Diary of a Teenage Taxidermist (32 page)

“Whoa!” Ryan clutched to his neck and brushed his face against it. “Show off.”

Liam felt himself shiver and he gently rocked the other man before parking his ass on top of the desk. “I want that star like, bad.”

“Okay, okay!” Ryan leaned on the desk to reach the resume and drew a total of three stars. “Just two more things.”

“Tell me.” Liam folded his arms, looking straight into Ryan’s eyes. He so had this job.

“Do you smoke?”

“No.” Liam lied reflexively, doing his best to keep a straight face, though his stomach got queasy all of a sudden.

“Were you even convicted?”

“Of course not.” Liam could only hope a smile would cover his nervousness. It wasn’t like he was in prison. Just a few weeks of community service. It would sound far worse than it actually was.

“Okay then, I’ll call you, when I make up my mind, yeah?” Ryan said, but there was a smile just dying to explode on his lips.

Liam swallowed, straightening his back to look more imposing. It was sink or swim. “Why don’t you tell me now?” he asked in a low voice, knowing what it would do to most gay guys. Or straight women for that matter. There was nothing better than a glaze of charm to top off the interview. “I hate to sound like I’m pushy, but I’d hate to sleep in my car today even more.”

Ryan snorted and bowed his head, scrutinizing the swirling flames tattooed on his fingers. “Okay, okay, you got the job.”

Liam broke out into a wide grin and made a move to hug Ryan, but stopped himself before it became too obvious. What the hell was wrong with him...

That’s great!” He fisted his other hand, making knuckles crack. Damn, he needed a cigarette so bad. “I’ll help you to the chair.”

“Yeah, that would be handy.” Ryan held out his arms, finally looking back at him.

“So...” Liam started as soon as he had Ryan in his arms again. “When do I start?”

“Your room is ready, so you can come back in an hour or two with your things. I’ll order some pizza if you want.” His grip was more casual now, as if he wasn’t scared of falling anymore.

“I have all my stuff in the car.” Liam felt a bit silly, but he didn’t want to bullshit Ryan anymore than he already had. “But I could get ingredients and make some homemade pizza here. How does that sound?” He turned towards the wheelchair, realizing that he had been just holding his new boss in the middle of the room. Now if that wasn’t awkward, he didn’t know what was.

Ryan raised his eyebrows. “Uhm... ‘make’ pizza? Wouldn’t you need some special facility to do that, or something?” He adjusted his legs into a better position as soon as he got back into his chair.

Liam exhaled. “No, not really, though it won’t taste like stone baked. Unless we bake it on one.”

“Like... just any stone from the beach?” Ryan made his way towards the door.

“No, more like a terracotta tile. Pizza stones are very expensive, but I could get basically the same thing at a construction store for less than a fiver.”

Ryan opened the door and moved out into the corridor. “I’m afraid the position has been filled,” he said to the last waiting candidate.

Ha. Liam could hardly contain his grin. He would be sleeping in a bed tonight. And now, he would quickly get the ingredients and make a pizza to die for. Ryan would never fire him after trying his pizza. It occurred to Liam at that point that he was too desperate to ask about his salary, but he ended up dismissing that thought. After all the ad did state it was ‘competitive’.

Liam was halfway to the shops when his phone rang. He rolled his eyes, already knowing who it would be.

“Hi bro.” He answered the call without taking a cigarette out of his mouth. Maybe he could buy some cheap smoke absorbent for his room? And some fragrance to mask the smell.

“Come on! How did it go?” Cole knew about his situation and promised he’d call as soon as he finished his class at the University. He was in Florida, but they spoke to each other at least every other day. Some might say it was sad to call your little brother your best friend, but Liam didn’t care.

“Great, I got the job.” He relaxed into the car seat. “The guy’s nothing like I expected. He has, like, a dozen piercings in each of his ears and blue hair.”

“Wow. You two might actually get along then, so how did it go, and tell me more about the job.”

Liam smiled. “I will be living in this pretty cool Addams Family house by the sea. It’s kinda quiet but close to the shops and restaurants. My gym is only ten minutes away by car too.” He made a mental note to talk to Ryan about fixed time off during weekdays. “And guess what, this guy owns a love hotel with those themed rooms and shit.” He took out another cigarette and used the old one to light it.

His brother snorted. “At least you’ll be out of temptation’s way. How old is he, anyway? And I really hope it’s not his gay dad employing you or something?”

Liam scowled. “No gay dads here, I’ve had enough of those.” It occurred to him that he had no clue how old Ryan really was. He looked young, maybe twenty, but then again, how would he own a hotel then? He must have inherited it. “And he’s... hard to say, early twenties, I guess.”

“So, have you thought about how you’re going to cope with his needs? Have you read anything about helping a wheelchair user?”

“I’m sure he’ll tell me everything he wants me to do. It can’t be that hard. Like, right now I am about to get some groceries and then make him dinner. Piece of cake, Cole.”He grinned, happy with his cig. The world wasn’t fair. First, cigarettes were promoted by doctors, and now people didn’t want him to even smoke in private. In the future, this could actually be considered an act of discrimination. Liam couldn’t wait.

“Did you even ask him what kind of disability he has?” his brother insisted. “Does he need help with... you know, going to the toilet and stuff?”

“No, it’s just his legs. Should be fine.” Liam took a turn towards Home Depot, scanning the parking lot for available space close to the entrance. “I have a good feeling about this.”

“Oh yeah? Do you like-like him?”

Liam felt heat rise to his cheeks. “Er... I only just got to know him...”

“I’m asking you a question here, Liam. Seriously. I will not let you sleep with another boss. It’s like you're addicted to it.”

“Come on, Cole, he’s in a wheelchair...” He knew it was a wrong thing to say, as soon as the words rolled off his tongue. “And I’m done with the bosses, I told you.”

“Did you get any vibes from him though?” Cole kept pushing. “You can tell me. It’s better you tell me than end up boiling it up and trying to seduce the poor boy.”

“I’m not going to seduce him.” Liam burned through a third of his cigarette in a single drag. “Seriously, there are gay people everywhere. It’s not like I can go and search for work in some bible freak community.” He huffed, stopping his car in front of Home Depot. He knew where this was going. Then again, he could never hide anything from Cole for long.

“If you did, you’d probably end up with the most closeted gay priest in there. And now, you’re going to live in the same house as the guy. That’s even more risk.”

Liam got out of the car, threw the cigarette butt to the ground and stomped on it. “He’s gay, all right?” He didn't even realize how loud he was speaking, before two young women gave him a meaningful glare from the other side of the driving lane where they were putting some lamps into the trunk of their SUV. His face soured. Great.

Cole wouldn’t be himself if he didn’t deepen Liam’s misery over the phone. “I knew it! I knew you were hiding something! The fuck, Liam? You quit that job now, or in two months it will be Todd, Lance, and fucking Brody all over again! You really want to make that boy cry?”

Liam shifted uncomfortably at the mention of his most recent exes. “He’s not a ‘boy’.” He made his way towards the entrance, wondering if they had the unglazed tiles he needed in stock. “And it’s not like I’m some sexual predator. Can’t you put at least some faith in me?”

“Maybe you should look for another job after all?” Cole sighed. “But then again... maybe he doesn’t have the ‘boss’ qualities you usually go for, huh?”

“No, he’s not a power tripping jerk.” Liam rolled his eyes as he went through the store, searching for the department he needed.

“Mm. Maybe it’ll be easier for you to search for someone normal in the meanwhile?”

“What the hell do you mean by that?” Liam stopped in the middle of the shop with a deepening frown.

Cole exhaled, making the line crack. “Finding some kind of manager that would actually be gay or bi, in every single job you got kicked out of isn’t normal, now is it?”

“Well, for the record, Cole. I am not only having sex with people I work with. That would be a sad number, you know.” He snorted, walking into one of the aisles.

“Good, that’s a start!” His brother laughed. “I know what you should do though. Maybe you should look for a guy who’s in a position of power, if that gets you off, but isn't actually your boss.”

Liam could only roll his eyes. If it only were that simple.

“That's brilliant, how could I not have thought about that before? Thank God I have such a smart little brother to do the thinking for me.”

“At your service,” Cole teased him. “So if you have a moment of weakness, just call me and we’ll talk it out, yeah?”

“What are you now, my drug emergency call?”

“I’m your guy, boss-addict.” Cole sounded like he couldn’t stop chuckling.

“Ha. Ha. Hilarious. I need to get laid.”

“Nope. Can’t help you with that.”

Liam snorted. “As if I ever needed help with that.”

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