Car Wash

Chapter 1 Kevin Flaherty stepped off the city bus and pulled his windbreaker tighter around him. The bus dropped him off a block from his job, and it was damn chilly this morning. His teeth chattering, Kevin hurried down the street to the car wash. Okay, so maybe he should have finished college. Then he could have had prospects for a decent job when he got fired from his old one. Laid off. That was what they called it when they had no real reason to get rid of you but wanted to anyway. Four years at his stupid office job, and he’d received what? Two weeks’ severance. Kevin was all right with being forced to take a crappy job in this poor economy. Shoot, at least he’d found something. But the killer blow had been having to sell his motorcycle. He didn’t have enough money to keep up the payments. When he reached the car wash several of the other workers had already arrived. Many of them only spoke Spanish, and Kevin only spoke English, but they were friendly. They waved hello, and he stepped inside the tiny office that housed the cash register. He noted it was only slightly warmer inside. “Good morning, Gabby,” he called to the cashier, plastering on his usual smile. Next to the register was a coffee pot and paper cups. He poured himself coffee. “Good morning, Kevin.” Gabby Ramirez yawned. She was probably his only real friend there. She wouldn’t tell him her age, but he guessed she was somewhere around thirty-five. He knew she had two little boys who she kept promising to bring by one day so Kevin could meet them. “How you can be this cheerful at this hour, I don’t know.” “It’s my perky personality.” Which happened to be very hard to keep up these days. No man, no bike, and no job. Okay, a half-assed job. He was behind in the rent for his apartment too. “Flaherty, I’m not paying you to drink my coffee,” the owner, Mr. Lewis, barked, coming into the office. He was a large, middle-aged man with premature white hair. “Get out there and wash cars.” Kevin glanced out the window. “There aren’t any yet.” “Well, wait for them then.” He tossed his now empty paper cup in the wastebasket and went behind the counter for his burgundy smock. As uniforms went it wasn’t that bad. It sort of matched the dyed red streaks in Kevin’s dark hair, and his first name was embroidered on the front. Next to it Gabby had stitched a little rainbow for him. At least it gave the ugly thing a little personality. Mr. Lewis wasn’t such a bad boss. After all he’d given Kevin a chance even though he admitted he didn’t really need any more car washers. He was just a tad creepy and liked to act gruff, but Kevin couldn’t complain. He paid on time and divided the tips evenly. “Hey, Kev,” Gabby called after him as he moved through the doorway. “Yo?” “We’re probably going to get lunch later today. Want anything?” Gabby asked him, her reading glasses perched on the end of her pert little nose. Kevin bit his lip, his stomach growling in an automatic reaction to the thought of lunch. He’d only had a banana for breakfast. He removed his wallet from the back pocket of his tattered work jeans and then opened it to check out his money situation. He had a dollar and some change for the bus fare home. Nothing else. His bank account had been negative too, when he’d checked at the automatic teller machine last night. It wouldn’t even let him take any money out. He was counting on the tips he would receive for the day to give him bus fare tomorrow. Swallowing back disappointment and a little bit of shame, Kevin shoved his wallet back in his pocket. “That’s okay, I don’t need anything.” “You sure?” “Uh-huh.” Kevin walked outside before he gave in to the despair clawing at him. Talk of food and money only depressed him. Wallowing in self-pity wouldn’t get him fed or his rent paid. Hardly anyone came to have their car washed this early, so it was pretty quiet. Some of the other guys stood off to the side chatting in Spanish. It made Kevin feel even more alone. They didn’t exclude him on purpose. It was his fault for never learning Spanish. He’d taken it back in high school but hadn’t paid a bit of attention. The only reason he’d even gotten a C in the class was because he’d charmed the teacher. He should have made his last lover teach him some stuff. Raphael. Yeah, right. His name had really been Louis, but he’d renamed himself Raphael. Kevin snorted. Anyway, if the man had taught him Spanish, at least Kevin would have gotten something out of the affair. All he’d gotten was a big giant pain in the ass. And not in a good way, either. He leaned against the wall and folded his arms across his chest. He didn’t regret one bit giving Raphael the slip. But he did feel a little twinge over his lover before Raphael, Tad. They’d had two good months together before Tad dumped him. For a chick, no less. “What are you doing after work, kid?” Kevin jumped, not having realized Mr. Lewis had come up next to him. He smelled a little of stale alcohol. Lately things had been turning decidedly uncomfortable with his boss. He had been sort of…well, leering at Kevin. For the most part, Kevin thought he imagined it. After all, Mr. Lewis had a wife, but he was always sneaking up behind him. “I…uh, dunno.” “You’ve been looking skinny lately, Flaherty. Even skinnier than when I hired you.” Mr. Lewis licked his lips. “You getting enough to eat?” “Sure, mostly,” Kevin lied. He didn’t like the way his boss was looking at him, and he didn’t really want handouts anyway. He hadn’t even told most of his friends his situation. Mr. Lewis smiled. “Well, if you want to earn a few extra bucks, I have some side work you could do.” “Really?” Kevin asked cautiously. His boss leaned toward him. A wave of stale alcohol and sweat hit Kevin. “You have to keep it just between the two of us, mind you. I wouldn’t be offering the kind of work I’m talking about to any of the others. Just you.” The look he gave Kevin was purely s****l. There was no doubt in Kevin’s mind that his words had hidden meaning. “I’m sure you know the kind of work a guy like you does for men like me.” Kevin’s stomach lurched with a sickening twist. He simply stared at the man, unable to form a coherent response. Mr. Lewis stared back, his expression almost baleful, before he suddenly started laughing. He threw his head back, laughed harder, and then slapped his leg. “Ah, Jesus, Flaherty, you should see your face. You are too funny. I was joking, for Christ’s sake. I got no side work for you. Go get the broom and sweep the driveway while you wait for cars.” “Um, okay,” Kevin agreed, feeling his fair skin burning. He hurried away, pretty sure Mr. Lewis had not been joking. He spared a backward glance and saw his boss staring intently in Kevin’s direction. f**k. He needed this job, such as it was. He did not need to be worried about some crazy-ass boss sexually harassing him. Kevin bit his lip and grabbed the broom. He simply could not do that. He guessed it was possible he had misunderstood his boss and he wasn’t implying s*x. Kevin didn’t think so though. Things were bad, but reducing himself to whoring? Swallowing back the bile threatening to rise in his throat, Kevin began to sweep the debris that had accumulated overnight in the wide driveway leading into the car wash. If he just pretended Mr. Lewis really was joking, maybe it would go away. Several hours later, around one in the afternoon, Kevin rubbed his painfully hungry stomach. He had a lunch break to take so he walked into the cashier booth. Gabby smiled. “Hey, Kev, how’s it going?” “Okay.” “You look a little pale. Are you feeling all right?” “Uh, sure. You think I could use the phone?” He glanced behind him, looking for his boss. He’d stopped paying his cell phone, and it had been disconnected two days ago. “Yeah, it’s okay. Mr. Lewis isn’t here right now.” Gabby handed him a wrapped double cheeseburger from McDonald’s. “And here. I got you this.” His mouth watering, Kevin stared at the sandwich. His throat tightened. “I-I can’t pay for it.” She shoved it into his hands. “Honey, I’m not asking you to pay for it. It’s not that much money, Kevin. I promise, it’s fine.” He smiled. “Thank you, Gabby. You’re so sweet. You make me almost wish I was straight.” She laughed. “You’re also too young for me. Eat your burger, and then use the phone before Mr. Lewis returns.” Kevin sat on the little stool beside the cashier’s counter and wolfed down the double cheeseburger in four quick bites. He didn’t really taste it, but his stomach appreciated it even if his taste buds didn’t get to savor it. He poured himself a small cup of water from the dispenser and swallowed that in two gulps. “Thanks again, Gabby. You’re a lifesaver.” Kevin scooped up the phone and dialed the work number for his friend Noah. He didn’t get to see Noah nearly as much as he once had. Noah had a new man in his life, Charlie, and the two were getting very serious. In fact, right around Christmas, Noah had moved into Charlie’s house. Noah now had a nice empty house he did nothing with, and Kevin would give anything to live there. But he couldn’t pay any money for it, not now, and he also couldn’t tell Noah about how far his life had fallen apart. He was simply too ashamed. “Noah Riggins.” “Hey, beautiful,” Kevin said, forcing a cheerful note into his voice he definitely did not feel. Noah laughed. “Kev, what’s up?” “Listen, babe, I hate to cancel on you and all, but I can’t make it over tonight.” Noah had invited him a week or so ago to come over and have dinner and maybe play some poker. Kevin wanted to go, but without his motorcycle he really couldn’t find a way to get to Charlie’s house. The stops for the city buses were just too far. “Oh. Well. Are you sure?” Kevin felt bad. He heard the disappointment in his friend’s voice. He’d canceled a lot lately on plans they had. He closed his eyes. Sooner or later he would have to admit he’d lost his job. He knew he would. “Yeah. Sorry, babe, something’s come up.” “You mean another man?” “You guessed it. I can’t pass up a chance to get laid, now can I?” The levity in his voice sounded forced even to him. But, man, the perkiness was tough today. “All right. I’ll call you later in the week to set something up,” Noah said. “Oh hey, wait, is something up with your cell? I called it earlier, and it said something about not being in service.” “Yeah, um, I’m having trouble with the cell company. I’ve been harassing them.” Or they’ve been harassing me. “I’m sure they’ll get it straightened out soon.” “Okay, Kev, talk to you soon. Bye.” “Bye.” He replaced the receiver and carefully avoided Gabby’s sympathetic gaze. “I’ll see you later, Gabby.” He walked outside and studied the cars lined up to be washed. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the pad of paper where he marked what washing packages the owners chose. He went to the head of the line and started taking care of customers. He didn’t even look up for several moments, having no idea the size of the line. Jose, who stood near him ready to vacuum the interiors, whistled. “Caliente.” Kevin glanced up from the pad. Just a couple cars away was a dark-red Maserati. Kevin recalled seeing it in a magazine advertisement. He thought the name of that particular model was the GranTurismo. His jaw dropped. He swallowed heavily, unable to keep from staring, but not at the sleek, sexy speed demon. Rather his gaze was fixated on the hot-as-f*****g-hell guy behind the wheel. The god wore deep, dark shades and had brown wavy hair and sensuous, kissable lips. Kevin’s tongue slipped out, and he ran it along his own lips, imagining what the other man’s mouth would feel like. Even though he was still a couple spots away, Kevin could see he wore a suit. Broad shoulders filled out that suit. He frowned. Damn, but there was something disturbingly familiar about the man. Jose nudged him. Kevin blinked out of his stupor and realized the woman in the sedan in front of him glared at him. “Sorry, ma’am.” He flashed the woman his don’t-you-just-think-I’m-adorable smile. “You wanted the standard wash, right?” He wracked his brain, trying to think of why the Maserati guy looked familiar. Someone famous? The Maserati finally pulled up to him. The man smiled. Oh, Lord, the god had dimples. “Yum,” Kevin said, before he could stop himself. Mr. Maserati lowered the sunglasses. Chocolate eyes framed by impossibly long lashes stared back at him. “Kevin? Kevin Flaherty?” Oh f**k. Michael Bennett. It couldn’t be. But it was. No wonder he looked so f*****g familiar. When Kevin was growing up he’d been best friends with Michael’s little brother, Danny. Kevin had had a huge crush on Michael. And when Michael had come out as gay when Kevin was fifteen…well, Kevin had made a fool out of himself. Throwing himself at Michael and begging him to take his virginity. Of course Michael had said no. And Kevin had died. Well, not literally. Though he might have wished it so just then. “No, sorry, wrong guy,” Kevin mumbled. Michael raised a sexy eyebrow. “Your smock says Kevin.” Shit. “Like there’s only one Kevin? I’m not him. Whoever it is.” Kevin stepped away. He’d get Guillermo to take Michael’s car-wash order. “Flaherty! What are you doing?” Mr. Lewis yelled from by the cashier booth. “Take the guy’s order.” Kevin grimaced and turned back to the wet dream. “What did you want?” “So,” Michael said, his lips twitching. “You are Kevin Flaherty.” Kevin blew out a breath, a lock of his own hair floating on his forehead. “Whatever, dude. You want the works or what?” “Yeah, I think that’s exactly what I want.” He’d dropped his voice low, sounding unbelievably sexy. It sent an unwelcome jolt to Kevin’s c**k. He wrote a code on the windshield with chalk, then tore off the sheet from the pad and handed it to Michael. The man deliberately curved his fingers up, running the tips along Kevin’s palm, sending shock waves through Kevin. Michael got out of the car and turned it over to those who would vacuum it and take it into the automatic washer. He wrapped those damn fingers around Kevin’s wrist. “I’ll see you later, Kevin.” “I don’t even know who you are,” Kevin lied. Michael laughed, the bastard. “You know.” He walked away to stand with the other waiting customers, Kevin watching his every move. He hated himself.