Ryan looked around the restaurant he worked in one last time at the end of his shift. By this time tomorrow he would be far away from the little town he had been born and raised in. Now all he had to do was tell Chris, who was about the closest thing he had to a friend.
Chris and Ryan had worked together for close on a year and even though, at twenty two, Chris was a year younger he had always seemed older to Ryan. Perhaps that was because he was fairly level headed, or perhaps it was because of all that dark, silky fir on his chest and arms. It was Chris who had shown Ryan the ropes at the restaurant and taught him the job, so it was only fair that he say goodbye. Ryan wasn't even going to bother telling his boss; the first he would know that Ryan wasn't coming back was when he didn't show up for his shift.
'I just wanted to say goodbye,' Ryan said as he stuck out his hand. 'I'm leaving town tomorrow.'
'Why do you want to do that?' Chris asked.
'There are things I need that I just can't get in a place like this.' Ryan said.
Suddenly Chris' curiosity was aroused. His face flushed and his mouth felt like sandpaper as he tried to speak.
'I...I don't understand.' Chris lowered his voice as he looked directly into Ryan's big blue eyes. 'What is it you need that you can't get here?'
'I can't talk about it.' Ryan replied. He was torn: a part of him was secretly pleased that Chris looked so cut up that he was leaving - at least now he knew that someone would miss him when he left - but he was sad too that he couldn't share his secret with Chris.
'So that's it huh?' Chris sounded wounded. 'You're just gonna up sticks and leave without even saying why.'
'Look, I'm gay, okay.' The words just tumbled out of Ryan's mouth before he could reign them in. 'I'm probably the only gay guy in this whole damn place and I'm never gonna get any action. Not like you and all the girls you keep dating.'
Chris was nervous as he looked around, not only that other people might hear was he was about to tell Ryan, but it was something he had hardly admitted to himself.
'It's not all you think it is.' Chris said softly. 'I'm still a virgin.'
'Really?' Ryan was surprised and somehow secretly delighted. 'Why? I don't understand.'
The boss was waiting to lock up so they moved from the back of the restaurant to the exit. There was an awkward moment in the car park as the stood in silence, each unsure if they had revealed too much.
'Come back to my place.' Chris said and the tension, of one kind, was broken but another was surfacing in Ryan's work pants. His cock throbbed all the way over on the short drive to Chris' place. Where was this heading, he wondered, and could he handle it? Ryan told himself that at least if he fucked up tonight and embarrassed himself with Chris he was leaving in the morning and could put it all behind him.
Chris had his own apartment which was something that Ryan envied. Part of the reason he wanted to get out of town was to be independent and get out from under his parents' feet; he knew that as long as he lived in the same town as them they would never understand why he would want to live on his own when they had plenty of room in the house. How Chris was able to afford his own apartment was something that Ryan could never quite work out but when he saw how run-down and stark the apartment was he began to understand.
'Sorry, it's a bit of dump.' Chris apologised.
'At least it is your own, to do what you like in.' Ryan said.
'Yeah, but the thing I want to do here I can't do because I can't find anyone to do it with.' Chris said.
Ryan was suddenly aware of the pounding of his heart. It was so loud and insistent he was certain that the people in the house at the end of the street could hear it. His head was in a spin and he felt decidedly giddy. He gratefully accepted the cold beer Chris pressed into his hand and took a long swig.
'What...what..er...ummm..what is it you want to do?' he stammered.
'You might think you're the only gay guy in town but you'd be wrong.' Chris said.