Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Ricky
Was this how every guy felt after receiving his first blow job? Or was Elliot just really, really good at it?
I was still smiling when I floated back into work the next morning.
Everything just seemed… better. The sun was shining brighter.
Traffic was good on my way in. Even the old building that housed the Creepy Court Mall looked nicer than usual.
I hadn’t spent all that much time browsing here, but the little boutiques and specialty stores seemed interesting.
GalaxyGames, the arcade place, looked kinda fun.
I wondered if Elliot liked arcade games.
Did he shop at that dark, moody accessories store, Sizzling Discourse?
I was too intimidated to even step foot in there, but if I hadn’t known about Elliot’s medical condition, I would’ve maybe assumed he was a goth.
His perpetually messy hair was black, although it didn’t look dyed.
And I’d only ever seen him in his uniform.
How did he dress when he wasn’t at work?
I flushed as I made my way through the mall to the food court.
I probably dressed a little boring. Just shorts and T-shirts most of the time.
My sneakers were ancient, but I couldn’t afford new ones—not if I wanted to get my own place as soon as possible.
Not that living at home was bad, but my little sisters—fifteen-year-old twins—had kind of taken over and always had a gaggle of friends over.
My parents were okay, they weren’t bad people, but…
I wanted my freedom. To live how I was supposed to. To be fulfilled and not so lonely.
Elliot had given me my first taste of that freedom last night.
My belly twisted with excitement as I approached Broth with a Bite, its neon sign glowing electric green above the storefront—a tilted soup bowl with a splash of broth spilling from the side, flashing on and off, and a cartoon-esque bone sticking out of it.
When I walked into the back office, a huge grin spread over my face the moment I saw Elliot in there tying his apron, looking a little tired. But then he always looked kind of tired, thanks to his super pale skin and the dark shadows under his eyes.
I opened my mouth to say hey, but a flurry of nerves kept me quiet.
What if he’d… changed his mind? About liking me?
Looking back, I was embarrassed to realize I hadn’t actually done much while he was…
I’d just kind of slumped there, desperately trying not to come the moment his tongue connected with my dick.
And then he’d started touching himself too, and it’d felt like my head was gonna explode.
Then Elliot looked up. The nerves calmed when his face lit up, but I still felt kinda dorky and shy as I just stood there clutching the strap of my backpack.
“Hey.” He strode across the room, peered over my shoulder at the door, then pressed a quick, firm kiss to my lips.
Heat flooded my face, and a big, silly grin stretched my mouth. Elliot chuckled, briefly stroked my hot cheek, then stepped back a respectable distance.
“You sleep okay?”
“Uh-huh.” I was still smiling like an idiot as I set down my backpack and started tying on my apron. “How about you?”
“Oh yeah, I slept great.” He smirked at me, then lowered his voice to add, “Well, after I jerked off again thinking about you.”
My breath caught. I quickly glanced back at the door, then whispered, “M-me too.”
His smile widened, pale eyes darting to my mouth. “After we close up tonight, do you maybe wanna—”
“Why does it smell like beer in here?”
My head whipped around to see Brett standing in the doorway. He looked a little green, his hair messy and his eyes bloodshot.
A bolt of panic kept me silent as I darted a look at Elliot.
Last night, after kissing for a long, long time, we’d finally mopped up the beer I’d accidentally spilled—as well as the, um, other fluids on the floor—before Elliot handed me a new one, and we sat there drinking a can each and talking.
And kissing more. It’d been so rad. We’d finally left when we heard the security guard out in the food court, hastily sneaking out after Elliot finished locking up.
He looked calm and unruffled as he glanced over at Brett. “It doesn’t.”
“Yeah, it does.” Brett took another step into the room, the little color in his face leaching further as he sniffed. Then he narrowed his eyes at Elliot, not even glancing at me once. “Did you drink in here last night? For real?”
“Did you have fun with your girl at the party you left early for?” Elliot countered in an easy tone, shooting me a secret grin as he sauntered toward the door. “You smell like beer, dipshit. Not the office. It’s coming out of your pores.”
He clapped Brett on the shoulder as he passed him, then winked at me from behind Brett’s back before disappearing. I lowered my head to hide my smile.
Brett swallowed, looking nauseated, then lifted his arm to give it a sniff. “Shit, he’s right.”
“Did you have fun?” I asked, hoping I sounded somewhat normal.
He gave me a tired grin as he dumped his backpack after pulling out his apron. “Big time, bro. Got to spend some quality time with my girl, if you know what I mean.”
He chuckled and nudged me with his elbow, so I smiled weakly back.
“You got a girl?”
I tried not to tense up at the question. “Uh, nope. Not… Anyways, better get in there.”
Managing to give him a bright smile, I beelined for the door. Brett followed.
“Tiff has some friends I could introduce you to. Some total betties. What’re you doing tonight, bro? We’re gonna hang out at the beach later.”
I let out a nervous chuckle. “Isn’t it getting a little cold for that? It’s nearly Halloween.”
“Not if you got a girl on your lap.” Brett nudged me with a sly grin as we walked into the kitchen. “So, wanna come?”
Not in a million years. Especially because it sounded like Elliot had been about to ask me to hang out again before Brett interrupted us.
“Can’t tonight.” I managed a rueful smile. “Sorry. Thanks for the invite, though.”
“Another time. You seem like a legit dude, Rick.” He paused, looking over at me curiously as I heaved a big bag of onions onto the counter. “Hey, were you talking to him in the office before I got there? Elliot?”
My face flamed red. “Um, yeah. Why?”
Brett shrugged. “No reason, I guess. Those guys in the other kitchen are just kinda freaky, dude.”
I frowned. “He’s not freaky.”
“He kinda is, dude.” Before I could answer, he smirked and asked, “You notice the weird smell yet?”
I tensed, trying not to get too mad. I had noticed Elliot’s unique scent, but it wasn’t weird. It wasn’t bad. It was super nice. He smelled like sweet almonds. Kinda like cherry pie. And I freaking loved cherry pie.
“They don’t smell weird.” I dropped the sack of potatoes on the counter with a bit more force than necessary. “And they have a medical condition.”
Brett lifted his hands placatingly with a little chuckle. “Woah, don’t wig out, man. I’m just saying. I know it’s not their fault they look like that, but… they’re still kinda creepy, dontcha think?”
“Who’s kinda creepy?” Daphne asked as she walked in, catching the tail end of our conversation.
“The other kitchen guys,” Brett told her.
She rolled her eyes at me. “You’re such a turd, Brett.”
He scowled and finally turned to start stacking containers on the counter. “I’m just saying. My dad says you have to be careful who you associate with. It reflects back on you, ya know? That’s why my frat was so strict about who we invited to our parties.”
“Yeah, and that’s why everyone hates your frat.”
I suppressed my snort. Daphne grinned at me, and I smiled back as I started peeling potatoes.
Brett went quiet after that, and when the kitchen started getting steamy from the big pot of bubbling broth, he had to go and sit in the back office with a soda for a while until he stopped feeling like he “was gonna ralph everywhere.”
The day passed super slow. It kinda sucked that I barely got to see Elliot during our shifts, but none of them seemed to leave the other kitchen much except to take their orders out to the front. I was pretty sure they all even ate their lunches in there.
Brett dragged himself back into the kitchen when Daphne’s shift ended.
She was still at college, so she didn’t work as long hours as us.
Liz, the manager, popped her head in before leaving at seven.
She definitely had the same condition as the others, so she didn’t come into the kitchen—just told us that Elliot would be locking up once we were closed.
My gut fizzed with excitement that I refused to show. When closing time finally started inching closer, I glanced over at Brett, who was slumped over the other counter fiddling with an empty container.
“Hey,” I said as casually as I could. “If you, uh, wanted to head to that beach party now, I’ll be okay cleaning up.”
He immediately perked up. “Yeah?”
“For sure.” I gestured at the window. Through it, we could see the food court starting to clear out. “It’s quiet, so I can start now between orders. Won’t take me long.”
“Sweet. Knew you were legit, Rick.”
I didn’t bother pointing out that it was Ricky, not Rick. I just gave him a tight smile as he shuffled for the door.
“Oh.” He paused, looking uneasy. “I should probably tell Elliot—”
“I’ll do it,” I blurted, then flushed. “I don’t mind. I’ll ask him to quickly check the kitchen again.”
“’Kay.” Brett still looked a bit wary. “He might rat me out for leaving early again.”
I was pretty sure he wouldn’t, but I smiled and said, “I’ll tell him it was my idea.”
“Rad.” He grinned at me. “Thanks, Rick.”
Then he was gone. I hovered for a few seconds, patting my hair to make sure it wasn’t too messy, then took a breath and headed for the door.
Brett had already left by the time I walked the short distance down the corridor to the other kitchen.
My palms were a little clammy, stomach jittery with anticipation and nerves.
I knocked twice on the door, then took a few steps back so I wasn’t at risk of, like, contaminating the kitchen or something.
A few long seconds passed before the door inched open just a crack. A familiar face peered out, already frowning. Then his frown melted away when he saw it was me, replaced by a big grin.
“Hey.” He glanced over his shoulder into the room. I didn’t know who was in there with him, so I tried to keep my tone neutral.
“Hey, sorry to bother you. Um, I told Brett that he could go early, so…”
I trailed off, heat rushing to my cheeks. A slow grin spread over Elliot’s mouth.
“I can check your kitchen, no problem.” He kept his voice just as even, but gave me a secret wink. “I’ll be in once we’re all done here.”
“Okay, thanks.” I shifted, not wanting to walk away from him just yet. “Um, thanks.”
“No prob.” He grinned again, watching as I turned and walked away before closing the door.
My heart was beating faster already. Thank god I was alone in the kitchen for the time being, because I already had a boner forming just from seeing Elliot’s face and hearing his husky voice. I couldn’t stop thinking about last night. Wondering if we would do it again.
“You taste perfect.”
“I wanna make you come.”
“I really like you, Ricky.”
My breath shuddered out of me as I started to clean. I really, really liked him too. So much.