Page 125 of Pride High 2: Orange

The gleeful expression faltered. “I wanted to see you.”

He felt a need rise up inside of him. One so powerful that he felt like grabbing Ricky and crushing him close in a hug. But he was smarter than that. “I told you I have to work today.”

“I know,” Ricky said with a half-hearted shrug. “I thought you could show me around.”

“There’s not much to see.”

“I disagree.” Ricky stared at him with a funny sort of smile.

Diego couldn’t help it. He laughed. “How did you get here?”

“I had my mom drop me off.”

“So I’m stuck with you?”

Ricky nodded happily.

Diego sighed. “All right. Just try not to get in the way, okay?”

“I promise.” Ricky did a little skip as they walked toward the shop.

They avoided the main entrance, Diego guiding them through one of the open garages so Sharon wouldn’t have anything extra to report to his mother. Ricky kept glancing around while making impressed sounds, but he obviously didn’t know anything about cars.

“What’s wrong with this one?” Ricky asked, putting his hand on the Chevy that Diego had been servicing.

“The owner was too lazy to check the oil,” Diego said. “So the engine seized up. They’re lucky it didn’t do serious damage.”

“That’s so hot,” Ricky said before his eyes went wide. “I mean cool! That you know all this stuff. Ha ha!”

“Yeah,” Diego said, seeing right through him. The kid looked like he wanted to jump his bones right then and there. “Come check out my office.” That way old Jasper wouldn’t have a heart attack when he saw another guy salivating over him. Diego wasn’t sure what to think of that himself. So he didn’t.

His dad’s old office was at the back of the shop, on the east side of the building. A restroom separated it from the reception area or Sharon would probably have her ear to the wall. He couldn’t imagine her pressing her precious cheek against a grungy bathroom tile. Not even to save her own life. So they had privacy, once the door was shut behind them.

“Oh wow!” Ricky said. “You really have your own office?”

“Yeah.” Mostly because nobody else cared about any of it. “This was my dad’s originally. It hasn’t changed much.”

Like the rows of old license plates on one wall. Lorenzo had managed to collect thirty-two of the fifty states. Diego thought it would be cool to complete the collection someday. As for the wooden desk, stuff got moved around on the surface all the time, but each drawer was a time capsule. Diego still liked going through them, even though no surprises were left. It didn’t matter. Seeing his dad’s handwriting on old invoices or whatever made it feel like he was still around. As if he might walk into the office at any moment and tell Diego to stop messing with his stuff, like he used to. Although he’d never made him leave. Diego would usually sit on the threadbare couch against one wall and play while his father worked. God he missed that.

“Sothat’swhere your muscles come from,” Ricky said, having noticed the weight bench and rack combo off to one side. He laid himself out on it and tried to lift the barbell, pushing so hard that his legs left the bench, but the barbel still didn’t budge. “Oh my god,” he wheezed. “Can you really lift that much?”

“Of course.”

Ricky sat up, his cheeks red from exertion. Or interest. “Show me.”

Diego sauntered over and picked up the barbell, doing a few bicep curls before he returned it to the rack.

“You’re amazing,” Ricky said with amorous eyes that moved over the rest of him. “I really like your outfit.”

Diego glanced down at himself. He was still wearing the same scuzzy coveralls. He knew middle-class girls got wet over the blue-collar thing. Apparently it worked on gay guys as well.

“If that’s why you’re here…” Diego began to say.

“Not really,” Ricky said, shaking his head. Although he stopped halfway through and seemed to consider the idea before his head shook again. “I really wanted to see you. Just because.”

“Uh huh.”

He was probably a virgin. Why else would Ricky be so interested and yet so timid? Although what he said next wasn’t kinky in the slightest.