Special Needs (41 page)

“Can you bring over the wheelchair? You left it too far away,” Ryan muttered, slouched and looked to the floor.

“What the hell is wrong today?” Liam muttered through clenched teeth, watching him. He couldn’t decide whether he should stay or leave.

“Everything is changed and moved around.” Ryan stayed in the same position, as if his joints have become rusty. Only his chest kept moving with frantic breaths.

“That’s why you have me, remember? To help with... stuff...” Liam swallowed, threw Ryan's jeans to his bed, and folded his arms.

“But you’re angry. I don’t like when you’re like that. And I’m away from the wheelchair, and you could leave any moment, and I would be stuck here, dirty...” Ryan's whole body was starting to tremble like a kitten in the snow.

“You’d have me fired, and I’d be forced to sleep in my car again.” Liam’s chest was heavy with frustration.

“You said you have a backup plan.” Ryan just sat there, not looking up.

“That’s not the point.” Liam walked over, until his knees hit the bed and he couldn't see Ryan’s face anymore, so instead, he gazed at his colorful hair. “I don’t have a backup plan for losing you.”

“You seem to be popular with guys,” Ryan was obviously trying to joke, but it didn’t sound like he was amused.

“Stop. It’s not funny.” Liam took a deep breath and finally sat on the edge of the mattress.

“I wouldn’t fire you. You’d sue me for sexual harassment.” Ryan was trying his best to mock the situation, but he didn’t look like much of a comedian, sitting there naked, with used tissues around him and slowly pushing his own legs off the bed.

“Ryan, what the hell’s wrong? I don’t get it. Is it the website thing?” Liam licked his lips and gave him a searching look that finally made Ryan crack.

“It’s everything... the website, my fucking stump, the hotel and now that I can actually be with you, I keep thinking I’m not gonna be good enough.” He ran a hand over his face.

Liam felt his heart soften. He reached out to Ryan, cradling him against his chest. “Don’t be silly.”

“Changes like this make me nervous.”

“You’re not helping yourself here. Nor
us
for that matter.” Liam shook his head, slowly petting the trembling back.

Ryan just clenched his lips and started scratching his scarred thigh. Liam could only stare.

“When I started the website, I didn’t think what I’d do if I had a boyfriend.”

Liam nodded, biting his lip. “Okay...”

“I need to wash.”

Liam sighed and crooked his head to give him a small kiss. He wanted this fucking quarrel erased. “You all right?”

“Yeah, let’s just not talk about the hotel business.” Ryan sighed and leaned in for a hug.

“Actually, I wanted to offer my help right before we started fighting.” Liam rolled his eyes.

“You don’t have to, it’s
my
problem.” His breath tickled Liam’s skin.

“I know I don’t
have
to.” Liam was becoming tired of this fruitless discussion. “Can’t you just accept what I’m offering?”

“What are you offering?” Ryan finally looked up at him.

“Look, I want you to succeed, because I think you’re a great guy and I want to see that smile of yours all the time.”

Those words managed to squeeze out the smile that he was getting desperate to see. “I know.”

Liam grabbed Ryan’s hand, pressing it into his own breastbone and kissed him once more, a bit overwhelmed by the rush of emotion. “We’ll think of something, all right? Do brainstorming and shit.”

“Yeah, that would be nice.” Ryan gave his cheek a peck and smiled again. There, the day was looking bright again.

Chapter 19

Liam walked into yet another aisle of the biggest general store in Posen Beach. They were looking for Halloween decorations for the party Ryan had planned and halfway through the shopping list, the cart Liam was pushing already looked pretty packed. They figured it would be much cheaper if they made at least some of the ornaments themselves, and that led them into the office supplies section.

“Ryan, do we have those black glitter pens?” he asked, looking at the list, written on a page from Ryan's zombie-themed notebook. In the corners, it had ornamental elements of bones and guts.

“That’s in the kids section. We'll get duct tape and glue here first. It’s cheaper in bulk, and that stuff is always useful around the house.” Ryan was wheeling next to the cart, just a few inches behind him and Liam was getting suspicious that it had a lot to do with Ryan checking him out all the time. He smiled at the thought. It didn’t feel like the kind of possessive leering he sometimes got. That reminded Liam of just how much he wanted to get their test results back. He was pretty sure he was negative and so was Ryan, but it was better to take precautions. It would be silly to wait for months if they were both playing safe before though.

“Oh, okay. Have you ever decorated cookies? You could help me.”

“Uh... cookies.” Ryan looked up, with his lips parted, and Liam couldn’t help but swallow hard. God, how he wanted those results. He couldn't wait to have Ryan suck his cock for real and come into that pouty mouth. “I have actually. I used to help my aunt.”

“Splendid,” said Liam in an overdone parody of a high-class British accent. He got that from a movie they watched the night before. “I was thinking cookies and candy could be themed depending on the room.” He shot Ryan a questioning look, eager to see more of his enthusiasm. He wanted to help Ryan with the hotel as much as he could, and a successful Halloween party might be a good relaunch for the business.

“Oh wow. You could do that?” Ryan’s smile widened and Liam would lie if he said he didn’t enjoy the adoration in that gaze, So raw and honest, Ryan’s eyes were only looking at him.

“Sure.” He grinned, bowing down to give his lover a quick kiss, but Ryan grabbed the sides of his head and pulled him in for a full-on face-lick fest. God help him, he
was
happy where he was.

“I know it’s California, but seriously,” they heard someone hiss from the side.

Liam rested his hands on Ryan’s thighs for support and reluctantly pulled away from the kiss, still holding Ryan’s bottom lip between his teeth, just to look at the person who dared to ruin this moment.

The woman rolled her eyes and walked along the aisle, apparently having nothing more to say. He snorted and released the soft flesh, straightening his back before Ryan would give him one of those erections that were very hard to get rid of unless taken care of. Preferably by Ryan himself.

“I mean, you know, we could have like... special menus to go with the rooms so that people wouldn’t just come for the sex. Good shit, you know, but not too complicated.” Liam scratched his head and moved some of the blue strands behind his boyfriend’s ear. He was wondering how did he manage to keep them so soft with all the chemicals he used to keep them vibrant in color.

“That’s such a cool idea! Like... jelly tentacles for the Monster room.” Ryan slid his fingers into Liam’s palm.

“That’s a snack,” Liam told him. "I'm thinking about full set menus to complete the experience. We should just market it as like, a really cool date. Much more than great place for role-play sex.”

“Or a honeymoon destination for kinky people.” Ryan smiled and squeezed his hand. His eyes were soft, like that of an infatuated high schooler, and it made Liam feel like he was that metal-loving jock again. Oh, he’d seen boys look at him like that back in high school so he could tell.

“We could do holiday packages. The guests would sleep in a different room each night.” He smiled at Ryan. It would be a bit of a fuss, but if he had this kind of money to spend on leisure, he would be in love with the idea.

“Uh-huh! And we could have different sets of cutlery for particular nights-- Oh, hi Roger.” Ryan’s excitement flopped within a split second and he pulled back his hand to wave at their neighbor, who has just entered the aisle and gave them a wide-eyed look of a deer in the headlights.

“We have to be friendly, so he doesn’t cause problems,” Ryan whispered to Liam.

“I’m on it.” Liam walked up to Roger and reached out his hand. “Good to see you,” he said even though they barely saw each other. Liam believed the guy had some kind of social anxiety, and the way he was looking at him now, as if Liam was about to bite his head off, only confirmed that suspicion.

“Stocking up for Halloween?” Ryan wheeled closer and smiled, scrutinizing their neighbor’s cart, filled with duct tape, cling film and some rope. The only edible items in there were five bottles of some shabby vodka. The guy had to be preparing for a massive party, which came as a surprise, considering that Liam never saw another vehicle in front of his home. Then again, maybe he was one of those work-from-home workaholics who let themselves go in holiday time? He should ask Roger whether he was an author, or some shit like that.

“Uh, hi there guys.” Roger gave Liam a somewhat flat smile and shook his hand. “Nah, it’s just some stuff for the garden.”

Liam wanted to make a raunchy comment about the liquor being an excellent fertilizer, but he bit his tongue, remembering Ryan’s request for him to be nice.

Ryan leaned forward in his chair. “Oh, that’s so great, my aunt used to do lots of gardening, do you remember?”

“Yeah, she was good with plants. You had the best strawberries. Much better than the ones from the supermarket,” Roger said, dropping some duct tape into his cart.

“It’s good we actually bumped into each other.” Ryan kept smiling like a little sunshine beam. “Just wanted to give you a heads up that we’re throwing a big Halloween party at the hotel, and you’re invited if you wish to come.”

Roger licked his lips, shifting his weight to the other leg. “Um, I’m not yet sure about my plans yet, but I’ll come if I’m free.” He frowned when Liam took out a bundle of rope from his cart. Great, was he OCD or something, that he had a problem with people touching his rope?

Liam cleared his throat and put the bundle back, trying to recreate the way it was previously laying, with one side curled against the metal side of the cart. “Hey, we could actually use something like this. Which department is it?”

Roger’s frown deepened. “Gardening.”

“Thanks so much, Roger. I hope you can come,” Ryan said and shook Roger’s hand again, before wheeling back to where they left their cart.

“You know, we could use rope and some of the duct tape we have for your costume.” Liam grinned, following him. “You could be my prisoner.”

“Oh my God! We should totally do matching costumes!” The idea made Ryan so excited, he actually clapped his hands in glee. “By the way, I’m gonna take care of your problem later,” he laughed and pointed at Liam’s chest. It was hard not to grin at that when you were wearing a t-shirt that said 'It won't suck itself'.

Feeling silly at how light hearted the suggestion made him, Liam packed some more tape. Just in case. They didn’t progress beyond oral sex, touching, and Liam fucking Ryan’s thighs, but he wasn’t dissatisfied in the least. Ryan was just so enthusiastic and horny, that Liam didn't mind taking his time. If it were his decision, they’d never leave the house, fucking each other’s brains out in each room, even Rodney’s. Especially Rodney’s. He grinned at the thought as they made their way out of the aisle and took a turn towards the grocery section.

“Yeah, that’s the pain with the idea of self-service. It’s not always as efficient as I might like.”

“I still wish I could suck myself.” Ryan sighed, but his attention suddenly shifted to the fruit stand with a stack of square watermelons.

Liam frowned, but didn’t comment on it, vaguely remembering a crazy, German porn movie with three guys fucking a watermelon through a drilled hole. Ryan made him constantly think of sex, and the fact that they both loved finding weird porn on the Internet wasn’t helping. “You sure? You’re pretty lanky. Maybe I could help you?” He gave his boyfriend a seductive leer.

“That’s my ex,” Ryan whispered. “I haven’t seen him in years.”

“Oh?” Liam stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans and zeroed his gaze in on an average looking guy in a plain, gray t-shirt and khaki cargo shorts. “So?”

“So I wonder how he’s doing,” Ryan said, staring at the man as if he wanted to hypnotise him to look their way. It must have worked, because the guy looked up, face suddenly getting serious. Liam got the impression he wanted to escape, but Ryan wouldn't have it and started wheeling towards him.

“Mike! Oh my God! I haven’t seen you in years.”

The ex ran his fingers through his shaggy hair. “Hi there, Ryan... yeah. Long time no see.”

Liam sighed and pushed the cart behind his boyfriend. He couldn’t believe Ryan didn’t see how uncomfortable the other guy was about the encounter. And if
he
could see it, it had to be prominent.

“What are you doing now? I can’t wait for the class reunion next year.” Ryan was still oblivious to Mike’s body language. Maybe it was the same mechanism that caused him not to notice all the times Liam hit on him. Liam didn’t care enough to intervene though. Instead, he just stopped behind the wheelchair and used the time to go through the shopping list once more, to make sure they didn't forget anything.