Diary of a Teenage Taxidermist (30 page)

Chapter 23

Ethan was almost done setting up a display for the letter-jacket-wearing white weasel that represented Robert. When they parted, Rob decided he would keep the black one and Ethan could have the white one so that each could have at least that symbolic version of the other. It didn’t make Ethan miss Rob any less, but at least it made him smile any time he looked at the Rob-weasel holding that tiny football. The apartment wasn’t big, but thanks to his parents’ help, still a bit bigger than what he would be able to afford on his own. With the taxidermy, he needed to have a workshop at home or he’d have to rent a studio space anyway, so it just seemed more logical to have a bigger place to stay. Especially because his line of work wasn’t exactly decoupage or quilting. He could imagine a lot of people wouldn’t want to share a studio space with him. Here, in the post-industrial building, no one cared as long as he kept everything clean, at least that was the suggestion the landlord gave him. The flat he was occupying didn’t have any next-door neighbors so there wouldn’t be any complaints about chemical smells and the like.

He’d managed to make the place look nice with a few secondhand items his parents helped him to move into the apartment from the flea market. He had a large bed, a rail for his clothes that still had an ‘H&M’ sticker on it, even the living room was quite well equipped, and he’d managed to quickly connect to the Internet. Things were looking up now that he had the money for
Of Mice and Elk
in his account, but even that would eventually run out, and he needed to keep on working and connecting to people.

That was why even with his lack of interest in socializing, he had forced himself to go to the neighbor’s party a few days ago. You never knew whom you could meet. Strangely enough, it was actually fun. There were all sorts of artsy types living in his building, and holding a conversation didn’t turn out to be that hard. People actually thought that what he did was cool and that his eye patch made him unique. His headaches weren’t that frequent anymore so even he was trying to see the bright side of things. He hadn’t had a memory lapse in a week, and even the one before that had been less than a minute.

What wasn’t cool though was having to cook for himself. He spent the last few days with pizza and Chinese takeouts, but that couldn’t last for an infinity or the next time Rob saw him he’d look more like a piglet than a weasel.

Ethan approached the kitchen counter with a pack of chicken breasts and a knife. He had salt and pepper. It couldn’t be that hard. He’d tried to reach Rob earlier for advice, but he wasn’t available.

He was washing his hands when the doorbell rang, making Ethan wonder. He didn’t remember ordering anything. It had to be one of his new neighbors. Hopefully one who could cook. He’d draw him or her in under the pretense of a chat and coffee, and extract all cooking knowledge out of them.

“Coming!” Ethan smiled and walked to the door.

He looked into the mirror to put his hair in order and looked through the peephole. His heart froze when he faced a black weasel in thick-rimmed glasses.

He couldn’t open the door fast enough. He was all fingers and thumbs, struggling to pull back the chain on the door, but he finally managed. He was sure he’d only see Rob in a weeks’ time, but there he was, it had to be him.

“Hey!” Ethan opened the door wide and faced the broad chest of his boyfriend, who smiled at him so wide, his mouth seemed close to splitting.

“Baby, we’ve missed you,” he said, wiggling the black weasel in the air.

“You came early!” Ethan squealed and glued himself to Rob’s chest, laying his head on the lovely pillows of his pecs.

“That’s what he said,” a familiar voice said behind Rob with a snort. Chris.

“May we come in?” asked Rob, squeezing Ethan tight with his free arm. He lowered his face and pressed a soft kiss to Ethan’s forehead.

Ethan nodded quickly and led them in. “Is Chris
joining
us? I don’t know if I’m up for that just yet.” He poked Chris’s chest with a pout.

“Just for dinner.” Chris grabbed Ethan and flung him over his shoulder, carrying him deeper into the apartment. Ethan was now almost facing Chris’s ass so he looked up, just to see Rob’s shocked expression.

“Watch out for his head.”

Chris snorted. “Yeah, yeah, he’s safe with me, Robbie.”

“Hey! I—” Ethan didn’t know what to say in the end, so he just dangled from Chris’s arm with his hair almost sweeping the floor. “Caveman.”

Chris eventually put him back on the floor and grinned. He was ridiculously tanned after his vacation in Florida.

“Nice place you got here. Not very Eddie-like.”

Robert rolled his eyes and put the black weasel on the cupboard to stand next to its white counterpart. He even pushed them close, as if they were about to touch.

Ethan couldn’t help but pet the fur on that black head. “Not
yet
. I’ve got all sorts of plans. I’ll bring my bone chandelier from home, maybe put up some cool wallpaper…”

“Let’s do it then,” said Rob, stepping closer. His face was tense despite the smile.

“You wanna help me?” Ethan pushed some of his hair back and looked up at Robert, unable to stop the need to hug him again.

Rob’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he bit his lip, slowly lifting Ethan by the ass. His kiss was sweet, gentle yet tentative, as if there was something Robert wasn’t telling Ethan yet.

“Am I a football or something? You guys just keep picking me up.” Ethan laughed and didn’t mind one bit how Robert got him to sit on the kitchen countertop. He looked at the chicken breasts. “Oh, yes! Now I’ve got someone to help me cook this. I’ll share.”

“Yeah! I could get crumbs while you two lovebirds reconnect.” Chris grinned and knocked on the tabletop.

Robert sighed, looking straight into Ethan’s eye, as if hypnotized.

Ethan swallowed, starting to get uneasy with the strange tension. “Am I missing something?”

“Yeah, he wants to move in with you, Eddie. There, someone had to say it.” Chris shrugged off the glare Robert sent him, completely unbothered.

Ethan’s lips parted. “For real? For the whole summer?” His heart picked up pace at the thought of all the things they could do if Rob lived with him. They could actually get a few more projects done together.

Robert drew in a sharp breath and shook his head. His eyes were so large and dark Ethan had to let him speak. “No. For good. I wanna stay.”

Ethan’s chest fluttered with how fast his heart beat. He wrapped his legs around Rob’s waist and pulled him closer. “You would? Oh, my God, Rob, that would be so amazing! What about college?”

Robert sighed and held him close, digging his chin into Ethan’s shoulder. “Fuck it. I wanna live a little before I go into debt. And maybe I can actually do something else?”

Ethan kissed his temple and hugged him close. His chest was swelling with pride at the courage Rob had found in himself. The last thing he’d wanted was to try to force him into this decision, so seeing him make it on his own in the end was beyond words. It meant that at least a part of Rob truly believed they could make it. “We’ll work super-hard, we’ll make it happen Rob, I promise!”

The smile that spread on Rob’s face reached his eyes and shone so bright Ethan half-expected for them to start burning. Robert fumbled with one of his pockets and slowly lowered himself to one knee, spreading out a piece of paper.

Chris laughed and put his hand over his face. “Oh no, here we go, I can’t look at this.”

But all of Ethan’s attention was on Robert. “What is it?”

With a grin that threatened to break his face, Robert handed Ethan the piece of paper, which was a printed-out email. “Ethan... will you be in Vogue with me?” he whispered.

Ethan began to read the text and with each sentence his ego bloated closer to the size of the Titanic. It was an offer for them to do styling for a photoshoot for Vogue. It mentioned the website their photos were featured on and how impressed the Vogue editor was with the crazy concoction of food and taxidermy.

“Oh, my God! Robert! Yes, yes, yes! I can’t believe it!” he squealed and slid off the countertop, trying to hug Rob so fast he fell into his boyfriend’s embrace.

Rob tilted backward, and only Ethan pulling him up saved them both from a fall to the floor. Their kiss was rushed and messy, but oh-so-good. Ethan wished it would never end, but eventually, he slid to sit between Rob’s knees, pressed against the sweet-smelling chest.

Robert gently brushed some hair off Ethan’s forehead and rested his chin on top of his head.

“When are you moving in? We have to get to work straight away!” Ethan was frantic and he cupped Rob’s face, trying to get a grip on the situation. “Is there any deadline?”

“Why do you think he brought me here?” Chris helped himself to some juice. “All his shit is in my truck.”

Robert chuckled and moved the tip of his nose over Ethan’s cheek. “An hour?”

Ethan wrapped his arms tightly around Rob’s neck. A part of him was afraid this was just a dream, and he would wake up any time now. “I love you so much, Robert. We’re gonna have the coolest home ever, and”—he lowered his voice to a whisper—“we’re gonna fuck like monkeys every day.”

“Wait till I’m gone with that last part, okay?” grumbled Chris. “No one cares about my straight innocence.”

Robert grinned at Ethan and winked. “Eavesdropping, are we?”

Ethan laughed. He couldn’t care less about what Chris had heard. It was his house after all. Happiness sparkled in him like bubbles in a freshly popped bottle of champagne. He was sure Rob and he would make it work, both in the relationship and in professional life. Rob was the one person that completely ‘got’ him. His head began to tingle with pain at the approaching tears.

“And weasels. Can we get weasels?” Ethan asked as he rubbed his eye.

“You mean ferrets?” Robert sighed and gently massaged Ethan’s cheekbone with his thumb.

“Yes, ferrets. They’re so cute, Rob, they’d keep us company!”

Chris snorted. “And you’d stuff them when they die?”

Ethan frowned and hugged Rob harder. “That’s not the point!”

Robert’s cheeks reddened, and he hid his face in Ethan’s hair. “I researched them, actually. They’re really cute.”

Ethan stroked Rob’s head with a blissful smile. He was sure it would be tough sometimes, and that they both had a lot to learn about living on their own as adults, but he was sure that figuring it out together would make the struggles worth it. “We’re gonna be the best ferret daddies.”

The end

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About the author

K.A. Merikan is a joint project of Kat and Agnes Merikan, who jokingly claim to share one mind. They finish each other’s sentences and simultaneously come up with the same ideas. Kat and Agnes enjoy writing various kinds of stories, from light-hearted romance to thrillers. They love creating characters that are not easy to classify as good or evil, and firmly believe that even some villains deserve their happy endings. It is easiest to find them in galleries, good restaurants and historical sites, always with a computer or notebook, because for Kat and Agnes, every day is writing day. Future plans include lots of travel and a villa on the coast of Italy or a flat in Paris where they could retire after yet another crazy venture, only to write more hot homoerotic stories.

Kat and Agnes started as popular authors of online serials written in their native language, but are now focused on reaching a wider readership by writing in English. As K.A. Merikan, they have published a number of books, which cross genres while always staying homoerotic.

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