Oliver's Online (3 page)

“If this doesn’t work out, I want you to know I appreciate the chance,” Oliver said.

“Let’s just see what happens before we throw in the towel,” Lane said gently. He didn’t want to scare Oliver off before he even started. Oliver’s confidence obviously wasn’t strong, but Lane knew he could find something for him to do even if it was to work with him part time while Oliver went back to school.

He tossed Oliver’s file into his stack to put away later. “You can either choose to work here or from home. We’ll provide a cell phone that we can track the time on, with our software to log your calls. I’ll be starting up the phone lines and website tomorrow. Can you come in tomorrow to pick up your phone and get the rundown?”

Oliver nodded. “Yes. Thanks.”

Lane saw Oliver stand up, gripping the desk to get his balance. The urge to help had Lane clenching his fists. He knew without offering that his assistance wouldn’t be appreciated. Oliver might have a damaged leg, but he’d survived a lot worse than a sore leg cramp.

“I’ll give you a ride home,” Lane said.

“I can call Patrick, he’s not that far from here,” Oliver said.

“Oliver, I’m right here, and I need to get some lunch. Why don’t you come with me, and we can celebrate you getting a new job. My treat.” Lane flashed Oliver a smile, hoping he accepted the invitation. Something about Oliver called to Lane. He wanted to know the slim, damaged man as more than just as a friend of a friend or an employee but as someone he’d like to eventually date. Oliver needed a little more meat on his thin bones and a bit of confidence, but Lane would do anything he could to help him along.

Oliver took a long time to reply, but eventually he nodded.

Relief flashed through him at Oliver’s agreement.

He put a hand to Oliver’s back and ushered him out of the office before he could change his mind.

Chapter Three

Oliver was glad when Lane took him to a simple pizza place instead of some fancy restaurant. His nerves were already stretched so thin he didn’t think he could stand having to worry about which fork to use and all that other kind of crap.

The hostess showed them to their table. The waiter appeared within a few minutes and took their order of sodas and pizza with all the works. After the waiter delivered their drinks, Lane leaned back in the booth and gave Oliver a probing look. Oliver began to squirm in his seat.

“What?” Oliver finally asked as the silence wore at him.

“I just never thought that I would see you at my place asking for a job,” Lane said, his voice neutral.

Oliver picked up his spoon and began to fiddle with it. “Well, I needed a job, and you were hiring, so it seems pretty simple to me.”

“You can’t even say the word sex without blushing. How are you going to manage to talk dirty over the phone?”

Oliver could feel himself bristle. He wasn’t that prudish…was he? “I can do anything if I set my mind to it.”

“Okay, then say it now.”

“Say what?”

“Sex.”

Oliver could feel a wave of heat wash over his face. “We’re in the middle of restaurant full of people.”

“They can’t hear us. So, go ahead, prove me wrong.”

“Fine, sex. Does that make you happy?”

“It would be a little better if you weren’t blushing so much.”

“Well, they won’t be able to see me turning red over the phone, so it won’t be a problem. Plus, I’ll get used to it eventually. I’m sure it was awkward for you when you first started doing movies.”

Lane tilted his head to the side. “I guess you do have a point there. I was so scared, I almost ran off the set.”

Oliver let out a soft chuckle. “You did not. You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

“No, it’s the God’s honest truth. They had to coax me through it. But you are right. It did get easier the more I did it. Although I never really did grow to like it.”

“Is that why you finally decided to retire?” Oliver asked.

“Yes, I just couldn’t do it anymore. So I decided to go into business for myself. Be my own boss for once.”

“Do you like it?”

“So far. It’s a lot more work than I thought it would be, though,” Lane confessed.

Oliver took a drink of his soda. “I’ll bet. I don’t think I’d be up to it.”

Lane gave him an assessing stare. “I think you’d be surprised at what you’re capable of. I think you underestimate yourself a lot of the time.”

Oliver could feel himself blushing again, but this time it wasn’t from embarrassment, but from praise. He didn’t get much of it, and it felt good. He ducked his head. “Thank you. Nobody but Becca has ever told me that.”

“Not even Patrick or Ronnie?”

“They’re too busy trying to take care of me to worry about anything else.”

“Maybe now that you’ve taken the step of getting a job, they’ll stop doing that.”

Oliver shrugged. “Maybe.”

Lane narrowed his eyes. “Do they even know about this job?”

“No.”

“They’re going to piss kittens, you know that?”

“Why should they? Patrick works for a porn company,” Oliver protested.

“But, it’s different with Patrick, and we both know it.”

Oliver let out a sigh. “I am so sick of them treating me like I’m a child. Just because I’m injured doesn’t mean I’m not a man.”

Lane gave him a lustful look that went straight to Oliver’s cock. “Oh, I agree with you there. You are definitely a man.”

Oliver shifted in his seat so his erection wasn’t so obvious. Was he just imagining things, or was Lane really interested in him? If so, why? What would a gorgeous guy want in a runt with a limp? No, Oliver had to have been imagining things, that’s all.

“I’ll tell them about the job, and they’ll just have to deal with it,” Oliver said firmly.

It was one conversation he wasn’t looking forward to, but it was going to have to happen. It was time that he stood up for himself and stopped letting the others take care of him and run over him. While he knew it came out of love, it was also holding him back in life.

“I’m proud of you,” Lane said.

“Yeah?”

“I really am. It’s hard to stand up to your friends to begin with. But it’s even harder to do so when their arguments come from caring. I know it’s not going to be easy, but if it helps, you have my support in your decision. I know you have Becca’s too.”

“Don’t forget her dog. That little hell raiser is behind me all the way.”

They both laughed as the waitress brought their pizza. Suddenly very hungry, Oliver grabbed a huge slice and put it on his plate. He took a bite and let out a loud groan of pleasure. He looked up to see Lane giving him the strangest expression.

“Sorry, but you were right. This place does make the best pizza in the world. I’m shocked I’ve never tried it before. I have to tell Becca about it. She’s going to love it.”

Lane just gave a slight nod before he grabbed a slice for himself. They ate in silence before Oliver asked, “So, what should I wear to work? I don’t have to dress all sexy, do I?”

Oliver knew Lane said he could work from home if he wanted, but he’d spent the past year in the apartment. He wanted to see different walls for a while.

“No, just dress casual.”

They then fell into an easy conversation until the meal was over. After they were finished, Lane drove Oliver home. By the time Oliver made it back upstairs to their apartment, his leg was killing him. He took one of his pain pills, changed into his comfy clothes, then stretched out on the couch.

Since he knew this would be his last day to slack off, he turned on one of his favorite daytime talk shows and took a nap. Once the others were home he would tell them about his new job. He could hardly wait to see the looks on their faces.

The bang of the door opening woke Oliver with a start. He sat up, half expecting to see home intruders, but it was Ronnie and Patrick. Damn Becca and her horror stories.

Putting a hand to his hammering heart, Oliver asked, “How was your day at work?”

Ronnie just let out a grunt, since he hated his job, while Patrick smiled. “Great, as usual. How did things go here?”

“Actually, things were pretty eventful.”

“What? Did you and Becca go on another shopping spree?” Ronnie asked as he sifted through the mail.

“No, I got a job.”

The two men froze as they stared at Oliver as if he’d grown another head or something. Oliver didn’t know whether to be insulted or angry.

“Why are you both so shocked?” he asked sharply.

Patrick came over and sat next to him on the couch. “We didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just, are you ready to go out and work? You know with your leg and all.”

“I have a limp, that’s all. Besides, the job I got isn’t hard manual labor. I can handle it,” Oliver defended.

“What is it?” Ronnie asked.

Oh boy, here it came. The moment Oliver had been dreading. Taking a deep breath, Oliver said, “I’m going to be working for Lane’s company.”

“Doing what?” Ronnie pressed.

“Working the phones.”

“As a receptionist?” Patrick inquired.

“No, as one of the phone-sex operators.”

Oliver had been ready for all kinds of reactions, but out-and-out laughter had not been one of them. As he watched the two of them crack up like a pair of loons, he could feel his anger building.

“What’s so funny?” he demanded.

“You as a phone-sex operator?” Ronnie said. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, I am.”

“But, you’re so shy, you won’t even wear a tight t-shirt out in public,” Patrick pointed out.

“So? It’s not like I have to face these people. I’ll be doing it over the phone. Becca thinks I’ll be perfect for the job.” Oliver folded his arms defensively.

“Let me guess, she’s the one who talked you into this in the first place,” Patrick surmised.

“Yeah, so what’s the big deal? At least she believes in me, which is a lot more than I can say about you two.” Oliver got up from the couch and started to leave the room.

Patrick grabbed him by the wrist and stopped him. “I’m sorry. We were being jerks. It just took us by surprise is all. We should have never reacted that way.”

“Patrick is right. We were assholes. We should be supporting you, not knocking you down. Why don’t we help you practice? That way you’ll be ready for tomorrow,” Ronnie suggested.

“Really?” Oliver asked hopefully. “You don’t mind?”

“No, not at all.” Patrick gave a wave of his hand.

“Okay, I’ll be your first caller.” Ronnie mimicked a phone by holding his pinkie and thumb up to his ear. “Hello.”

Oliver quickly did the same with his own fingers. “Hello?”

“What are you wearing?”

Oliver looked down at the outfit he’d changed into when he’d come home. “A pair of sweats and a
Scooby-Doo
t-shirt.”

Ronnie put his hand down and let out a sigh of exasperation. “Who are you trying to turn on, a pedophile?”

“No, of course not!” Oliver replied, shocked at the suggestion. “I was just answering your question.”

Patrick put his hand to his mouth then said, “Here, let me try to explain it. With the phone-sex industry, it’s all about the illusion. You don’t have to be wearing what you tell them that you are. You can tell them that you’re wearing tight boy shorts and nothing else and they’ll believe it.”

“Or better yet, tell them that you’re wearing nothing but a dog collar and a leash,” Ronnie cut in.

“But, what if they’re not into that?” Oliver asked.

“It’s your job to feel them out to find out if they are,” Patrick supplied. “Here, watch me and Ronnie.”

They both put up their fake phones.

“What are you wearing?” Ronnie asked.

“What do you want me to be wearing?” Patrick asked in return.

They both looked back at Oliver, who was finally getting it. Or at least he hoped so.

“What if I get one of those weirdoes that wants me to wear a diaper and bib?” he asked, his gut churning in horror.

“Then you accidentally disconnect the call,” Patrick answered promptly.

Oliver held a pillow up to his face to cover his embarrassment. He really hadn’t thought this through. The callers were going to ask him all kinds of question. Like how big his cock was. What it looked like. If he was a top or a bottom. But there was no way he could back out now. Not after he had made such a scene in front of the others. He would just have to go and learn how to deal with it.

“Are you really sure you can do this?” Patrick said, as if reading Oliver’s thoughts.

“Yes, I do. It’s time I started to contribute to our group. I’m sick of mooching off of you.”

Ronnie and Patrick sat on either side of him and put their arms around him, giving him a group hugs of sorts.

“We never thought of you that way,” Ronnie said.

“Maybe not, but I did,” Oliver replied.

“We know that you just hit a rough patch. You would have done the same for one of us,” Patrick added.

“Well, my rough patch is over, and it’s time for me to stand on my own. I owe you enough as it is,” Oliver said firmly.

“Okay, but don’t think you have to do this for us,” Ronnie said.

“No, I need to do this for me,” Oliver said.

He was upside down in the car and trapped. He listened hard for the sounds of sirens, or footsteps, voices…anything that would let him know that help was coming their way, but there was nothing but silence.

Oliver let out a whimper as he fought to free himself, but the car had him pinned down. All he could do was wiggle a few inches. He tried calling out to Dave, but got no reply. Deep in his heart, Oliver knew his lover was dead, but part of him refused to accept it.

Oliver began to struggle harder. That’s when he began to scream. He continued to scream and didn’t stop, not even when his voice began to give out and he began to grow hoarse. He…

Oliver sat up in bed as he was ripped from the all-too-familiar nightmare. He ran a hand through his sweat-soaked hair as his entire body trembled. Why it still did, he didn’t know. Lord knows he should be used to them by now. Although the accident was years ago, he still had the dreams at least three nights a week.