Can I Take You Home?

The bell on the door of the store jingled as Alan was in the store room stacking piles of dog bowls and he stuck his head out into the store front to see who was there. “Hey Alan!” Cute Nose Ring Guy smiled when he saw me and walked over to the counter. His name was actually Austin, as Alan had finally learnt a couple of days previously, but he was so used to calling him Cute Nose Ring guy now that he couldn’t get out of the habit. He was half scared that he’d say it out loud one day and Austin’d think he was crazy.

“Hey Austin! Gimme a minute, I’ve gotta finish stacking this stuff.” Since their first real conversation the other day with the kittens they’d become friends somehow. Austin had started coming into the store every day that Alan worked and they’d play with the cats together and chat about life and dumb shit and Alan fell a little bit harder for him every day. It made it kind of hard to concentrate on work really, but Alan was trying his best.

“Lemme help,” Austin said, coming behind the counter and standing next to him. Alan had already explained to him twice this week that going past the counter was for staff members only and he could get kicked out for coming back here, though our manager was rarely in and Justin seemed to approve of Austin so he wasn’t really in any danger of that. He was standing so close Alan could feel the heat of his arm almost touching his and it made him itch for real contact.

Alan gently pushed him back towards the main part of the store, sighing, “You know I have to be here until my shift ends whether you help me stack some dumb stuff, right? You should be outside doing something fun, not hanging out with a weird guy in a pet store all day.” Alan sighed quietly. He knew he wasn’t interesting, he honestly had no idea why Austin was here. He wasn’t even pretending to be interested in the animals today. It made Alan’s heart flutter that he really did seem to be here just to be around him.

“Hey, I want to be here. I like being around you, you’re my friend.” Austin smiled sincerely for a second before his face shifted to nervousness “Unless I’m getting in the way? It must be pretty annoying having me hanging around all the time, I’m sorry. I can go?” He looked so insecure and unsure of himself suddenly that Alan wanted to hold him and kiss his face and tell him how much he really never wanted him to leave.

“No!” Alan practically shouted, maybe clinging to Austin’s arm a tiny bit. He blushed bright red a second later, realising how clingy he was being to someone he’d only known a little while who had no idea he liked him. He took a deep breath and tried to say something that didn’t make him sound like a teenage girl. “I like having you here, when you’re around it doesn’t feel like work. It’s just hanging out in a pet shop with an awesome friend.” An awesome, ridiculously hot friend that I kind of want to push up against the fish tanks and kiss until we run out of breath, he didn’t add.

Austin pulled Alan into a tight hug suddenly and Alan was so shocked it took his brain a few seconds to kick back in and hug him back, his chin smooshed into Austin’s shoulder. “Woah there, am I interrupting something?” The door jingled and Justin walked in, twenty minutes late, holding coffee and looking very amused. “Cause I can come back later if you guys are busy? Just remember that there are children watching!” He gestured towards the kittens and Alan pulled himself out of the hug, completely mortified.

Austin stepped back so fast it was like he’d been electrocuted and glanced quickly at his watch before stammering “Shit I’m meeting someone in five minutes, I’ve got to go. I’ll see you later Alan!” and practically running out of the store. Alan stared after him, heartbroken.

“Justin, what the fuck? This is why I can’t have nice things! Why did you have to scare him away? He was being so nice.” Alan was on the verge of pouting. It didn’t matter, Austin wasn’t here to see it and Justin was a giant dick who couldn’t keep his mouth shut. “Now he’s going to know I like him and he won’t want to be my friend anymore and things will be weird!”

“Sorry man, I didn’t think it’d scare him out of here. He obviously likes you back, he just isn’t ready to actually admit it yet apparently. You think he comes in here every day to look at the kittens? He’s here to look at you, you little ginger minx.” Justin stepped forward and patted Alan on the shoulder, somehow managing to convey that he cared without being comforting in the slightest.

“Whatever. You’re late, asshole.” And with that Alan walked back into the store room and went back to stacking the fucking dog bowls, wishing the world hated him a little bit less.