Special Needs (10 page)

“I’ll have a big ice coffee with chocolate syrup.” Ryan nodded at the waitress.

“Surprise me with something big and sweet, will you?” Liam gave her a big smile. She winked at him and walked back towards the counter.

“You know why this is my favorite spot?” Ryan leaned over, his voice turning into a whisper.

“You’re planning a coffee shop room?” Liam said with a straight face.

“No.” Ryan’s nose wrinkled a bit. “They have the hottest barista on the planet. Just don’t look yet.”

Liam couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips, when he looked at the hunky guy with short dark hair, glasses and a small flesh tunnel in his ear. He couldn’t deny that Ryan had good taste. “Oh, is he gay?”

“I’m pretty sure he is. We chatted about
Thor
once and he seemed...” Ryan chewed on his lip ring. “I guess, I
think
.”

“You dig Thor?”

Ryan lifted his shirt, to have another look at the dressing over his new tattoo. “Should I feel guilty?”

“No, I guess he is pretty hot for a guy. I envy the hair.” Liam pouted and looked at the barista again. He had to admit the man was good at his job, his moves were well practiced and efficient.

“You’ve got a similar shade.”

“Yeah, but his is thicker. As if he used tons of this volumising shit.” Liam chose a raw brown sugar cube from the bowl on their table and put it into his mouth, not bothering to use the tweezers.

“Well he’s an actor, he probably did.” Ryan smiled, discretely turning his gaze to the barista.

Liam sighed. Maybe if he could get Ryan laid, his own lust would be tamed as well. “You think they really have chemistry?”

Ryan’s attention was right back at him. “Who? What?”

“Thor and Loki. I’ve seen like, tons of pictures on the Internet. As a gay guy, what do you think?” Liam leaned back in the armchair, studying Ryan’s insanely pretty face.

“‘As a gay guy’,” Ryan mocked his tone, “I think Thor should be my boyfriend. I have chemistry with him.”

Liam licked his lips, snatched from his fantasies by the waitress, who placed a tall coffee glass in front of him. “That’s our weekly special. Enjoy,” she said before putting an iced coffee in front of Ryan. “There you go.”

They exchanged a few pleasantries and after she was gone, Ryan smiled at the barista and raised his coffee in a gesture of appreciation. It had to take a lot of courage for someone as shy as him.

“Okay, did he have tattoos?” Liam blurted out, keen to continue their conversation. He wanted to know what exactly made Ryan tick.

“Who? Thor? Haven’t you seen the movie?” Ryan slurped some coffee through a straw.

“I know it’s embarrassing, but I forgot. I only remember that Natalie Portman kept knocking him off his feet.”

Ryan just rolled his eyes. “No, he doesn’t. Nobody’s perfect I suppose.”
Ha.

Liam peeked at the sharks on his own arm. “No.”

“That Lizzy guy though, he had loads of ink. He even had his tongue split like a lizard. Did you know?”

Liam shrugged. “Yeah, he showed me. Why, you dig that?”

“I did wonder what it would feel like to be sucked off by someone like that.” Ryan’s thoughts clearly drifted to that same fantasy again.
Oral fixation.

Liam licked his lips. “It’s good, though I don’t think it makes that much of a difference.”

“Oh my God! You had someone like that?” Ryan’s eyes went wide.

“That was ages ago. And it was a girl, so it doesn’t count...” As soon as those words left Liam's mouth, something within him froze, but he masked the awkwardness with a smile. He needed to be careful with those lies. “I mean... it doesn’t because guys probably do it a bit different.”

“You wanna see what I’ve got?” Ryan bit his lip, looking at him like a shy teenager.

“Um... sure.” Liam leaned forward, his gaze fixed on the softness that was Ryan’s mouth. He never noticed any piercings in there, but there they were. Two little clear balls appeared when Ryan stuck his tongue far out, but then he curled it towards his palate and a flash of electric blue and green made Liam look twice. On the underside of the tongue, were two psychodelic balls with silicone spikes. The vivid colors screamed 'radioactive', and it had to be all those toxins affecting Liam’s body, because his cock twitched in his jeans at the image. He folded his legs to hide his arousal and stared at the pink muscle, his imagination going wild despite his best efforts. He
had
to find his boss a boyfriend.

Ryan closed his mouth and beamed at him from behind his drink.

“I can’t believe I didn’t notice.” Liam sighed, lifting the coffee glass to his lips. The cinnamon dusting the pile of homemade whipped cream was a nice touch, but it was the taste of coffee... and cake that made him sink deeper into the seat with a low groan. So fucking good, straight from the cute barista guy. He knew he was making an orgasm face, but he was far from caring.

“Stop it. He’s looking at us.” Ryan whispered and tapped him on the arm.

Liam peeked over his shoulder, straight into those large, dark eyes looking back at him from behind the counter. “So? I thought you liked him.”

“But he doesn’t need to know that,” Ryan hissed, flustered. “He’d be embarrassed.”

“You said he’s gay. What’s the problem?” Liam had another sip of coffee, looking into Ryan’s bright blue eyes. If he didn’t know better, he’d think Ryan was wearing contacts. It was probably the hair that made the color of his irises stand out so much.

“He’d have to turn me down. That’s never pleasant for anyone.” Ryan looked at Liam as if he were an idiot.

“Why the hell do you think he’d turn you down? And even if he already has a boyfriend... you know, that shit’s normal.” Liam shrugged and darted another look to the counter.

“Seriously Liam, get a grip on reality, okay?” Ryan tapped his fingers on the table.

“Maybe it’s you who should.” Liam’s eyebrows shot up. “We all face rejections. But it’s worth the risk, cause it’s the risk,” he paused for a moment, leaning over the table and capturing the other man’s blue gaze, “that gets us laid.”

Ryan looked down into his coffee, grumbling beneath his breath. “I don’t wanna be made fun of.”

“Seriously, you’re cool. No one laughs at you.”

“Well I certainly hope so. I don’t own a Kill Room for nothing, you know.”

Liam chuckled and shot the waitress a wide smile. She practically ran to their table. Maybe he should get her number, just to prove to Ryan how straight he was?

“Could we talk to the barista? There’s no one here right now anyway,” he said innocently.

Ryan went rigid and silent, all emotion draining from his face along with color. The waitress gave them a questioning look before walking back towards the counter. Yep, he should take her number. Then again, what if they wanted to come over for another coffee? That wouldn’t do either.

“Remember The Kill Room? You’re gonna end up there tonight,” Ryan hissed, stubbornly keeping his eyes on the coffee.

Liam shrugged. “Chill.” He wanted to say more, but the handsome barista was already within hearing distance. Up close, he looked even better. If Liam weren’t doing this for Ryan, he would definitely take his chances with this one. “Hi!”

“Hiya guys, you enjoying your coffees?” The barista stuck his hands down the pockets of his brown apron and gave them a pleasant smile.

“Yeah, it’s delicious. Liam just had a coffee orgasm.” Ryan laughed, but his fingers were tracing his own glass unnaturally fast. If it was a deliberate move, he certainly had all of Liam’s attention.

“Come on! We both had orgasms.” Liam reached out and pulled over a chair from one of the neighboring tables. “You know Ryan, right? He loves what you do,” he told the barista, who nodded.

“Sure, you come here all the time.” His gaze alternated between them and eventually, he pointed at his name tag. “I’m Rick, but you both probably know that by now.”

Ryan squirmed in the wheelchair, his nostrils flaring slightly. “Uhm... did you train somewhere special to be a barista?”

Liam blinked. This had to be one of the lamest pick up lines he'd ever heard. This guy owned a
sex
hotel for God’s sake! “Okay guys, nature’s calling,” he announced and got to his feet, looking out for a bathroom sign. Ryan needed someone to throw him in at the deep end, somebody with enough balls. Yep, that was him.

Ryan’s eyes went wide, but he didn't chicken out and Liam could hear the ongoing conversation as he made his way to the bathroom.

Yep, even if the handsome barista wasn’t interested, it should get the boy back on track. He needed a boyfriend, because that would make Liam’s life so much easier. He wasn’t into breaking up happy relationships... unless they were straight relationships, so it didn’t count.

In the bathroom, he took a while longer than he usually would, to give Ryan enough time to work his unmistakable charm, and then casually made his way to the main room.

His first impression was that things were looking good. The guys were busy chatting and laughing about something. Maybe he should start a matchmaking business?

With hands shoved down his pockets, he strolled back to the table and sat down in the armchair. “Having fun without me? Should I be hurt?” He wiggled his eyebrows, keen to see what use Ryan made of his five minutes one-on-one with the gorgeous barista guy.

Rick shook his head and got back to his feet with an apologetic smile. “Nah, don’t worry. Okay guys, I gotta get back to work, but next time you come in, coffee’s on the house.”

Ryan nodded, looking pretty pleased. Did the little devil get his prize? A sizzling hot cell number maybe?

“That’s generous, thanks.” As soon as the barista was out of voice reach, he leaned over to Ryan. “Is someone getting laid?”

“Yeah, maybe you would be,” Ryan hissed and wheeled out from behind the table without any warning. His face lost all pretense of a good mood. “I wanna go home.”

“Wha...” Liam got up immediately and grabbed the handles at the back of his wheelchair. “What the hell are you talking about?!”

“Let go.” Ryan turned his head, wide eyed but managed to keep his voice down.

Liam practically pressed his lips to Ryan’s ear. “What’s wrong with you?”

“I’ll tell you outside.” Ryan folded his arms on his chest.

Liam blew a stray hair out of his eyes and pushed the wheelchair towards the door. “Fine.”

Ryan continued his silent protest even after they left the cafe.

“So what happened?” inquired Liam, walking towards the parking lot where they left the car.

“Let me go now, I wanna go on my own,” Ryan grumbled and pinched Liam's hand. He fucking pinched his hand!

“Oh, you little shit!” Liam let go of the handles. “Would you tell me what the fuck is wrong?”

Ryan started pushing the wheels as fast as he could. “Nothing. I can just
never
go to my favorite cafe again, because of you!”

Liam spread out his arms. “Wha... you guys seemed pretty intimate back there.”

“‘Intimate’? Fuck you. What was I supposed to do when he asked me about
you
? Of course he would be interested in
you
! Fucking fuck!”

Liam blinked and slowed down a little. “Wha... did he actually say that?”

“He asked me if you’re gay and was all ‘too bad’ when I said you weren’t. Why did you have to spoil it? Now I won’t be able to fantasize about him anymore!” He wheeled past the car.

“Seriously, Ryan, maybe he just likes buff guys.” Liam rolled his eyes, though it stung to see Ryan rejected. “Did you even try to use your charms?”

“I don’t have any ‘charms’!” Ryan looked back at him with a scowl. “Do you think I have all this metal in my face cause I wanna be ‘charming’? Fuck that!” He spat at the asphalt of the parking lot.

“Don’t say that, there will be no gain if you don’t take your chances.” Liam walked around the chair to face him.

Ryan crossed his arms on his chest, nose fluttering with every deep breath. “Not everyone’s like you! Maybe I’m fine just jerking off to the computer? Why does everyone need a boyfriend anyway, huh?”

Liam sighed, folding his arms. “Most people do.”

“Well, maybe I’m not ‘most people’!” And with an abrupt turn of the wheelchair, he drove over Liam's foot. That was it.

“Ryan, what the fuck! I just wanted to help you!” Liam clasped his hands on the handles at the back of the chair.

“I don’t need that kind of fucked up help.” He finally stopped struggling and just slouched in the chair, defeated.

Liam gritted his teeth. “Good to know my help’s fucked up.”

“It was so humiliating! I’ve been eyeing that guy for over a year now, and you think you can just barge in and... and...” Ryan’s tattooed hands were clenching into fists, his knuckles turning white.

“That’s what you get when all you do is look.” Liam couldn’t contain the frustration he felt.

Ryan lifted his hands and clawed the air in a gesture of helplessness. “I can’t help it! I just... I freeze when I meet a gay guy I like. I keep thinking that he’s judging me, and that I’d just rather be at home.”