Stories Beneath Our Skin (21 page)

"
I know you're not real big on the details, but I know the area pretty well. Only two shops in that neighborhood, and Cindy wouldn't put with that kind of shitty behavior from an artist. Gotta guess the place you worked was Venom, right?"

"
Yeah." The knowledge didn't bother Liam the way he thought it would. It was just a fact. "It wasn't that bad a place, really."

"
Jim's okay." Ace shrugged. "Doesn't pay enough attention to his people though. I knew he'd lost an artist a few years back. Must've been your ex."

"
Must've been. I didn't give Jim much thought one way or another, beyond him being the boss. That whole period is sort of a blur." He ran a hand through his hair, trying to push it out of his eyes. It really was getting long. "You know, they say E permanently impacts your ability to make serotonin. That you could never be happy the same way again. Wouldn't that be a kick in the ass?"

"
Thought you said you were usually a pretty upbeat guy," Ace teased.

"
Well, upbeat is probably an overstatement." He couldn't help but grin.

"
You've been clean for a long time. Probably fine now."

The warehouse had no sign above it. Ace pushed a doorbell and got buzzed in by a gruff voice over the speaker. They walked down a tight
, institutional looking hallway that let out into a cluttered room lined with industrial shelving. Squirreled away in a corner was a high desk. A huge guy with broad shoulders and tattoos that covered his shaved skull sat hunched over a newspaper, pen idly tapping against the desk.

"
Hey, Ben." Ace leaned onto the desk, shadow falling over the paper. "Got my order ready?"

"
Who let you in?" Ben rolled his eyes. "And what've you got stuck to your shoe?"

"
Oh, this is Liam. Liam, this is Ben." Ace gestured loosely between them.

"
Where'd you find him?" Ben looked Liam over skeptically. "Looks like one of those sad skater kids that hang out in front of the Starbucks."

"
Should I just get my driver's license tattooed on my face so everyone'll know I'm a legal adult?" Liam despaired.

"
You're man enough for me." Ace patted him idly on the arm. "The order, Benny."

"
Didn't get an order." Ben heaved himself up. "Grace probably handled it. Let me check the shelves. Don't lick anything."

"
Is that a serious concern?"

"
Maybe." Ace's eyes went wide. "Did I lick something? When did I do this?"

"
Not you. That beanstalk you call an artist." Ben squatted down to check the lower shelves. There was sun on the back of his neck, painstakingly detailed for such a simple design. "Duck or whatever."

"
Oh yeah. Think you pissed him off. Can't imagine how with your sunny demeanor." Ace winked at Liam. "Think what he licked was Grace though, not the merchandise."

"
That's yours," Liam blurted, pointing to the sun. "I mean, it is right?"

"
What?" Ace followed his direction then smiled broad. "Yeah, I did that. A few others, too. You figured that out from here?"

"
It reminds me of Frankie's elbow knotwork," he flushed. "You use that superfine needle. Don't see it much."

"
Hurt like a motherfucker." Ben located the box at last, plunking it down on the countertop. "I thought he was trying to cut me open and climb inside."

"
There's a mental image." Opening the box, Ace started counting the contents. "You got any electric blue? Forgot to add that, but we're low."

"
Yeah, we should. Want the economy?"

"
Sure. Liam is a blue addict. You should see the Kali piece he did. All blues and greens. Looked like jewelry."

"
That so?" Ben said softly.

"
That's so." Ace smiled, all teeth. "Want to talk machines with you too."

The conversation went strictly business after that, Ace handing over the shop
's Visa at the end. The sale number was high, but definitely lower than any website Liam had ever seen. Ben taped the box shut and promised a delivery date for the refurbished machine for Goose.

"
Grace has a show next weekend." Ben said only once the receipt was signed and tucked away. "You should come."

"
Should I?" Ace set the pen down gently against the wood.

"
Yeah. You should. Bring him if you want." Waving in Liam's direction, Ben finally cracked a smile. His left front tooth was inked, a tiny skull. "Looks like a soft rock kind of guy."

"
Maybe." The box settled into Ace's arms. "Catch you later."

"
Bye." Ben turned back to his paper, ignoring Liam's own half-hearted farewell.

He waited until they were back on the street to ask,
"What the hell?"

"
You've got your exes, I've got mine." Ace's mouth was pinched up tight. "Sorry. I thought he wouldn't be an ass about it."

"
He wasn't. I mean. Not really." The conversation replayed in Liam's head. "That's pretty much how Deb talked to me in the beginning."

"
Yeah well, for someone who doesn't have one, Deb sure knows how to act like a dick."

"
How long ago were you guys together? You and Ben, I mean."

"
About four years ago. He was the last long-term thing. We had a good run, but then I got into opening the shop and that drained my free time pretty quick. Probably could've survived that, except he moved back to the city around then. We didn't break up so much as just fell out of touch. Became pen pals practically before we threw in the towel."

"
Seems like you're still friends."

"
Sort of." They'd gotten back to the car, and Liam took the box so Ace could pop the trunk. "Still gets jealous apparently. You'd think after all this time, he'd be over it."

"
I wouldn't be." Liam settled the box down, taking longer with it then had to so he could hide the flush of his cheeks. "You've got a way of sticking to people."

"
Makes me sounds like old gum." Ace laughed, tugged at Liam's waistband to draw him away before slamming the trunk closed. "He was only jealous 'cause you're so pretty."

"
I'm going to get a complex if you keep calling me that. I am a guy, you know."

"
Oh, I've noticed." The hand at the back of his jeans slid momentarily lower, before departing altogether. "But you've just this look about you. The pouty lips, the big eyes, and the crazy dark eyelashes. Sorry, Professor, you're very pretty."

"
Hate you." Liam shoved at Ace lightly. He always forgot the solidness of Ace's compact frame, how firmly he could stand his ground.

"
Hate me and walk. There's a few places we can go to get you some new kicks."

"
Kicks? What is this, 1996?"

"
Don't diss my slang, yo," Ace said flatly.

They walked through the streets seemingly at random, talking nonsense
, and Liam relaxed into it. Despite the grief that lingered in his chest, the world seemed obscenely kind just then. It wasn't even all that hot out. While they waited for the light to change on a busy intersection, Ace took Liam's hand.

"
Okay?" he asked quietly.

"
Yeah." Liam grinned down at the pavement.

It should have been awkward walking like that, but they hit a comfortable pace
, and their hands swung loose and natural together. Liam's fingers became hypersensitive, aware of each shift and change of pressure. He scanned the passing crowd for reactions, always a little wary. There was nothing; no one gave them a second look.

"
Here we go." Ace tugged him into a storefront with more black paint than clear window out front.

There were boots everywhere, including a pair very close to Ace
's own shitkickers. Two sales clerks chatted idly in the back while stacking boxes. Both of them were saturated in ink, long complex sleeves and enough piercings to set off a metal detector.

"
This looks more like your kind of place." Liam picked up a boot longer than his arm.

"
While I'd pay good money to see you even try to pull those off, there are actual sneakers." Ace laughed.

"
I could manage it," he protested, more out of sheer contrariness than belief.

"
They'd wear you, trust me. Here."

There was a wall of fairly ordinary sneakers, done mostly in blacks. Liam gravitated toward the Converses on display. A blue pair with a bright silver star on the ankle drew him in and he got the box off the shelf.

"Converse? Now who's living 1996?"

"
Hey, these are classic."

They sat side by side on the small bench while Liam pulled them on. The white of the laces nearly blinded him, making his old pair look even shabbier by comparison. Ace
's boots, battered and worn, sat beside them. Liam stared down at the toes of their shoes, white and black against the store's dingy carpet.

"
You zonking out on me?" Ace nudged him.

"
No... sorry. I'm getting these."

As he waited for his credit card to go through, Liam watched Ace move down the rows. Occasionally he
'd pick something up, look at the price, make a face and set it back down. The blackened windows only let in a little sunlight. Every last beam of it seemed to find the gold of Ace's hair. The epiphany broke over him quietly, the groundwork long since laid.

"
Sign here." A receipt was shoved his direction. His signature was illegible in his dash, heart thudding as he collected his bag.

"
Ready?" Ace glanced up from his perusal.

"
Yeah, let's go."

"
You look like you're chewing over something."

"
Nah," Liam lied. "We going to eat before we go back?"

"
Who are you, and what've you done with the Professor?" Ace laughed. "We just had breakfast like two hours ago. Your tiny bird stomach is definitely not empty yet."

"
Actually I'm starving." He hadn't been thinking of food, but once the suggestion came out, his stomach roared to life.

"
Wow. First time for everything. Okay, let's some get food into you."

They ate
at a hole-in-the-wall cafe. Ace kept one hand wrapped around a thick ceramic mug of dark coffee. The other kept winding up on the back of Liam's neck, sliding under dark hair. Liam leaned into it, eating his eggs painfully slowly to prolong the experience.

"
Tell me what you were thinking before." Ace nudged when Liam had gone nearly boneless with the sensual pleasure of a full belly and caresses. "In the store."

"
Doesn't matter."

"
Matters to me." Ace used his grip to bring Liam closer, forehead touching Liam's cheek. "Tell."

"
I was thinking that I could fall in love with you." The words spilled out onto the small table, cluttering in among the plates and Ace's coffee.

"
That... is not what I thought you were going to say." Ace didn't relax his grip though and kept their heads close together. His breath ghosted over Liam's skin, carrying the bitter smell of coffee. "How do you always turn me around like that?"

"
Dunno. Guess it's a natural talent. You going to tell me that I shouldn't? Not sure I'm up for another round of that game."

"
No." Ace kissed the corner of Liam's mouth. "I did all the selfless disclaimers already. Now I'm too greedy to turn you away."

"
Good." Liam twisted at an uncomfortable angle to take the kiss further.

He might
've climbed right into Ace's lap if it wasn't for the pointed cough of another customer reminding them they were in public. Liam flushed spectacularly.

"
Let's go home." Ace said, eyes heavy lidded. "Got a few hours yet before we get Cole."

In a week, Liam would fly back to California
, changed and ready for one last rigorous push. He'd reenter the world of literary analysis and papers that kept him up the same hours he'd worked at the shop. Maybe he'd text more often, picking up the phone to reach across the distance. Maybe they'd make phone calls that devolved into heavy breathing or worse, snoring given their hours. Maybe the fire newly kindled in Liam's chest would flicker and die. Or maybe it would mature into something that could last years.

For now though, they would have the thick expectancy on the ride home, the tumble into their bed and the satisfaction in each other
's bodies. When they sweat into the sheets, sticky and laughing, Liam danced his fingers down Ace's spine over and over. He memorized each bump and the broad plane of his shoulders.