Rough Boys Ch. 08

This is a copyrighted work of fiction. All rights reserved.

All characters engaged in sexual acts in this story are at least eighteen years of age.

Warning: this chapter contains excessive drug use. Please read at your own discretion.

****

Ty's head throbbed and his eyeballs felt like they'd been rubbed with sandpaper. He was having trouble getting his sluggish brain to form coherent thoughts. Luckily his job didn't require much mental effort, but the physical exertion of moving boxes around was making his stomach churn. He desperately hoped he wouldn't throw up.

He felt eyes on him and glanced up to see Bill glaring at him.

"You seem slow today," Bill said.

"I didn't sleep well last night," Ty responded, guilt flaring in his gut. I actually didn't sleep at all last night. I took a short nap this afternoon.

It was the day after Leather's party, and Ty was feeling the effects of all the drugs and alcohol he'd consumed. He'd had a great time at the party, but now he wished he'd quit partying and gone to bed. He stifled a groan.

"Hmmph!" Bill made a disapproving sound.

Ty ignored him and, struggling a bit under the weight of the box he had picked up, he hefted it to chest height and set it on top of a stack of boxed canned goods.

The box he'd just moved revealed a crate of peaches behind it. Fruit flies hovered in a thick cloud above the rotting fruit.

"Uh oh," Ty said under his breath. Bill always had a fit when something like this happened.

Bill heard him muttering and his gaze followed Ty's.

"Son of a bitch!" he exploded. His face immediately went beet-red. In three steps he was at the crate. He picked up one of the peaches and threw it against the far wall. The soft fruit splattered on contact, showering the area in sticky peach pieces, leaving a large glob and the pit to slither down the wall. "Fuck! That's a hundred and fifty dollars worth of peaches—ruined!"

Ty took a step back and eyed Bill warily. With his quick temper, Bill reminded Ty a little bit of his dad. He had grown up with yelling and displays of temper. So far, Bill had not gotten physical with him, but Ty didn't trust that he never would.

Bill glanced briefly at Ty before stomping away and disappearing into the front part of the store.

Ty looked at the box of peaches. Such a shame. He hadn't been there when the peaches had been delivered, otherwise he would have made sure they were stocked immediately.

The heady smell of ripe peaches hung in the air, but the peaches were beyond saving. He picked up the crate, carried it out the back door, and tossed it's contents into the dumpster. That done, he cleaned up the peach mess. The less Bill was reminded of his mistake, the better. He poked around, shuffling boxes to make sure there were no other perishables in danger of spoiling. Finding none, he picked up a box of condiments and went into the main part of the store to start stocking shelves.

Bill was nowhere to be seen. He glanced up as he saw Tika coming down the aisle toward him. She stopped in front of him, hands on hips.

"Hi, how's it going?" he asked. He didn't expect a civil answer. Tika had given him the cold shoulder since his first day there.

She ignored his question. "Bill had to go home," she said. "I'm leaving too as soon as I balance out the till. Bill says you can stay and work your normal shift. Just leave through the back door and make sure it's locked behind you."

Ty's eyes widened in surprise. "He's leaving me here by myself?"

She snorted. "He seems to trust you, although God knows why. Poor man is desperate, I guess."

"I'm trustworthy," Ty said defensively.

"Well, you'd better be. Bill has enough problems without some little shit stealing him blind."

"I would never do that. I don't steal—even from grumpy-asses." Ty was still smarting from being yelled at, although he had the feeling that Bill was mad at himself more than at him.

"Yeah, he's always been grumpy and he's getting worse. He's under a lot of stress with his wife and all. Shellie's a sweet woman. You should see them together." She gave a short laugh. "I guess opposites really do attract."

Ty looked at her curiously. This was the longest conversation he'd ever had with his coworker. "What's going on with him?"

"I might as well tell you—give you some appreciation for Bill's mood swings. Lord knows, he'll never tell you himself. His wife has diabetes and she's getting worse fast. Poor woman's in a lot of pain. He told me yesterday they want to amputate her foot. She used to work here with him, but she's been too sick for the past six months or so. He's running the store and trying to take care of her at the same time and all his money is going to her medical care. I think it's really taking a toll on him."

"Oh." Ty swallowed. "That's rough."

"You'd better be good," she warned. "If you fuck up while you're here by yourself, I'll make you sorry."

Ty looked her up and down, wondering what she could do to him. She was a tiny girl, but not scrawny. She certainly didn't take shit from anyone. He didn't want to find out what her revenge might be.

"I'll be fine," he said shortly. He opened the box of condiments and started stocking the shelves.

She watched him for a few seconds before returning to the checkout stand to close out.

Bill had started paying him on Fridays. He had been saving as much of his pay as possible. He was trying to live on fifteen dollars a day. So far most days he ended up going over his allotment because he kept buying alcohol. But he had managed to save a little over two hundred dollars after two weeks of work. He knew he needed at least five hundred to even think about getting his own apartment. And he had to be able to prove he was eighteen. In six weeks he hoped he'd have enough money saved.

After he turned eighteen, his dad wouldn't be able to do anything to him. He'd call his mom and meet up with her to get his driver's license and birth certificate and any other personal paperwork they had. The thought of seeing his mom again brought a large lump to the back of his throat. He missed his mom and sister terribly.

Somehow the thought of missing his family brought Abe to mind. He missed the big black man a lot too. He had thought more than once about visiting him, but he couldn't. He didn't admit to himself he was afraid. He convinced himself that it was better for Abe if he stayed away. If Abe truly wanted him as a boyfriend, and Ty thought he might, then it was better if he didn't see Abe again. Why hurt him by teasing him with what he couldn't have?

Abe's better off without me anyway. I'm so messed up. I'm a loser and a weakling. He's got his shit together. He wouldn't want someone like me if he really got to know me.

Ty was still wallowing in self-pity a half-hour later when Tika came by to tell him she was leaving. "If you do anything bad to Bill, I'll hunt you down and hurt you," she threatened.

Ty almost laughed, but one look at her stink-eye quieted him.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied with a straight face. She narrowed her eyes even more and huffed away.

Once he was alone, Ty sat back on his heels with a big sigh. He was really tired and his head was pounding so hard it felt like it might implode. He considered helping himself to a bottle of pain-relievers and either leaving enough money to cover it or paying for it when he came in the next day, but he thought the better of it. Bill had made it very clear that even the appearance of dishonesty would be the end of his job. I should have bought some while Tika was still here minding the till.

An hour later, with his eyes drooping and his body feeling heavy, he considered taking a nap and then just making up the time after he woke up. He nixed that idea too, worried that Bill might show up to check on him. Instead he ended up working an hour past the end of this shift just to get to a good stopping point. He told himself that he was slow today because he was so tired, and that was his own damn fault. It would be cheating to charge Bill for a full eight-hour shift if he didn't get as much work done as he normally would.

When he opened the backdoor to leave, he was dismayed to see that it was pouring rain. He had been working away from the front of the store and hadn't noticed. He hesitated in the doorway. He was desperate for sleep and now his normal sleeping spot was out of the question. In fact, he hoped that Dani would be home tomorrow so he could bring his blanket over and get it washed and dried. It would be soaked.

He had been lucky so far. May was traditionally a very dry month as was June—until it started getting really hot. Once the daytime temperatures climbed into the nineties, thundershowers rolled in. They usually didn't last long, but the rains were often torrential.

While he stared bleakly out the back door, lightening flashed, illuminating driving rain and a small river gushing down one side of the alleyway. The lightening was immediately followed by a deafening clap of thunder.

He jumped. Christ it's bad! I'm not going out there until it lets up some.

Having made that decision, he closed and locked the door, swept a small area of the floor in the backroom and lay down, putting his head on his backpack. The concrete floor was hard and the air smelled faintly of garbage, but he fell asleep almost immediately.

****

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Ty woke up instantly upon hearing Bill's angry voice. He sat bolt upright, blinking in the morning sun that streamed through the open back door. Bill had apparently just come in, and he was standing over Ty, hands on hips, glaring at him.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Ty quickly apologized, climbing to his feet. "I was waiting for the rain to let up. I ... I guess I fell asleep."

"My shop is not a crash pad. Get the hell out of here," Bill growled.

"Yes, sir." Ty lost no time in grabbing his backpack and heading toward the door. Guilt and fear shredded his guts.

He stopped short and turned to Bill. "Am I ... am I fired?"

Bill glared at him for a long second and Ty's heart sank. "Not this time, but you're not to sleep here again, understand?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." Ty's face burned with shame.

"See you at four," Bill growled, but he sounded less angry than he'd been at first.

****

Nigel felt like he was walking on a cloud. In his entire life, he'd never been so infatuated with someone. The more time he spent with Dani, either in-person or on the phone, the more he wanted to see him. This was new. Always before he had rushed his partner into sex and quickly tired of him. Most people were just too clingy. Dani was not. He had proven that when he had left the party with Kaeden. Nigel had actually been a little hurt but also pleased. Most of his lovers would have stayed to the bitter end, not letting him out of their sight.

The occasional man who was not clingy was usually sleeping around on him, and that he couldn't abide. He'd had mostly one-night-stands, but if he was dating someone in particular, he didn't sleep with anyone else and expected the same consideration from his partner. He had never had a relationship last more than three months. Most didn't go past a third date.

He and Dani had only had one official date—the hotel party—but he'd spoken on the phone to Dani dozens of times. They had a dinner date set up for Thursday, but today was only Tuesday and he was already going insane. He needed to see him sooner. He wanted to spend all of his waking hours with him—and all of his sleeping hours too. He smiled to himself. I seem to be the clingy one in this relationship.

Dani still had not told him where he was working, but he knew it was a coffee house near his apartment. Nigel also knew Dani's schedule because they talked so often on the phone. Luckily the coffee houses also served tea, his drink of choice. He was making the rounds, hoping to find Dani at work so he could simply sit and watch him for a while. Just being near his boy made him happy.

This afternoon he walked into a new, clean shop called "Café Donovan." As soon as he stepped through the doorway, he froze in shock. Someone was playing and singing one of the songs from their demo CD. What the hell? After he recovered enough to walk past the counter, he saw the small stage set up at the far end of the L-shaped room. Sitting at the keyboard, playing and singing a breathtaking rendition of their song, "Angels," was Dani.

Nigel sank into the nearest empty chair, starring at Dani in wonder. His clear tenor voice rang across the room as his fingers flew over the keys. The song sounded different—better; someone had made changes to it. Dani's voice had a lilt that fit the haunting melody perfectly. As Nigel watched and listened, his heart swelled with a strong emotion that he couldn't identify; he almost felt as if he were going to burst.

Dani was focused on the keyboard, his long bangs hiding his face. As he started the final chorus, he glanced up into the audience. Nigel knew the minute Dani saw him. His eyes widened, his fingers stumbled on the keys and he missed singing the beginning of the next line. He recovered quickly, turning back to the keyboard and picking up the song where he left off to finish it out in beautiful style.

Nigel was enraptured. Dani had said he liked to sing, but Nigel had no idea his voice would be so melodic ... so passionate ... so memorable. He had real talent. He was not just a gorgeous face and a sexy-as-hell body, he was the whole damn package.

Enthusiastic clapping greeted the end of the song. Dani stood, gave a small bow, and jumped off the low stage. A young woman with a guitar climbed onto the stage and shyly took a seat at the mic.

Nigel only had eyes for Dani. He had gone behind the counter and disappeared into the back room somewhere without even looking at him. Nigel was sure that Dani had seen him. Why would he leave? Isn't he even going to come say hello?

Just then Dani reappeared, hurrying toward him. Their eyes met; the youth looked really worried.

Nigel stood up and smiled at him hesitantly. What's wrong?

Dani stopped in front of him and immediately stammered, "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

"Sorry for what? Can you sit for a minute?"

Dani looked slightly relieved and he nodded, taking the chair across from him. Nigel sat back down too.

"What's wrong, Dani?"

"Oh, God! I thought you'd be mad at me. I didn't ask for permission to sing your song in public. I ... I hadn't planned to, but I've been practicing it—I really like it! I had only two songs ready for today but the crowd wanted more and....

"I can understand why," Nigel interrupted.

Dani grinned in relief and glowed from the praise. "I didn't have anything else to sing. I didn't expect anyone to be here that would recognize that song."

"It's okay, Dani. I'm not upset. Actually, Taylor probably would be since we wrote the song jointly—but he gets upset about everything anyway. Your version is different. Did you make those changes yourself?"

"Uh, yeah. I had to adapt it for the keyboard and ... yeah, I rearranged it a bit." Dani dipped his head in apparent shame.

"It sounds incredible—way better than our version. I had no idea you were so talented."

Dani glowed again. "I've always loved music. I seem to be good at it."

Nigel snorted. "Good? You're fantastic, Dani! I can't wait to hear you play and sing more."

Color crept up Dani's cheeks, but his smile would have lit up a black hole.

"When do you get off work?"

Dani glanced at the clock on the wall. "I have forty-five minutes left." Noting the queue at the counter, he stood up. "I'd better go help."

"Do you want to do something after you get off?"

"Sure. Are you going to wait here? Can I get you something to drink?"

****

An hour later, Dani and Nigel left the café together. They both had silly grins on their faces. Nigel grabbed Dani's hand as they walked down the street and their fingers entwined.

"Is this okay?"

"Yes, of course."

"My van is parked around the corner. Do you want to go for a drive?"

"Sure. I haven't seen any of the surrounding countryside except for what I saw through the window on the way here."

"There's a good-sized lake to the south. We could find someplace there to sit and watch the sunset."

"That sounds really nice."

The day was still hot even though the sun was starting to slant toward the horizon. Heat radiated up from the sidewalk and a light sheen of sweat broke out on Dani's skin. He was wearing a T-shirt, jeans, socks and tennis shoes—altogether too many clothes for the temperature. Nigel was wearing shorts, sandals, and a tank top. He looked amazing.

Heat seemed to spread up Dani's arm from Nigel's hand. His cock was already becoming uncomfortable in his tight jeans. Damn! They hadn't even kissed or talked about sex yet and his hormones were in overdrive. He could smell Nigel's scent though, strong because of the heat and his bare skin. Dani sighed happily.

"Here she is. She's not much to look at. Actually she's not much to drive either, but she's all mine."

They stopped in front of an older model VW van. The red paint had faded to a dull brick-color; there were dings in the doors, dents in the fender, and a bit of rust above the wheel casings.

"That's cool. I don't have a car at all, so who am I to complain?" Dani smiled up at Nigel and was delighted when the Englishman pushed him gently against the warm van and dove in for a kiss.

Dani's arms wrapped around Nigel's neck, pulling him closer. His wonderful scent was overpowering. Nigel's tongue snaked into Dani's mouth and he sucked on it hungrily. They began to grind their crotches together. Dani's erection was instantly, painfully hard, and he felt Nigel's answering swell.

"Hey, get a room!" someone yelled at them, snickering.

They broke their kiss then, laughing and gasping.

"I guess we should go," Nigel said, his voice husky with lust.

"Mmmm, yeah!" Dani reluctantly agreed.

Inside, the van was scorching hot.

"I'm sorry, I don't have air-conditioning," Nigel apologized, starting up the van and rolling down all the windows. "It will be better once we're on the motorway."

He glanced over at Dani whose eyes were still heavy with lust. The bulge in his jeans looked painful.

"You should take off your shirt and unzip your jeans," Nigel suggested. "You'll be more comfortable."

"You just want to see my bare chest and hard cock," Dani teased, pulling his shirt off over his head.

Nigel looked at him and smiled, before shifting his focus back to driving. There was a lot of traffic on the roads downtown. Presently, however, they stopped for a light.

Grinning evilly, Nigel leaned over and took one of Dani's nipples into his mouth, sucking and biting gently.

"N ... Nigel! Fuck!" Dani's cry was accompanied by a jerk of his hips forward as far as they could go in the seatbelt restraints. "L ... light's green!" he panted.

Nigel eyed him appreciatively one more time before he turned his attention back to driving.

"You'd better take off your jeans too," Nigel said. "I wouldn't want you getting heat prostration."

Dani smirked. "If you're worried about me being too hot, you should probably stop touching me." He pulled off his tennis shoes and socks, wiggling his toes in delight.

At the next light, Nigel looked at Dani lustfully, and then suddenly his face lit up with a grin. "Guess what, Dani—I got my results back!"

"Huh?"

Nigel reached behind his seat for a manila envelope. He handed it to Dani, explaining, "When you said you'd gone to the clinic, it reminded me that I should go too. I always wear a condom, but I try to get tested regularly anyway, just to be sure. Anyway, I'm clean!"