sex hotel, they have pretty cool themed rooms.”

“Oh yeah, I’ll tell her.” She gave Liam a nervous smile and almost ran away.

“What the hell was that?” he muttered, turning around to face one of the gym rooms.

A guy running on the treadmill winked at him and just like that, the receptionist was out of his mind.

“Well, hello there,” he muttered, moving forward to get a better look at the guy’s thighs in working. He was a bit too big for Liam’s liking, but good looking enough.

“Hi there,” he heard another female voice behind him and he turned around to face the person speaking. “Do I understand correctly? You asked my employee if we exchanged leaflets with a sex hotel?”

Liam's eyes were drawn to her muscular bicep and he hardly resisted a smile when he realized Bo's gaze would most definitely go somewhere else. “Yes. Did you?”

“No, sir. Is there anything else I can help you with?” Asked the stern-looking lady. Behind her, the receptionist slid back behind the desk, avoiding his gaze and obviously pretend-typing.

“Would you like to?” Liam gave her his best smile. “It’s pretty awesome.”

“No, thank you for your interest though.” She kept looking into his eyes as if it was a challenge. He was starting to think he was being misunderstood here, but if a woman said no, there was no way around it. His mom taught him that.

“Okay, thanks for helping me out. Do you know any businesses that could be interested?”

“Local night clubs maybe? There’s Zone, Safari Disco and VIP around this area.” The manager gave him a polite smile.

Liam nodded. “Cool, sorry for interrupting you, but she said she didn’t know.”

“You’re welcome, no problem.”

Liam nodded and faced the treadmill guy again. Their eyes met and he moved forward. Who knew, maybe their schedules for today matched? He needed to get laid and get twinky-Ryan out of his head.

Chapter 5

Liam threw the cigarette butt into the dirt and popped a strawberry flavored gum into his mouth. He was getting beyond frustrated with having to pretend he was a non-smoker, but there was no way around it at this point. What would Ryan think of him, if he somehow discovered Liam’s addiction? He didn’t even want to know.

His excuse to get out for a smoke was that he needed caffeine. Tightening his grip on the bottle of coke, he walked into Lizzy’s tattoo studio and headed straight for the back.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this!” Ryan's face lit up, and he waved at Liam from the tattooing bed. The design outline was clearly visible on his exposed hip.

Liam’s brows shot up. “Thought you’ve already started. And you’re safe in Lizzy’s hands”

“He wouldn’t let me do anything more without you.” Lizzy crooked his head at Ryan and Liam’s stomach got queasy, as if someone poked him with a vibrator. Should he feel guilty for making Ryan wait because of a cig?

“You can still change your mind,” Lizzy said to Ryan, picking up the tattoo machine. Liam frowned, surprised by the warm smile tugging on the corners of Lizzy's mouth.

“He can’t change his mind.” Liam parked his ass in Ryan's wheelchair. He liked how comfy it was. “That’s what you get for losing dares. I do know a lot about that.”

“Oh yeah? Which of your tats were a dare?” Ryan sighed and pushed his pants down a bit to give Lizzy some extra space.

“The Sex Feet Under one, obviously.” Liam let out a laugh. “Then, the Chinese take away box and the ‘You’re heavy’ on my foot.” He lifted his left leg, dropping the flip flop and there it was, on the outer side of the foot. “Behold.”

Lizzy shot him a half-smile, but didn’t say a word. Liam knew very well about his friend’s policy on random tattoos, but he was grateful to him for not bringing it up in Ryan’s presence. He could bet though, his boss-slash-friend got
the talk
when he was away.

Ryan snorted. “I give up, let’s get going. It could always be something worse.”

“A pack of sad French fries isn’t that bad considering what you’re wearing.” Lizzy let out a low chuckle. “What was the dare anyway?”

“He dared me that I’ll like seven of his dishes in a row better than fries. You can imagine he went all out.” Ryan shook his head as the tattoo machine started buzzing.

Lizzy darted a look at Liam and smiled in a way that made Liam's blood drain from his face. “He your boyfriend or something?”
That fucking dick!
Liam specifically told him not to mention anything gay-related!

“No, no!” Ryan said right away, a blush creeping up his neck. “More like my personal chef.”

Liam stretched in the wheelchair, sipping coke as if nothing happened, but deep down, he knew he had to kick Lizzy's treacherous ass. But hey, revenge is a dish best served cold. He could wait and then embarrass the guy in front of his girlfriend. Or something. “I am a chef by profession, but now I’m his personal caretaker. Best job ever, Lizzy.”

“That’s what they all say until they quit.” Ryan winked at him, but tensed up a bit when the tattooing actually started.

Liam grinned, savoring the prickling in his mouth. He should have taken a mango shake, it would go better with the fruity gum he was still chewing. The taste reminded him of Ryan’s shampoo. His raging (and very inappropriate) hard ons around the boy were now less frequent as they got into a pleasant routine. And he wasn’t lying, the job was a dream.

Cooking had been an unexpected pleasure he discovered after taking up that career to get back at his parents and in his new job, he could do it for someone whom he actually spoke to. He lived in a great house by the beach, with cool people, and he even fucked one of the hotel clients last week. It had been quite epic, and the guy paid for the room, even though his visit was intended to be a movie location search.

Life was good, Liam couldn’t remember ever having this much fun while earning money. Even if Ryan didn’t invite him into the shower anymore. The salary wasn’t as great as he had imagined, but considering the whole deal, it was still pretty decent. The time-off was flexible, depending on what they were doing. Sometimes, they would go out and do something in town, so they spent the whole day together; but other days, Ryan would just sit at the computer all day, so Liam could go surfing. Or have sex. Both very enjoyable.

“Those other guys weren’t as cool as me,” Liam remarked, pinching his t-shirt to get some attention for the print: an ostrich in leather undies. It didn’t work.

“One of them hit on me, so you have a lot to live up to,” Ryan said casually, looking down at his ink-in-making.

Liam bit his lip with a frown. Did Ryan fire the guy when they broke up? “Wasn’t your type?”

“He was. And he quit a week later. Sad times Liam, I tell you.” Ryan shrugged.

Liam looked at his young, delicate face, his heart skipping a beat before he could tell it to stop. “What a shithead.”

“You know, people can make their own decisions. Whatever. Maybe he got creeped out by my pervy ways.”

Liam chuckled, amused at the suggestion, though deep down, he knew Ryan was only trying not to be a victim here. He was sensitive that way. “Oh, did you take him to the Psych Ward room?”

“Psych Ward?” Lizzy shook his head, patiently working on Ryan’s hip. “Where was it that you work again?”

“Ryan’s got this awesome fantasy sex hotel. You need to check it out, man.” Liam knew Lizzy might be interested in a test ride.

“Yeah.” Ryan gazed down at the artist. “If that’s up your street of course. I got some flyers in the making, and we’ll be taking them round next week.”

“Oh, you could definitely leave some here. I bet some of my clients would be more than interested.” Lizzy smiled at Ryan.

“It’s at Posen Beach, so they can go skinny dipping after.”

“And it rocks!” Liam filled in.

“I bet you didn’t waste your time.” Lizzy sighed, the buzz of the tattoo gun making Liam feel jealous. Maybe he could get another tattoo in a few weeks.

“I haven’t seen him skinny dipping yet. Give me a heads up if you do.” Ryan snorted, winking at Liam.

“You’d have to get up earlier than you do.” Liam teased him.

“I might just try, you know! I’d have a good view from the balcony.”

The outline of the small tattoo was almost done and the little face on the pack of french fries did in fact look sad. Just like it should be.
Weep for your loss, grease-sticks! Say goodbye to Ryan’s succulent lips.

“Remember to make it cry, cause these things are never coming back on my watch.” Liam got up and looked down at the drawing.

“No! I love my fries so much!” whined Ryan. “You’re taking away a disabled person’s only joy in life.”

“What if I give you homemade chocolate mousse instead?.”

That perspective had even Ryan shut up about fries.

Two hours later, Liam stopped the car in front of a discount grocery store, close to Ryan’s favorite cafe, a local company that Liam never heard of before they met. Now it was time to find out whether he should feel bad about it.

As soon as they entered the cafe, they got greeted by a waitress who must have known Ryan. She took away a chair from one of the tables in the back to make room for his wheelchair and smiled. “Here you go, Ryan, your favorite table.”

Liam looked around the spacious room. It was raw and modern at the same time: with wooden floors and red brick walls. Black and white photographs by local artists and mismatched seats were the only decoration of the otherwise ascetic interior. “Wish I was that welcome anywhere,” he said, sitting in a green, fifties-style armchair.