Happy World - 1
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and
incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or
are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events,
locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely
coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or the
publisher.
Happy World
Top Shelf
An imprint of Torquere Press Publishers
PO Box 2545
Round Rock, TX 78680
Copyright © 2011 by Kiernan Kelly and Tory Temple
Cover illustration by Alessia Brio
Published with permission
ISBN: 978-1-61040-186-9
All rights reserved, which includes the right to reproduce this
book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever except as
provided by the U.S. Copyright Law. For information address
Torquere Press. Inc., PO Box 2545, Round Rock, TX 78680.
First Torquere Press Printing: March 2011
Printed in the USA
Happy World - 2
Happy World
By Kiernan Kelly and Tory Temple
Chapter One
Kyle stared nervously at his reflection in the ceiling-
to-floor mirror that spanned an entire wall of the men’s
dressing room. His white coveralls, the designated
costume for Groundskeeping personnel, already sported
a black smudge directly over his nametag. He had no
idea how the black mark had gotten there since he
couldn't have had the costume on his body for more than
fifteen minutes, and hadn't left the dressing room once,
but there it was, marring the otherwise pristine white
material.
It figures. My first day as a Trainer, and I screw up
my costume before I even get to meet my Trainee. I’m
supposed to be the one who sets the example. Way to go,
Kyle.
He should have expected it, he supposed. The color
white and Kyle had been mortal enemies for as long as
he could remember. His mother used to joke that if she
didn't worry that the neighbors would think they were
the Addams Family, she'd have dressed him in black
from head to foot since the day he was born, just to save
on laundry costs.
Kyle was usually anal about his costumes, too. The
Happy World Style Guide for Actors, known simply as
"The Handbook" to employees, was a thin volume
detailing appearance guidelines for Park workers.
Included was everything from what size earrings women
could wear (no bigger than a dime, and men were not
allowed to wear any at all), to acceptable hair color and
nail lengths (natural colors for hair; clear, beige, or pink
nail polish for women, none at all for the men, nails
Happy World - 3
trimmed no longer than the tip of the finger). It was as
sacred to Kyle as the Bible. He kept a dog-eared copy
tucked into his locker, even though he had the entire
book practically memorized.
Costumes were an important part of "conserving the
enchantment" of the Park for the guests. Guests
suspended their disbelief in the impossible from the
moment they walked in through the front gates. They
expected -- and rightfully so, considering the price of
admission -- to be cocooned in magic and illusions,
drenched in fairy dust, amazed, astounded, and
practically suffocated with sunny dispositions. They
should never, ever encounter anything during their visit
that reminded them of the outside world. The fantasy
Happy World created needed to be picture perfect at all
times, in all details.
That included no smudges on the white
Groundskeeping uniforms.
Why, even wearing the wrong color shoelace can
spoil the experience for a guest! Kyle chided himself.
He’d once been forced to feed two bucks into one of the
changing area vending machines for a new pair of laces
when he came to work with the wrong kind threaded
through his athletic shoes. They were new shoes, and
came with black laces, but he needed white for his
costume. He’d forgotten to switch them out the night
before.
Thank goodness the machines in the dressing rooms
sold everything from breath mints (Happy World Actors
must have minty fresh breath at all times) to socks,
pantyhose, shaving cream, razors, and deodorant. Of
course, that was back three years ago when he’d first
started and he hadn’t made such a terrible mistake since,
but even then, he should have known better. He’d
deserved to lose the two bucks for being so careless.
Happy World - 4
Kyle sighed and wiped futilely at the smudge. He
didn’t have time to return to Wardrobe and wait in line
to check out another costume. He was due onstage in
five minutes to meet his new Trainee.
Finally, he glanced left and right to make sure no one
was looking, then removed his nametag and pinned it a
bit higher on his chest, hoping to camouflage the dark
spot. Feeling a little guilty for breaking the rules
(according to page 15 of the Happy World Style Guide,
he was supposed to get an entirely new costume), he
picked up his broom and dustpan, made his way out of
the dressing room and down the long corridor studded
with offices bearing titles like "Wardrobe Coordinator,"
and "Actor Relations," toward the exit.
Happy World (it was a theme park, and woe to the
poor uninformed souls who called it an amusement
park!) sat on one hundred fifty acres of prime real estate
in the heart of Central Florida. Another couple of acres
of land, hidden from the public eye and known as
"backstage" or "behind the house" to the employees... er,
Actors, surrounded it. It was there, backstage, behind the
tall, cleverly faux-painted and disguised fences
separating the magic of Happy World from reality, that
the lifeblood of the Park throbbed. Actors (every person
who worked at Happy World was called an "Actor,"
even if they only pushed a broom or rang on a register)
hurried along the confusing grid of sidewalks, streets,
and the secret (well, to the guests, anyway) underground
tunnels that crisscrossed beneath the Park. Some were in
costume, some not; some headed directly to their
locations, others to the cafeteria, or waited at bus stops
for the in-house jitneys that would carry them from one
end of the Park to the other. Colorful floats were lined
up at one of the key entrances into the Park, ready to
drive through the streets in the daily parade, as perky
Happy World - 5
music played and Happy World’s famous animal
characters danced and waved from atop the floats.
Kyle knew every inch, every character, every song,
every ride, and every show in the Park by heart. He
should -- he’d come to the Park on vacations with his
parents every year since he was an embryo. How he'd
loved all the glitz as a kid! He’d believed in the magic,
too, and promised himself that when he was old enough,
he would work at the Park, singing and dancing in the
spectacular rhinestone-and-pyrotechnic stage shows.
Then again, he was only ten when he’d made himself
that promise. When you’re ten years old, you really
believe you’re going to grow up to be
President/Astronaut/Famous Happy World Actor, not
knowing that the rest of the world is snickering behind
their hands at your naiveté.
Well, he’d showed them! Here he was, twenty-four
years old, just two years out of college with a shiny, new
degree in Theater Arts, fulfilling his lifelong dream of
working at the Happy World Theme Park.
As a janitor.
Okay, so maybe the janitor part wasn't exactly how
he'd always pictured his dream job to be, but it was a
start.
Or so he kept telling himself.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Forester, but we're only hiring for
Groundskeeping and Outdoor Foods," Mrs. Adams, the
bouffant-haired woman with a too-bright smile in
Personnel had told him during his interview. "Your
probationary period will end after ninety days. After six
months, you can put in for a transfer to Attractions if
there are openings. Plus, we do hold open auditions
every so often for acting positions, too, and you'll be
eligible to participate in those auditions in just six
months as well. Six months will fly by, you'll see."
Happy World - 6
What she didn't say but Kyle knew to be the case,
was that those six months would be spent pushing a
broom under the scorching Florida sun, and using his
grabby claw to pick up empty cups, cigarette butts,
burger wrappers, dirty diapers, and things he didn’t
really want to even think about, let alone touch, even
with an extendable claw. It meant roughly a hundred and
eighty days of emptying trash cans full of rancid food,
and scraping bubble gum off chairs, sidewalks, and the
bottoms of his shoes, and worst of all, dealing with
"protein spills" -- Park lingo for vomit.
Six months had seemed like forever to him at the
time.
As disappointed as he was, Kyle was determined to
fulfill his dream of working as an Actor in the Park. He
took the job, telling himself that despite what it felt like
now, six months really wasn't forever. At least the job
brought him a paycheck... such as it was. A dollar above
minimum wage didn’t exactly set him up for life, but he
was surviving, and if he scored a part at the auditions,
he’d get a pay increase.
Unfortunately, those interminable six months had
stretched into two years, and he still hadn’t landed a role
in Entertainment.
He had, however, been promoted to Groundskeeping
Trainer, and along with a pay increase of fifty cents per
hour, had been assigned his very first Trainee. Even if
he wasn’t in Entertainment yet, he could still be proud
of his accomplishments.
If only the job didn't include wearing a snowy white
uniform.
He stepped outside into the heavy, muggy air, feeling
his skin instantly break out with sweat. Even after two
years, he still hadn't completely acclimatized himself to
the weather. The costume didn’t help -- it was made
Happy World - 7
from some sort of heavy polyester blend, great for wear
and tear but hell on earth in the heat for whoever was
wearing it. The torturous fabric simply didn’t breathe at
all. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand,
and headed toward the backstage gate that opened onto
Fantasy Street.
Happy World was built like a giant bicycle wheel,
with different "lands" sticking out like spokes from a
central hub. Fantasy Street was located dead-center in
the middle of the hub, in the Fairytale Land section.
Fairytale Land was exactly that -- a section of the Park
devoted to fairytales, ranging from Red Riding Hood to
Peter and the Wolf and everything in between,
particularly every story that had a princess in it
(princesses were worth their weight in gold when it
came to Happy World revenue). Here were the famous
fake castles and faux forests, and the rides themed to
each story, filled with familiar music, and animatronics
forever smiling their patented, Happy World grins.
Here were also about a billion five-year olds stuffing
themselves silly with cotton candy, ice cream, popcorn,
and soft drinks before spinning around madly inside
overgrown bowls of porridge on the Three Bears Table
ride, or rocketing up and down steep hills on the
Rapunzel Rollercoaster, then practically exploding
under the intense heat of the Florida sun. Kyle answered
more calls for "protein spills" in Fairytale Land than
anywhere else in the Park.
Before he could get five feet onstage, a woman
dressed in khaki shorts and a Happy Hamster T-shirt
grabbed his arm. Her husband, wearing a Silly Dawg T-
shirt with a mustard stain right over Dawg’s snout, was
busily trying to re-fold a Park map into its original
pocket size.
Happy World - 8
"Excuse me, could you tell me where the bathrooms
are?" she asked, snatching the map from her husband
and quickly refolding it, then returning it to him without
ever once glancing in his direction.
Kyle should have known what her question would be.
It was the most frequently asked question in the Park.
He turned on a high wattage smile, and pointed across
the way with the Happy World Salute -- middle and
pointer finger extended together. Happy World Actors
always pointed with two fingers, never, ever one,
because they were told in training that one-finger
pointing was considered rude in some cultures. "They’re
right over there, ma’am, next to the Gingerbread House
Bakery. Have a Happy Day!"
He headed toward the Storybook Theater, which
housed a slow-moving ride through several rooms full of
state-of-the-art animatronics retelling whitewashed
versions of the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian
Anderson, and other famous fairytales. Built to resemble
a gigantic... well... book, it was one of the most easily
recognizable attractions in Fairytale, and where he was
scheduled to meet his new Trainee.
His watch, a Timex his dad had given him before
leaving for college that so far had kept on ticking
through four years of school and two years at Happy
World, read ten o’clock on the nose. He glanced up and
down the street, looking for another white
Groundskeeping costume.
While he waited, he swept up a small spill of popcorn
and picked up a couple of empty soda pop bottles,
tossing it all into a garbage can cleverly disguised as a
witch’s cauldron.
He checked his watch again. It was now five minutes
past ten, and the new Trainee was officially late.
Happy World - 9
The skin between Kyle’s eyebrows puckered in a
small frown. Not a good start for the Trainee’s first day
on the job. On Kyle’s first day at work, he’d been a half-
hour early. Then again, Kyle was always early for
everything. Kyle hated being late. He considered it an
insult to whomever he was meeting.
Not that he met people very often, at least not outside
of work. He’d long ago resigned himself to the fact that
he didn’t make a very big impression on people. It
wasn’t that he was awful or deformed or anything... He
just sort of blended in with the background. If the guys
in Groundskeeping were planning a night at one of the
clubs, or going to a movie, Kyle’s name would never be
at the top of the invitation list. It wasn’t because the
guys didn’t like him; Kyle was always pleasant to
everyone, brushed his teeth, and used deodorant
regularly. It was because they simply seemed to forget
he existed until they ran into him face-to-face again.
Then it always seemed to come as a surprise to them that
Kyle was still working at Happy World, even though he
saw most of these same people every day at some point.
This affinity with chameleons was probably what
kept him from getting a role in Entertainment, a fact he
bemoaned often to his pet hamster, named -- what else --
Happy. He tried not to let it get him down, and kept
going to the auditions whenever they were held anyway,
never losing hope that he’d catch his big break.
But when Kyle did have somewhere to go -- like
meeting his trainer on his very first day at work, for
example -- he made damn sure he was early, or at the
very least, on time.
His frown deepened when he finally spotted another
white Groundskeeping uniform bobbing slowly along
Fantasy Street, following the flow of guests. The guy
was walking as if he had all the time in the world.
Happy World - 10
Is that a bag of popcorn he’s holding? No, it couldn’t
be... he wouldn’t dare! It was, though, and as Kyle
watched, the Trainee popped another few fluffy white
kernels into his mouth.
Kyle gasped in horror. Good grief -- not eating or
drinking in front of the guests onstage was one of the
cardinal rules of Happy World! Hadn’t anyone told the
Trainee this during orientation? What was he thinking?
Kyle shook his head at the Trainee’s folly, gathered
his broom and dustbin, and hurried to meet the Trainee
halfway. This is not going to end well. Not well at all.
Happy World - 11
Chapter Two
Rory chewed and swallowed the last few pieces of
popcorn. Happy World did seem to have the best
amusement park popcorn there was.
No, wait. The Handbook had said theme park. Theme
park, not amusement park. Even though Rory found
himself pretty damn amused every time he looked at the
Handbook. There sure were a lot of freaking rules about
the place.
Rules and Rory had never really gotten along.
Parents, teachers, the two managers of the restaurants
where he’d waited tables during college, all of them had
tried imposing different rules on Rory. All of them had
learned quickly enough that whatever Rory didn’t want
to do, he didn’t do. Of course, this also meant that he got
grounded, poor grades, and fired, but at least he took
comfort in the fact that he was true to himself.
Being true to yourself only worked, however, if you
were self-sufficient. And since Rory was still living on
his father’s dime, he’d had to make the choice to follow
Roarke Stafford, Sr.’s rules for now. One of which
included getting a job.
It wasn’t Rory’s fault that his liberal studies degree
wasn’t yielding him any employment in his field of
choice. He’d done all the right things after graduating
from college, but the economy was just so shitty that no
one was hiring PR positions. Or human resource
positions, or marketing positions, or any of the other
things his degree qualified him for. Rory had been
content to send out one or two resumes a week and
spend the rest of his time on the beach with friends, but
Roarke Sr. was having none of that.
Happy World - 12
"A job," his father had said firmly. "A job, or I’m
changing your trust to become available at age thirty-
seven, not twenty-seven."
"What!" Rory had paused, half-in, half-out of his
truck. "I’ve been trying, Dad! You can’t do that!" It
sounded ridiculous, even to Rory, because of course his
father could do that. And was clearly going to.
"I said a job, Rory. By the end of next week. I don’t
care if you’re digging ditches or picking up trash. Just
get a job and quit screwing around. If this proves
impossible for you, then I’ll get a job for you at my
company." His father had turned and gone back to his
newest, youngest wife who was lounging by the pool in
the back yard.
Rory had sworn under his breath and gone out to
meet his friends, promising himself that he’d never, ever
work for his father or be caught dead picking up trash
for money.
This, of course, made the claw thing in his hand right
now that much more ironic. Rory sighed and threw his
cardboard popcorn container onto the fake cobblestone
sidewalk. He was about to practice using the grabby
claw to pick it up again when he was rushed by a very
male, very indignant co-worker in an identical
Groundskeeping uniform.
"No, no, no!" the indignant co-worker admonished.
"Never let Park guests see you eating, or throwing trash
on the ground!" He reached out with his own claw and
snatched Rory’s popcorn box. The box was adorned
with a picture of Tilly Tiger, one of the Park’s numerous
animal characters.
Rory watched as the man used his claw to crush Tilly
and then deposit the box into the nearest trash can. "I
was going to pick it up," Rory offered, not sure if the
Happy World - 13
guy was being serious. Obviously Rory wasn’t going to
let the trash just sit on the ground.
"It doesn’t matter." He straightened up and Rory saw
his name tag for the first time. Kyle, Sarasota, Florida.
"You can’t just stop and pick something up. You need to
swoop gracefully and keep moving. Don’t ever bend
over."
Something told Rory that his automatic dirty
response to "bending over" probably wouldn’t be well-
received. Instead, he grinned and stuck out a hand. "Hi,
I’m Roarke. Don’t call me that, though. It’s Rory."
Kyle from Sarasota shook Rory’s hand. "Hello. Are
you ready to get started? We’re already behind
schedule."
They were? Rory glanced at his watch. Seven
minutes after ten. Looked like they were pretty on time
to him, but Kyle didn’t seem to think so. "Sure, man."
He lifted his claw and squeezed it a few times. "Let’s hit
it."
Kyle blinked, not seeming to understand Rory’s
meaning, but he shrugged and led the way down Fantasy
Street. "Okay, so you’ve read up on your Handbook,
right?"
"Depends what you mean by ‘read up’." Rory
chuckled and twirled his claw. "I read it a couple times,
yeah. Enough to pass the test at the end of class,
anyway." The formal training period for Happy World
had ended with an actual exam about the company’s
history, legacy, and brand name. Rory hadn’t thought
they were serious about testing him until the night
before, when he realized that he wasn’t allowed into the
Park for field training unless he passed the stupid test.
Cramming had always worked well for him in college,
and it served its purpose for Happy World Institute, too.
Happy World - 14
"A couple of times? I don’t think that’s going to be
good enough. When’s your next shift?" Kyle reached
out with his broom and swept up what looked like salt
from one of the hot pretzels, all without stopping.
"Uh, tomorrow." Rory wondered if he was supposed
to be sweeping too, but Kyle looked like he had it in
control. Kyle looked like he had most things in control,
which Rory thought was probably part of his problem.
Too tight a hold on the reins.
"Okay." Kyle nodded and kept moving briskly,
pausing now and then to smile at a guest with the
trademark Happy World grin. "Tomorrow, I’ll quiz you
on appropriate jewelry." He cast a sidelong glance at
Rory’s thin silver-toned bracelet. "Like that, for
example. Necklaces, bracelets, and ankle bracelets are
not permitted."
The guy sounded exactly like the Handbook. Rory
considered telling Kyle that he wasn’t stupid; he’d read
the Handbook just like everyone else, and the rules
specifically said that medical alert jewelry was
acceptable. Which the silver bracelet actually was, if
you looked close. Childhood diabetes had struck at the
age of eight. Over fifteen years of learning how to
manage the disease had made Rory pretty good at it,
though, so he tried hard not to let it impact his life any
more than necessary.
And part of not letting it impact his life was keeping
it private. "Gotcha," he said to Kyle, unconcerned. Rory
didn’t care if Kyle told him every day not to wear his
bracelet. Rory’s and Kyle’s supervisor in custodial
services -- what was his name? Oh, Jason -- had seen the
slim piece of steel, asked what it was, and approved the
jewelry.
"Good. Okay, we’ve got some ground to cover before
our break at one. Follow me, and feel free to ask any
Happy World - 15
questions that pop up." Kyle nodded and took a sharp
left at the corner of Fantasy Street. He headed into
another section of the Park, and Rory hurried to keep up.
The tone of the Park changed slightly from land to
each themed land. There were children scattered
throughout the grounds, of course, but as Rory and Kyle
moved from Fairytale Land into Galaxy Land, the age
range became slightly older. Galaxy Land held two of
the Park’s biggest thrill rides, Planetary Pilot and Moon
Launchers. They both had height requirements, so there
were fewer children under the age of six in the area.
Rory wasn’t sure what was worse, though -- the crying,
sticky little ones, or the rude, entitled tweens and teens.
He noticed that there were white ropes lining the
main street of Galaxy Land, and guests were stationing
themselves in hordes along the edges of the ropes. Rory
was about to call out to Kyle and ask what they were
waiting for, but Kyle was already a few feet ahead of
him, mingling with the crowd and being as polite as he
could be when sweeping trash from around their feet.
Rory didn’t have much choice but to sigh and follow
him.
Rory’s question was answered within moments. The
cleverly hidden sound system suddenly blared to life,
piping out a cheerful tune and a very smooth-talking
announcer.
"Ladies and gentlemen, children young and old!
Welcome to your most magical fantasy! You’ve come to
a place where imagination meets laughter and
enchantment. Join us as we celebrate your most beloved
Happy World friends in the Parade of Wonder!"
Ah, a parade, of course. Rory had been briefed on the
parade schedule during orientation, but since it was
summer season and the calendar was completely packed
with entertainment, he’d forgotten it was time for the
Happy World - 16
morning parade. Maybe there’d be time to stop in the
shade of that tree over there and --
"Rory!" Kyle appeared at his side as if by magic.
"There is to be no stopping along parade routes! Now is
the time when we have to be extra vigilant about
watching for trash. The gathered guests will drop
garbage where they stand, and if our lead comes along,
he won’t want to see litter piling up." As if to
demonstrate, Kyle reached out and caught a piece of
paper from a churro almost before it hit the ground.
"No watching parades, huh?" Rory looked on
enviously as a little girl sat in the shade and licked an ice
cream cone.
"Not while you’re on the clock. Careful!" Kyle
reached out and caught Rory’s arm, moving him out of
the path of the parade’s first float.
He really hadn’t been near enough to the float to get
hurt, but he was getting used to Kyle’s overreaction to
things. Rory looked up over his head as what looked like
an enormous hamster ball rolled slowly by. It was a
hamster ball, he realized, and there was Happy Hamster
himself inside. The delighted shrieks of children filled
Rory’s ears as Happy waved a little rodent paw at them.
The next float to pass was Blackie White, the poor
confused polar bear who lived out his days on a tropical
island instead of the North Pole. Rory could hear the
crowd laughing as Blackie played with a beach ball
under a collection of fake palm trees.
There was a collective "oooh" from the crowd for the
next characters in the lineup. Rory slipped behind a
large man with an unfortunate sunburn and looked to see
what familiar player was coming down the street.
Expecting to see yet another costumed imaginary
animal, Rory blinked when he caught a glimpse of two
decidedly human figures.
Happy World - 17
Some of the characters in Happy World were not
animals. There were several animated humans scattered
among the animal collection. One of the most notable of
these was Arabella, the wild animal trainer. She’d had
several television shows and movies written for her
character and was considered a good model of feminism
for the pre-adolescent girls. The crowd clapped for her
now as she rubbed the furry tummy of Tilly Tiger.
The other cartoon human character that got a lot of
screen time was Daniel the Dragon Slayer. He always
seemed to be underdressed, the few times Rory had paid
any attention to the television show. Ripped shirt,
snug… um, what were those things? Breeches? Rory
didn’t know who dressed this dude or why his shirt was
always ripped.
But wow, whoever the Actor was that Happy World
had hired to play Daniel had done an amazing job. He
sat up high on the neck of an animatronic dragon,
flashing his pearly whites at the crowd and brandishing
his trademark sword. Rory craned his neck up high to
watch Daniel pass.
Just as the huge turquoise dragon rolled past, Daniel
looked down and saw Rory watching him. The bright
smile grew a bit wider and Rory could swear that Daniel
winked at him. Of course, from ten feet up on top of a
parade float, it was hard to tell. There were tales floating
around of backstage romantic shenanigans between
employees, but Rory wasn’t sure that they started with a
wink and a grin on top of a giant dragon.
He was wondering the best way to get in touch with
Daniel the Dragon Slayer when Kyle came back to fetch
him once more. "We’re supposed to be circling the Pizza
Space Nine restaurant."
"Yeah," Rory replied absently, eyes still on Daniel’s
back as the dragon made its way down the street.
Happy World - 18
Kyle followed Rory’s look and gave a snort. "She’s
been engaged for three years to a military guy. Big.
Don’t try it."
She? Oh, Kyle thought Arabella was the one to catch
his eye. "I didn’t notice her," Rory laughed. "So,
where’s the Pizza Planet thing? Pizza Port?"
"Pizza Space Nine." Kyle threaded his way through
the crowd until he and Rory could walk side by side. "So
who? Charlie? Uh, Daniel. His real name’s Charlie
Taylor."
Rory nodded. "Charlie Taylor. Good to know."
"He won’t give you the time of day." Kyle’s voice
was clipped even as he smiled politely at a woman who
bumped into him with her overly large diaper bag.
"Why’s that? I can be charming when I want to be."
That’s what his last hookup had told him, anyway. Rory
had heard it before.
Kyle made a turn into an enclosed area outside of the
pizza restaurant that housed several dozen small round
tables. Rory watched as he cleaned around guests’ feet
with quick, unobtrusive movements. There had been a
part of orientation that had stressed being both visible
and invisible to guests at the same time. Seemed like
Kyle had that down, and Rory was struck again by the
realization that Kyle was definitely a rule follower.
"There’s a class system here. Groundskeepers are
only one step above the bottom rung. We’re on top of
food and concession stand workers, but only by a little
bit." Kyle shrugged and swept up a bit of fallen ice from
a spilled soda. "On top of us is… well, everyone else.
But Entertainment, especially character Actors, are out
of our league." He sounded glum and Rory couldn’t help
wondering if Kyle was pining after someone in
Entertainment.
Happy World - 19
"Wow. A real pecking order, huh? Sounds kind of
like seventeenth century England, if you ask me." Rory
couldn’t believe it was that much of a big deal.
"Call it what you want. I’ve been here for two years
and I’ve yet to see anyone in Entertainment date anyone
out of their working class, with the possible exception of
Park Ambassadors. Who are above them, of course."
"Of course." Rory couldn’t keep the edge of sarcasm
out of his voice. This whole place was so tight on their
rules and regs that it even affected who he was allowed
to crush on. Not cool. "I’ll stick to Groundskeepers."
"Or Food Services," Kyle offered helpfully. "But I
wouldn’t advise actually dating anyone here. It’s
frowned on."
Of course it was. "Everything’s frowned on," Rory
grumbled. "And it’s not like I want to date anyone."
Dating meant hearts and flowers. He just wanted to mess
around. "I thought Happy World was supposed to be the
most Fantastical Place on the Planet."
"It is!" Kyle nodded several times in rapid
succession. "You just have a lot to learn."
Boy, did he.
Happy World - 20
Chapter Three
Rory was going to need a lot of work.
Kyle ticked off a mental checklist of areas Rory
would need to concentrate on if his new Trainee wanted
to remain employed by Happy World as he led Rory
toward Terrestrial Traders, a large merchandise shop in
Galaxy Land, and to an unobtrusive door marked by
small sign that read, "Actors Only." Behind the door was
a steep set of metal stairs that led down into the utility
tunnels that crisscrossed underneath the Park.
He was late, he was eating onstage, his hair needs a
trim, he’s wearing jewelry, and he seems to be easily
distracted.
Although Kyle admitted, if only to himself, that he
could understand how Rory might be distracted by
Charlie Taylor. Kyle had been guilty of the same offense
from time to time. How could he not? Charlie was
gorgeous, with a big, bright smile that never seemed to
be for Kyle, and gorgeous blue eyes that never seemed
to focus on him, not to mention a phenomenally toned
body poured inside the ripped shirt and tight breeches
that made up Charlie’s costume.
Charlie certainly fit his role as Daniel the Dragon
Slayer, and was one of the sexiest Happy World
characters. Kyle personally dreaded the day someone in
Corporate woke up and realized just how sexy Daniel
the Dragon Slayer was -- they’d probably fall all over
themselves in their haste to cover up that fabulous body.
Most likely, they’d stick Charlie in a gunnysack to hide
all his muscles. Sexy definitely wasn’t a part of the
Happy World Look.
Not that Kyle stood a chance with Charlie anyway.
Even if Charlie hadn’t been a face character and so far
above Groundskeeping as to be in another universe,
Happy World - 21
Charlie was so hot he could, and usually did, have his
pick of men. Kyle knew Charlie preferred tall,
handsome, self-confident men like... well, like Rory, for
example, and not mousy, nearly-invisible men like
himself.
Speaking of, where is he? Kyle looked behind him
and saw Rory trying to pick up an empty pop bottle. It
kept slipping out of Rory’s plastic claw and rolling
away, making him run after it. It would’ve been funny if
Rory wasn’t going to make them late for their break.
"Rory! Come on. We only get a half hour for a lunch
break."
He held the door open as Rory came trotting up. "I
can do a break," Rory said. "I’m roasting." He swiped
his forehead with his sleeve, and Kyle added "poor care
of costume" to his growing mental checklist. "Where are
we going?"
"The tunnels, which are affectionately known among
Happy World Actors as the Hamster Wheel," Kyle
answered. He let the door close behind them and began
to descend the stairs. "The tunnels run under the Park.
It’s very cool -- like a city beneath the guests’ feet.
There are storage, offices, break rooms, the main
cafeteria, and all kinds of stuff down here."
"Why tunnels? Why not just build more buildings
backstage?"
"Good question," Kyle said, pleased that Rory had
actually asked one, and an intelligent one, at that. "The
tunnels make it easier and faster to get around the Park
without having to worry about cutting through crowds,
or running all the way around backstage. Plus, most
costumed Actors are not allowed to cross over from one
Land to another in front of the guests. It would destroy
the enchantment if they did. Not to mention that in a
Park this size, there are constant deliveries being made,
Happy World - 22
construction being done, emergencies tended to...
because it’s underground, the business end of Happy
World is kept out of the sight and hearing of the guests,
and the enchantment onstage is conserved."
They reached the bottom of the stairway and Kyle
opened another door, stepping through. "Here’s a good
point to remember," he said, pointing to a colored stripe
on the wall opposite them. "It’s really easy to get lost
down here. When you come down into the tunnels,
remember what color stripe is on the wall in front of
you. Every land has its own color; this blue one is for
Galaxy Land. They all lead to the main tunnel where the
cafeteria is, but when you want to find your way back,
just follow the right color stripe. You should’ve
memorized the colors for each Land. I’m sure you’ve
seen them. They’re listed in your Handbook."
As they walked along the poured concrete tunnel, the
rubber soles of their athletic shoes made soft squicky
sounds. Kyle felt the need to keep up a running
commentary, as if giving a guided tour. He was, in a
way, he guessed. "So, your last name is Stafford, huh?
Like the owners of Happy World. Guess you must get
that a lot, huh?"
Rory rolled his eyes. "More than you’d think."
"Would be nice to have their money, though, not to
mention the celebrity of owning the world’s biggest
theme park."
"Yeah, I guess." Rory shrugged, then pointed at a
Segway, one of the motorized personal transportation
units used by Park managers, as it whizzed by them.
"Whoa, what’s that?"
The woman riding it nodded toward them, and Kyle
automatically smiled and waved. "A Segway. A people-
mover. They’re used to get around the Park and through
the tunnels faster."
Happy World - 23
"That’s so cool," Rory said. "When do we get one of
those?"
Kyle snorted. "We don’t. Managers use them, not us."
"Well, that sucks."
"Sucks is not appropriate Happy World language,"
Kyle chided. "No swearing while in costume, please."
"I thought we were on break."
Kyle sighed. "Not until we swipe our IDs through the
time clock we’re not, and even then, you need to watch
your language while in costume and on property. It’s all
in your Handbook, Rory."
"You really take all this Handbook stuff seriously,
don’t you?" Rory asked. His lips were curved into a
smirk, his gray eyes twinkling with humor.
Kyle felt his face heat up. "Of course I do, and so
should you. The Handbook is vitally important!"
"No, vitally important is feeding the hungry, or
conserving the rainforest, or fixing the ozone, not
memorizing a stupid set of rules that don’t mean squat in
real life."
"There’s nothing wrong with following the rules,"
Kyle snipped, feeling defensive. "If nobody obeyed the
rules, there’d be chaos!"
"Yeah, well, there’s something to be said for chaos.
Chaos is cool."
Kyle sniffed and turned away, leading Rory deeper
into the tunnels. "While you’re an Actor with Happy
World, you’d better learn to follow the rules. You get
one point for each major infraction, like being late for
work. Get three points and you’re fired."
"Are you always like this? Don’t you ever just cut
loose?"
Kyle threw Rory a black look. "I didn’t get to where
I am today by ‘cutting loose.’ I did it by following the
rules."
Happy World - 24
"You do know that you work cleaning up trash for a
giant hamster, right?"
Kyle felt gut-punched. He opened his mouth to retort,
but couldn’t find the words. Rory had unknowingly hit a
sore spot with Kyle. He didn’t want to be in
Groundskeeping, as a trainer or otherwise, and wasn’t
particularly proud of himself at all. Not that there was
anything wrong with being a Groundskeeper... it just
wasn't what he wanted to do with his life. He wanted to
be a face Actor, always had, but his dream hadn’t come
true for him yet. He clamped his mouth shut and tried
his best to ignore Rory.
"Hey, I’m sorry," Rory said after a few minutes.
"That was out of line, I guess."
Kyle ignored Rory’s apology. "Here’s the main
cafeteria. There are break rooms and smaller cafés
backstage at each of the Lands, but they only have
vending machines. You’ll need to come here if you want
to eat a hot meal."
He ushered Rory into the cafeteria and directed him
to grab a tray and get in line. There were four sections to
the food line -- salads, sandwiches, hot entrees, and
desserts. Kyle picked his usual salad and a carton of
chocolate milk, and waited for Rory to choose his lunch.
Kyle took a slip of paper out of his wallet. "Lunch on
your first day at work is on Happy Hamster," he said,
handing the chit to the cashier. "After this, you’re on
your own." He paid for his own lunch, then led Rory to a
table near the back of the cafeteria.
"This is the section where Groundskeeping usually
sits. You can sit anywhere, but as a rule, face Actors sit
with face Actors over there by the window, attraction
people sit over there by the cashiers, and food and
beverage people sit in the next section over.
Happy World - 25
Management has their own cafeteria, so you won’t see
them in here."
"Seriously? This is sort of like first class and coach
on airplanes."
"I guess. You’d better eat. We only have twenty
minutes left of our break." He looked down at his
wilting salad and had just begun to eat when a shadow
fell over their table. Looking up, he was shocked to see
Charlie Taylor, in all his muscular splendor, standing
there.
"Uh, hi, Charlie," Kyle said, feeling his face grow
hot. What did Charlie Taylor want with him?
Nothing, of course. Charlie never even glanced in
Kyle’s direction. His attention was focused on Rory. It
was as if Kyle wasn’t even at the same table.
"Hey. I saw you during the parade. You’re new here,
right? I’m Charlie Taylor. I play Daniel the Dragon
Slayer."
"Yeah, I saw you on the dragon. I’m Rory Stafford.
Nice to meet you," Rory said before taking another bite
of his sandwich.
Charlie motioned to a table on the other side of the
room where the face characters gathered. "I’ve got a seat
over there. Want to join me?"
Kyle wanted to crawl under the table and die. What
was it about him that made him invisible to everybody?
He stared down at his salad, fully expecting Rory to
jump at the chance to eat lunch with Charlie. "Just
remember that we have to clock back in soon, Rory. I’ll
meet you at the time clock in fifteen minutes."
"What are you, his mother?" Charlie growled,
frowning at Kyle. He waved a dismissive hand. "Don’t
worry about being late. It’s not that big of a deal."
"Yeah? Well, thanks but no thanks, Charlie. As you
can see, I’m already having lunch with my friend Kyle,
Happy World - 26
and since it’s my first day, I don’t want to be late getting
back to work."
Kyle’s head snapped up, and he blinked in
amazement. Rory was choosing him over seriously sexy
Charlie? How was that possible?
Maybe Rory was trying to make up for all the
mistakes he’d made since starting work. Yeah, that must
be it, Kyle thought, trying to rationalize Rory’s
behavior. For picking me over Charlie, I just might be
tempted to forget a few things on my checklist, too.
Charlie didn’t seem to be amused. In fact, he
appeared insulted. "Hasn’t anybody explained the way
things work around here? Nobody sits with the trash-
lickers if they can help it. I’m offering you the chance to
sit with the real Actors."
Kyle opened his mouth to protest Charlie’s use of the
derogatory term for Groundskeeping, but Rory beat him
to it. "Jeeze, how do you fit that giant ego into that tiny,
pointy pinhead of yours? If you’ll excuse us, dragon-
fucker, we’d like to finish our lunch before we have to
get back to work."
Charlie sputtered indignantly, but turned on his heel
and walked away. Kyle watched him sit with other face
characters and shoot black looks in their direction. "Oh,
man, Rory. You shouldn’t have said that. You’ve made
an enemy on your very first day."
Rory shrugged a shoulder. "Meh. I’m not afraid of
him."
"He’s one of the most popular face characters. He has
power here. He can make your life miserable."
"Let him try. Are you done eating? That
sanctimonious asshole made me lose my appetite."
Kyle felt his lips turn up in a wide smile, the first true
one he’d had all day. He suddenly felt better than he had
in a long while. "Absolutely. Let’s get back to work."
Happy World - 27
He didn’t even chide Rory on his use of bad language
while in costume.
Happy World - 28
Chapter Four
Thirty minutes for a break was nothing, Rory learned.
As soon as they’d scarfed their food -- sensible salad for
Kyle, a half-decent cheeseburger for Rory -- it seemed it
was time to get back to work.
The only exit to the room was directly behind the
table where Charlie sat. Walking past him didn’t bother
Rory in the least, but he could tell Kyle was highly
uncomfortable. He lingered behind Rory, and Rory
could hear him shuffling his feet. He turned to meet
Kyle’s worried brown gaze.
"This isn’t high school," Rory said firmly. "You
don’t have to worry about the popular kids not liking
you." God knew that Rory had never given a crap what
people thought, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to start
now.
"I know." Kyle’s voice had a defensive edge that was
kind of cute.
"Then pick your head up and pretend I just told you a
really hilarious dirty joke. Laugh like it’s going out of
style." Rory continued on his path toward the door.
The nervous giggle that Kyle gave wasn’t what Rory
was thinking of when he’d told him to laugh, but it
would have to do. He turned to Kyle just as they passed
Charlie’s table and said, "And then he told me to do it
again. With chocolate." Rory grinned big and raised his
eyebrows.
Kyle’s giggle turned to a choke and a shocked
expression, which would have been exactly what Rory
was aiming for if he’d been telling a lewd story. The fact
that he’d made the statement up but surprised Kyle
anyway was hilarious. Rory wondered just how
sheltered the guy was.
Happy World - 29
The burning look they received from Charlie could
have singed the hair off Happy Hamster. Rory ignored
it. There was no way he was going to get ruffled up over
dirty looks from a guy who made his living wearing
ripped cut-off pants. He could tell Kyle was having a
harder time disregarding the looks, though.
"Come on," Rory finally said and grabbed the sleeve
of Kyle’s costume shirt. He tugged him out the cafeteria
door and followed the blue stripe on the wall back up the
stairs. "God, next shift I’ll bring my own lunch," he
laughed. "Is there anywhere else we can eat besides
underground?"
"Uh-huh." Kyle licked his lips and cast one last
apprehensive glance behind them. "Um. There’s an
outdoor eating area behind Wardrobe, but it sucks if it’s
really hot or raining."
"Well, we’ll just see. I’m not worried."
Kyle studied him for a moment, expression serious.
"Not much really does worry you, does it?"
"Nope." Rory shrugged. Well, that wasn’t exactly
true. He worried about his blood sugar and what his
father thought of him, but no way was he saying that
stuff to Kyle. Rory didn’t worry about most other stuff,
anyway. Especially getting a dirty look from a guy he
didn’t even know.
Kyle gave Rory another inscrutable stare and then
nodded. "Come on. We need to get back over to
Fairytale Land and check the topiary for trash."
"I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do." Rory
pasted a grimace on his face that felt like the trademark
Happy World smile, but was probably a poor facsimile.
A disbelieving snort from Kyle was his reply.
***
Happy World - 30
Five hours later saw Rory slipping behind the wheel
of his truck and reaching for the glove box. He withdrew
his glucose meter and lancet and did a quick blood sugar
check, then recorded the results in the small journal he
kept in his backpack. His glucose level looked good,
although he knew he’d have to eat as soon as he got
home. An eight hour Happy World shift was going to
require some scheduling as far as health maintenance
was concerned, but Rory wasn’t worried. He’d been
doing this since he was eight.
Keeping it private was his only concern. Rory wanted
anything but sympathy for his illness. He didn’t feel
sorry for himself, so nobody else should either.
The traffic along the Florida interstate was
uncharacteristically light. He reached his mom’s house
in a matter of minutes and headed inside, already
thinking of the turkey sandwich he wanted to make.
His mother looked up from the paperwork she had
spread out at the dining room table. "Hello, sweet pea.
How did it go?" Her smile was warm, if a bit tired
looking.
Rory shrugged and bent to kiss her cheek. "You
know. It went. I picked up trash." He rolled his eyes and
glanced down at her files. "Jeeze, Mom. Never heard of
leaving it at the office?"
It was a familiar, gentle tease. Sheridan Stafford was
one of the state’s most highly sought-after child
psychiatrists. Leaving work at the office was not an
option, since her after hours were spent listening to the
day’s recorded sessions and preparing transcription for
her secretary. Staying in her tastefully furnished office
to finish her work would mean that Dr. Sherry Stafford
would be sacrificing time with her family, something
she had always refused to do. Rory and his younger
Happy World - 31
brother Riley had grown up with manila folders and files
on the dining room table.
"I did leave some at the office, believe it or not."
Sherry sighed and took off her eyeglasses. "But I think
I’m done for the evening. What would you like to eat?"
"I got it." Rory squeezed her shoulder and turned
toward the kitchen. "Want me to run you a hot bath or
something?"
He heard her snort at the very idea. She could run her
own bath, thank you very much.
The refrigerator yielded some deli turkey, Swiss
cheese, and half an avocado. Rory made himself a
passable sandwich and stood at the counter to eat.
Dandy, his mom’s ten- year-old schnauzer, sat and
watched him.
"None for beggars," Rory admonished, then relented
and dropped her a bit of turkey. She ate it delicately and
cocked her head at Rory, looking for more.
He ignored her as he dropped his paper plate in the
trash and headed for the hallway. Now that his stomach
was full, all he wanted was a hot shower to wash off any
remaining enchantment from Happy World. All that
happiness tended to make his teeth hurt.
Rory peeled off his clothes and waited for the water
to heat. He leaned against the sink and stared blearily at
the floor tiles. Somehow, he hadn’t really expected his
new job to be so much… well, work. A theme park had
sounded more on the fun side, but today had been
anything but fun. Especially being under the watchful
eye of his trainer.
Kyle. Rory snorted and stepped under the spray,
adjusting the nozzle until the water came down in
pelting needles that would hopefully help the tightness
in his shoulders. Kyle was definitely part of the not-fun.
Happy World - 32
He sank down on the small bench that was carved
into the shower wall and let the water beat down on him.
Not for the first time that day, Rory wondered if Kyle
was really as intense as he seemed. Maybe it was an act
put on for Rory’s benefit. To get him thinking in the
Happy World mindset, maybe? It was anyone’s guess.
The water turned steamy and Rory felt himself relax
a little more. The heat and pressure of the day swirled
down the drain, although Rory found it hard to turn his
thoughts of Kyle off as neatly as he’d hoped. The guy
was actually pretty cute, if you liked the serious brown
eyes and neat haircut type. Rory tended more toward the
showy, swaggery type of guy, but he’d found that a lot
of them were actually assholes. Take Charlie, the
douche-y dragon slayer. That had been a
disappointment.
Almost on auto-pilot, his hand drifted to his cock.
Something about the shower and warm water always did
it to him. The shower was perfect for jacking off and
there was never a shortage of slippery stuff for lube.
Hair conditioner worked well enough, so Rory took a
palmful and coated himself with it.
The coconut scent drifted upward as he stroked,
making him think of summer and the beach and all the
oiled bodies that decorated the Florida coastline. His
cock swelled beneath his palm and Rory brushed over
the tip with his fingers. He took a deep breath and
leaned his head back against the cool tile, prepared for
this to be quick and easy.
Knowing his body as well as he did made him a
decent partner in bed. At least, that’s what Rory
attributed it to. He knew what he liked and what felt
good, so it would make sense to try that stuff on other
guys, too. Like using his thumb to press lightly into his
slit with one hand and fondling his balls with the other.
Happy World - 33
Or making sure the rough calluses on his palm touched
the sensitive spot of his prick, right under the head. All
the little details that added up to a good experience.
Everything started tingling at once, and Rory knew
he was close. The rhythm he’d only just started on
himself sometimes worked too well. He pushed through
the tunnel of his fingers and squirmed a bit on the seat,
foot sliding and slipping on the shower floor. His
orgasm began as a ripple, sending waves of pleasure up
and out, and then he was biting down hard on his bottom
lip in an effort to remain silent as he came. Warm stripes
of come painted his wrist and fell to the floor, washing
instantly down the drain.
The water rained down and Rory sat there for a long
time without moving. He could feel himself soften but
kept his hand curled protectively around his cock. He
was suddenly exhausted from his long day and it seemed
like way too much effort to do anything other than let
the water beat on him.
It was finally the threat of sitting in a cold shower
that roused Rory enough to turn off the water and wrap a
towel around his waist. He took a moment to examine
the small patch on his lower abdomen and reattached the
pump to it that dispensed his insulin. If there was one
thing in his life that he purposely followed the rules for,
it was taking care of that thing. It had replaced giving
himself insulin injections about five years ago, and his
life had gotten a whole lot easier.
Dandy was curled up at the foot of his bed when
Rory entered the bedroom. She wagged her stubby tail,
but didn’t lift her head.
"You have your own bed," Rory told her. He dropped
the towel and pulled on soft, gray sweats with his alma
mater’s insignia printed down the thigh.
Her tail continued to wag.
Happy World - 34
Rory dropped onto the bed next to Dandy and flicked
the television on with the remote. He petted her silky
head and closed his eyes. "I’m beat," he told the dog,
although she likely didn’t care much. "Working is…
work."
The only sound, other than the low volume of the
TV, was Dandy’s tail thumping against the bed. "And
you know what else, Dan? There was this guy. He had a
real stick up his ass."
The tiny flicker of guilt that shot through Rory was
surprising. Kyle definitely had his panties in a bunch,
hadn’t he? It made Rory dread his next shift. To feel
guilty talking about Kyle -- to Rory’s dog, no less -- was
weird.
The other weird thing was what had happened in the
shower, just before Rory came. The nameless, faceless
guy that often starred in his fantasies had morphed into
someone else, someone who definitely had a name and a
face.
Kyle, with his serious brown eyes and too-tight grip
on rules and regulations, had been the last thing Rory
thought of before his orgasm took over.
Weird.
***
His next shift was the following day. Rory made a
specific point of lingering backstage until one minute
after ten o’clock. Then he sauntered slowly out to meet
Kyle beneath the designated lamppost on Fantasy Street.
As expected, Kyle was waiting impatiently. "Our
shift starts at ten."
"It’s ten." Rory grinned and snapped his claw at
Kyle’s shoe, trying to untie one of the laces.
Happy World - 35
Kyle lifted his foot out of reach and glanced
pointedly at his watch, but seemed to think that
responding to Rory would be fruitless. "Come on," he
sighed. "We’ve got parade duty again, this time down in
Freedom’s Fair."
Freedom’s Fair was the section of the Park that
revolved around the story of young America’s
emergence as a country and its breakaway from British
rule. That’s what Rory’s Handbook had said, anyway.
To him, the area just looked like one big mash-up of red,
white, and blue bunting, streamers, and flags. The rides
and restaurants had names like Liberty Bells and Justice
Juice Smoothies, which Rory guessed were supposed to
inspire thoughts of patriotism. Or something. To him, it
just inspired vague memories of Fourth of July at
summer camp.
"I thought the parade started in Galaxy Land." Rory
refused to trot to catch up with Kyle, who was already a
few feet ahead of him.
"That’s the midday parade on week days. This is a
weekend and there are three parades today. Same
parade, but it starts at the opposite end of the Park.
Come on, we need to get down there."
Rory blinked and tried to make sense out of that.
Same parade, different day, different start time, different
place. Whatever.
They made their way through the Park to Freedom’s
Fair, picking up any litter they encountered and smiling
and nodding at guests. Rory remembered his mother
admonishing him when he was younger about not
making horrid faces, lest his expression freeze that way.
He felt now like his smile was going to be permanently
etched on his face and his cheeks were doomed to ache
for all time.
Happy World - 36
Kyle stopped just inside the gates of Freedom’s Fair
and gestured toward a partially hidden restroom. "Go
ahead and make the restroom check. I’ll wait here for
you."
"Wow, you trust me to do it by myself?" Rory
grinned and folded his arms, grabby claw dangling from
one hand. "What if I lie and say the trash is empty, but
it’s really full?"
That got him a frown. "I can go with you. But I’m
supposed to be training you to do this stuff on your
own."
"Jeeze, I’m kidding." Rory rolled his eyes and turned
toward the restroom. It was mostly hidden from view
behind the brick wall of Fort Freedom, which was
actually a giant jungle gym and climbing structure. Nets
and rope ladders were strategically hung to allow
children forty-eight inches and smaller, please -- to
jump, climb, swing, and crawl in relative safety.
The restroom check consisted of scanning the floors
for debris and ensuring the paper towels and toilet paper
rolls were full. Luckily, Happy World prided itself on
going to extreme lengths for cleanliness, so the
bathrooms were checked every half hour. This resulted
in an easy job for Rory.
He emerged into the bright sunlight ten minutes later
and looked around for Kyle. Rory couldn’t spot the
familiar white uniform nearby. Figuring Kyle was
worried about not being in his specified place at his
specified time and had probably moved on to the
beginning of the parade route, Rory turned in that
direction.
A crowd had gathered at the south end of Fort
Freedom. Rory smiled as politely as he could while
trying to worm his way through it. Most of the people
ignored him and Rory had to fight the urge to snap his
Happy World - 37
claw at their asses. He was nearly through the tight
group when he spotted Kyle standing at the edge of the
throng, peering upward worriedly.
"Damn, this place has really bad traffic patterns." He
spoke to Kyle in a low voice that only Kyle could hear,
but Rory waited for the "no swearing in uniform"
admonishment anyway.
It didn’t come. Kyle remained silent, still craning his
neck upward. Most of the crowd was doing the same
thing, actually. Rory glanced skyward, wondering what
was so fascinating.
He heard the cause of the crowd’s interest before he
saw it. A pitiful child’s wail came from the center of
Fort Freedom. Rory frowned and stepped in front of
Kyle to locate the source.
A towheaded little boy, probably no older than four,
was clinging to the rope bridge that connected the fort’s
two lookout towers. What looked to be the boy’s father
stood directly under the rope, trying to convince his son
to just move across the bridge to the other side. His
argument was proving unsuccessful, and Rory could see
at a glance that the man was too large to squeeze
through the tunnel that led up to the bridge.
Rory looked at the crowd, but no one who was
smaller than the boy’s father seemed eager to climb up
to rescue the child. He sighed in disgust and handed
Kyle his broom and claw. "Hold this."
Kyle automatically took the broom while still
watching the little boy, then he whipped his head around
toward Rory. "Wait, what are you doing?"
"Getting the kid down." Rory squirmed through the
flock of people until he reached one of the turrets of the
fort. Every fourth brick or so was positioned so it stuck
out farther from the others, creating a rough climbing
surface.
Happy World - 38
"No! Rory!" Kyle followed him, holding two sets of
brooms and claws and trying to keep the trademark
smile pasted on his face for the guests’ benefit. "I
already called security, they’re the only ones equipped
to rescue kids from the fort! They’ll be here in a
minute!"
"You’re shi-- " Rory swallowed the profanity back
and continued, "-- kidding me. That kid has to wait until
security lumbers over here and climbs up there for him?
I’ve seen the security dudes." They weren’t known for
being fit and trim.
"That’s the rule." But even Kyle looked doubtful as
the little boy continued to cry and reach one arm through
the ropes for his father.
"Fucking rules," Rory muttered and didn’t care about
the swearing. He reached above his head for a jutting
brick and began to scale the turret.
It was an easy climb. He reached the bridge in no
time and swung both legs over the rope, causing the
bridge to rock back and forth and the child to screech
even louder. "Hey, whoa. I didn’t bring ear plugs, little
man." Rory smiled at the boy, who didn’t care at all that
he was reaching extreme decibel levels with his screams.
"Come on, my friend. There’s a really fun slide on the
other side of the bridge. I’ll go down it with you."
Detaching the child from the ropes proved more
difficult than he first thought. Rory tried lifting him off
the bridge, but that only resulted in more ear-piercing
shrieks and a shout from the father. Great. Rory set the
kid back on his feet and pondered the situation. His
cousin Carrie had a little boy this age named Grant.
Rory hadn’t spent a lot of time with him, but he
remembered the kid loved trains.
Happy World - 39
"Hey, listen up, buddy." Rory crouched down next to
the boy and tried not to rock the bridge. "Want to go on
a train ride? A fun one?"
"Noooo," the child wailed. "Down."
"Well, yeah. The train isn’t up here. It’s down there."
He pointed vaguely in the direction of the boarding
station at the south end of Freedom’s Fair. Each themed
land had its own train stop where guests could board the
old-time locomotive for a ride around the Park.
The boy sniffled and coughed and looked where Rory
was pointing. "Down," he howled again. "Daddy. Where
Daddy is."
"Go with him, Cooper! Go with the man!" The father
paced under the bridge. "I’ll catch you at the slide!"
"Yeah, see?" Rory nodded toward the end of the
bridge with the slide platform. "Right there, and I’ll go
down with you. I’ll even carry you over there." He held
out his arms to demonstrate.
The child sniffled again and turned slightly toward
Rory. Rory was struck by a moment of sympathy for the
kid. Who the hell in their right mind would want to be
stuck up here, anyway? It was hot, it was sticky, and
there were a hundred other children. No, thanks.
Before Cooper could change his mind, Rory scooped
the boy up and carried him to the safety of the solid
platform. "Down the slide, okay?" He let Cooper slither
down his body to the platform, hoping he would go
down the slide on his own.
No such luck. The child attached himself to Rory’s
leg and wailed some more. "No slide!"
Rory sighed and hefted Cooper up again. "Fine, go
with me. Although I’m not forty-eight inches or
smaller." He sat down with the boy in his lap and inched
forward onto the red plastic. The slick surface carried
Happy World - 40
both of them around two spiral curves and dumped them
out onto the spongy rubber mat beneath the play area.
Feeling vaguely dizzy, Rory struggled to his feet.
Cooper wiggled free and darted through the crowd to his
father, who immediately whisked him away without so
much as a thank you to Rory.
"No problem," Rory grumbled, peering over his
shoulder to see if he’d gotten his costume dirty. Sure
enough, a nice black streak was placed right across his
rump. Shit. That meant a visit to Wardrobe to change,
and Kyle wasn’t going to like it.
Security came huffing up just as Rory returned to
Kyle to retrieve his dustpan and claw. They looked
around for the emergency they’d been called for, and not
seeing anything, began to talk rapidly into their radios.
Rory rolled his eyes and turned away from them.
"You should have waited." Kyle handed Rory his
broom and studied his face.
"Why? So another guest could climb up there instead,
get hurt, and sue the pants off this place? Come on, that
kid was seriously stressed out, man. Not cool to let him
hang up there, screaming his head off."
"The rules say to wait for trained personnel. We’re
not trained personnel."
Rory laughed. "And those guys are?" He inclined his
head toward the security team, who was now walking
around the fort, looking for possible emergencies.
Kyle watched them, a doubtful expression on his
face. "Well. They. Um."
"Exactly." Rory grinned. "Come on, loosen up. I
saved Happy World a billion dollar lawsuit."
"Not a billion. God. You need to change your
costume." Kyle was back to no-nonsense again. "And I
need to get to the parade."
Happy World - 41
"Yeah, yeah. I’ll meet you down there, I guess. Hey,
can you buy me an ice cream sandwich for when I get
there?"
"No eating while in costume!" Kyle sputtered, and
Rory chuckled.
"Jeeze, I’m kidding! You’ve got to learn when I’m
joking, man. Fine, I’ll meet you down there in fifteen
minutes." Rory shook his head, still laughing, and
headed toward the nearest employee entrance that would
take him to Wardrobe.
Clearly, some shifts were going to be more exciting
than others.
Happy World - 42
Chapter Five
"Let me get this straight, Forester. You let a rookie
go up on the Freedom Bridge unsupervised?" Jason
Garrett’s gaze lifted from the report he held in his hands
and shot across the desk at Kyle. "Further, you let this
same rookie touch a guest?"
Kyle swallowed hard and fought the urge to look
away. He met Garrett’s glare head-on, although it took
nearly everything he had in him to maintain eye contact.
"Yes, sir. The child was frightened, and--"
"What are the rules regarding medical emergencies,
Forester?"
"Never touch a guest," Kyle automatically replied. "If
the injured guest is awake, ask if he’d like medical
attention. Ask no less than three times. If the guest is
unconscious, call for an alpha unit. Keep the other
guests away and calm until the ambulance arrives. But
this wasn’t a medical emergency, sir. The kid was just
scared, and--"
"Did you write the rookie up for the infraction?
What’s his name?" Garrett glanced at the paperwork on
his desk. "Roarke Stafford. Did you give him a written
warning for insubordination?"
"No, sir. I explained the liability issues to Rory and
reminded him about the importance of following the
rules. Rory only acted because he was afraid for the kid,
and didn’t think we had the time to wait for emergency
response to get there. If the boy had fallen, Happy
World might’ve been held responsible. He really did
have the interest of the company at heart, sir."
"The rules are in place for a reason, Forester. Perhaps
it’s time for us to re-evaluate the feasibility of continued
employment with Happy World."
Happy World - 43
Kyle flinched. Poor Rory. To be fired so soon after
being hired would be a blow to anyone’s confidence.
How awful for him. As much as Rory irritated the heck
out of Kyle sometimes, he was actually starting to like
the guy. He certainly didn’t want to see Rory canned,
especially not over something that had merely been an
exercise in misguided judgment.
Besides, Rory had been genuinely worried about the
kid, and only did what he thought was right. "It won’t
happen again, sir. I swear it. Please give Rory another
chance. He’ll be a great groundskeeper someday, and a
credit to Happy World. I just know it."
"You don’t understand, Forester. I’m not talking
about Stafford. I’m talking about you. Well, both of you,
actually. Stafford’s name has been flagged twice this
week. He’s under probation, and you’re his trainer. Any
infractions he commits while in your presence are a
reflection of your poor training technique. I had Bob
Castor from Entertainment in my office just yesterday.
One of his Actors has a serious complaint about
Stafford. Coupled with Stafford’s stunt today, I’m
wondering whether either of you are Happy World
material."
Kyle felt the blood drain from his face to his feet,
making him feel lightheaded. He was in trouble? How
could that be? He always followed the rules! Kyle
wracked his brain trying to figure out where he could’ve
gone wrong, what rule he’d broken, aside from allowing
Rory to rescue the kid from the bridge. And really, how
could Kyle have stopped Rory except by a full body
tackle? "Who was it, sir? What do they claim he did?"
"Bob said that he’s been harassing one of the face
Actors. Charlie Taylor claims Stafford embarrassed him
in front of his co-workers. He also said that Stafford
Happy World - 44
made inappropriate advances toward him."
Kyle’s mouth fell open, and all the blood that had so
recently vacated his head came rushing back into his
face. A tight ball of anger formed in his gut, and he
gripped the edge of Garrett’s desk with white-knuckled
fingers. "He said… what? I assure you, sir, Rory did
nothing of the kind. He’s barely passed two words with
Charlie Taylor!"
"Really? That’s not what Charlie said. According to
him, Stafford called Charlie a... " He glanced down at a
piece of paper on his desk. "A 'pinhead' in front of his
coworkers while in the cafeteria, and used foul
language. Charlie seems to think it’s because he
rebuffed Stafford when Stafford made a pass at him."
"He never... " Kyle’s voice trailed off. Suddenly, he
felt as if he’d been smacked upside the head with one
Happy Hamster’s trademark rubber mallets. Last week
in the main cafeteria, hadn’t Charlie made a pass at
Rory, and hadn’t Rory shot him down? Yes, Rory called
Charlie a pinhead, or something similar, and swore, but
Charlie had asked for it. Yes, Rory was wrong to use
foul language, but Charlie had insulted him first. Or at
least, Charlie had insulted Kyle.
Kyle was momentarily sidetracked by a rush of
warmth for Rory, remembering how Rory had stuck up
for him against Charlie. Rory could’ve gone with
Charlie to sit with the face characters. Hell, he probably
should have. It would’ve helped Rory’s career. But he
hadn’t. He’d chosen to stay with Kyle. Now Charlie had
turned the entire story around and was trying to pin the
blame on Rory. It just wasn’t right. Kyle knew Charlie
was egotistical, but was he so vindictive to try to get
Rory fired over something as trivial as a ping to
Charlie’s ego?
Happy World - 45
"Listen very carefully, Forester. I know that Happy
World employs a large number of you people. But if that
gives you the idea that you can--"
Kyle frowned and felt the ball of anger in his gut
expand, twisting his stomach. "Excuse me, sir, but what
do you mean by ‘you people’?"
Garrett’s lip curled over his teeth. "You know very
well what I mean. Homosexuals." He spat the word out
as if it tasted rancid on his tongue. "Happy World is a
family Park, with good, old-fashioned family values.
Charlie Taylor is a talented, valued employee who
should not need to defend himself against anyone’s
depraved fantasies, or be verbally abused because he’s
straight."
Kyle bit back a sardonic laugh. Charlie Taylor was
about as straight as the big, soft pretzels they sold in
Fairytale Land. He could have spouted figures that
showed a full sixty percent of Happy World Actors were
gay, but knew it would do no good. Antagonizing
Garrett would only serve to get them both fired, and
since Florida was a Right to Work state, he and Rory
would have little recourse other than a long, expensive
court battle.
"Sir, Rory never said anything inappropriate to
Charlie Taylor," Kyle said, forcing his voice to remain
even, when all he wanted to do was to scream in
Garrett’s bigoted face. It wasn’t the complete truth, but
after all, Charlie started it. "I was there, and witness to
the entire conversation. It was Charlie who--"
Garrett slammed his palm against his desk. "You’re
lucky Charlie is a forgiving individual and has chosen
not to file a formal grievance. But should I receive one
more complaint about your Trainee from anybody for
any reason, formality will no longer be an issue. I will
terminate both of you on the spot. Is that clear? This
Happy World - 46
conversation is over. I can’t believe you would stoop so
low as to try to tarnish Charlie Taylor’s reputation. Get
out of my office, and count yourself lucky that
Groundskeeping is shorthanded, or so help me, Forester,
you’d be out of a job! Now, get back to work."
Kyle knew it was true. Groundskeeping was
shorthanded, but in the scheme of things, he was totally
expendable. People came and went all the time at the
Park. For example, the management staff was
completely different from when Kyle first started. The
turnover rate at Happy World was astronomical. Not
everyone, it seemed, was thrilled to work for a bit over
minimum wage for as long as Kyle had. Most people
hired in the spring rarely made it past summer before
leaving and seeking other employment elsewhere...
someplace with air conditioning, at least. He left the
office with a heavy heart, feeling as if he’d been washed
hard and hung out wet to dry.
***
Kyle still felt positively dazed and slightly sick to his
stomach he wandered through the tunnel toward Wild
West Land, murmuring to himself. "What just
happened?" He stopped in front of the obligatory mirror
hung at every entrance to the Park, put there so Actors
could check their appearance before stepping onstage.
His face looked back at him with a stunned expression.
"What the fuck just happened?"
Rory’s face appeared next to Kyle’s in the mirror.
His hand clamped down on Kyle’s shoulder, startling
Kyle. "Whoa. Let’s use our inside voices, please. And
what happened to the rule about no swearing while in
costume? Unless I’m hearing things, that was the f-
bomb you just dropped. What’s wrong?"
Happy World - 47
Kyle twisted away. "I’ll tell you what’s wrong.
Somehow between the time I clocked in this morning
and fifteen minutes ago, the world tilted off its axis." He
felt tears burn behind his eyes and struggled to keep
them there, refusing to show any weakness in front of
Rory. He fought to hold on to his anger, and not let it
dissolve into self-pity. "I’ve always been a good
employee. No, I take that back. I’ve always been an
exemplary employee. I never broke the rules. Not once,
not since I was hired. But after a single week with you, I
find myself teetering on the edge of being fired."
Rory’s eyes flashed open wide. "Fired? Come on,
you’ve got to be kidding me! They can’t fire you.
You’re like... the Happy World poster boy."
"You’re wrong. Charlie Taylor holds that title. Me?
I’m invisible. I always have been. I always thought that
was okay. I mean, I actually believed that if I did a good
job, obeyed all the rules, then someday somebody
somewhere would notice me, and I’d get a shot at doing
what I really wanted to do. Now I realize I’ve just been
fooling myself." He raked Rory with a scathing look.
"The truth is, some people get it all, and the rest of us
get jack shit."
Rory put up his hands as if to ward off Kyle’s angry
glare. "Whoa, what did I do? If this is about getting that
kid down from the bridge, I already apologized for
breaking the rules, remember? I thought we were cool
about it."
"It’s not about that. Well, it is, but that isn’t all of it.
Charlie Taylor complained that you hit on him, and then
embarrassed him when he shot you down."
The indignant laugh Rory barked said it all. "That’s
ridiculous. He came on to me, and then he insulted you!
You were there -- you heard everything."
Happy World - 48
"I know. I told my boss the same thing, but it didn’t
matter. Charlie Taylor is the Happy World golden boy.
His character brings in the big bucks, and his face has
become synonymous with the character. As far as the
Powers That Be are concerned, his word is gospel, and
everyone else better grab a pew in the Church of
Charlie, or else."
"That fucking sucks, man." For a minute, Rory
looked as if he were ready to punch somebody. His face
darkened, and his lip curled over his teeth. Kyle fought
the urge to take a step back. "What’s that got to do with
you? It was me he was complaining about. You didn’t
do anything to him."
"Doesn’t matter. I’m your trainer. Whatever you do
wrong looks bad for me. So please, whatever you do,
follow the rules from here on out, okay? This job may
not mean much to you, but it does to me. Next week
ends your training period. After that, you can pierce
your nose, tattoo your forehead, and run naked through
Fairytale Land for all I care."
"Yeah, sure, sure. Whatever you say, boss," Rory
said. "Shit. I can’t believe Taylor is such an asshole."
"I tried to tell you, but you wouldn’t listen," Kyle
said. He looked away for a minute, then looked back.
"Listen, Rory. You need to watch your back. Charlie has
it in for you because you blew him off. Going to his
boss was just a warning."
Rory snorted. "I’m a grown-ass man, Kyle. I’m not
afraid of Charlie Taylor. Bring it on. In the meantime,
I’m going to be a textbook employee. Oh, and one other
thing -- you're not invisible. I can see you just fine."
Kyle blinked. Was that a sudden flash of heat he saw
in Rory’s eyes? Don’t be stupid. He’s just mad about
Charlie.
Happy World - 49
"At least promise me you'll stay away from him until
your training is over. I just don't need anymore grief,
okay?"
To his relief, Rory nodded, even though Kyle got the
feeling Rory's heart wasn't in it. "Yeah, okay. Sure."
Somehow, even though Kyle was sure he’d misread
Rory’s heated look, and had doubts about Rory keeping
the promise to steer clear of Charlie, he still felt a little
better about the situation, and even managed to summon
up a smile. "Come on. There are trash cans in Wild West
Land with our names on them."
They walked along in companionable silence for a
while, following the brown line on the wall leading to
Wild West Land. One sentence kept spinning round and
round through Kyle’s head. "You’re not invisible," Rory
had said. "I can see you just fine."
He knew Rory was just being pleasant at best, or at
worst, sucking up so Kyle would be more lenient the
next time Rory screwed up, but it was still nice to hear.
He glanced at Rory out of the corner of his eye. For a
moment, Kyle let himself wonder what it would be like
if that fiery flash he thought he saw in Rory’s eyes
earlier was real, and was meant for him.
Rory was smoking hot, but more than that, he was
intelligent, funny, and even if he drove Kyle batty most
of the time, Kyle had to admit working with him made
the day fly by. Kyle knew that if Rory ever showed the
least bit of interest in him, Kyle would either drop dead
from shock, or throw Rory to the ground and have at
him right there and then, and screw the rules. Not that it
would ever happen in Kyle’s lifetime, but man, it was
nice to dream.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t cool to fantasize while on the
job. His cock was already pressing against the zipper of
his white costume pants, which weren’t entirely opaque
Happy World - 50
to begin with. One drop of precome seeping through his
underwear would bleed directly through the cotton-
polyester material, leaving a stain that would make it
plain Kyle was just a little too happy, even for Happy
World.
He had to stop thinking about Rory, and in particular,
Rory’s body. A glint of metal on Rory’s wrist caught his
eye, and he jumped at the chance to take his mind off his
salacious thoughts. "Rory, I told you before about that
bracelet. You can’t wear it onstage. Take it off and put it
in your pocket."
Rory huffed, but made no move to take the bracelet
off.
Kyle frowned and stopped walking. "Rory? Did you
hear me?"
"I did. I’m not taking it off. I can’t."
"What do you mean, ‘you can’t’?" Kyle asked,
feeling his erection wane as his temper rose. "You have
to! It’s against the rules, and you just promised to--"
Rory stuck his wrist in Kyle’s face. "It’s a medical
alert bracelet, okay? I’m diabetic. Are you satisfied?
You know, you should think about taking your nose out
of that fucking rule book once in a while. We’re people,
not animatronics, Kyle. Sometimes, the rules don’t
fucking apply."
Kyle felt himself flush. How could he have been so
stupid? You know how. You never bothered to look at
the bracelet. You just assumed Rory was breaking the
rules again. "I... I’m sorry, man. If you’d just told me in
the beginning--"
"I don’t talk about it with strangers. Frankly, it was
none of your fucking business, Kyle. It still isn’t," Rory
retorted.
Kyle watched Rory walking away with stiff, angry
strides toward the entrance to Wild West Land. Jeeze,
Happy World - 51
can you ever open your mouth without sticking your big,
fat foot in it?
Then again, how was I supposed to know Rory would
be so sensitive about his condition? If he’d just told me
it was a medical alert bracelet, I never would’ve
questioned it again.
As he slowly followed Rory to Wild West Land,
Kyle wondered if he’d ever get Roarke Stafford figured
out.
Happy World - 52
Chapter Six
He’d overreacted and now Rory was even more
pissed than he’d been a minute ago. He knew he should
slow down and wait for his trainer, but he couldn’t make
himself stop.
What the fuck did it matter if Kyle saw him as
anything more than a problem he had to fix? Rory
wasn’t here to make friends, and he sure as shit didn’t
care if Kyle took the time to see Rory as a person, not a
Trainee. Rory had plenty of friends, and none of them
were as strait-laced and uptight as Kyle Forester.
None of them had eyes quite that warm shade of
brown, either. Or hair that looked soft enough to make
Rory want to run his fingers through it.
Wait, what? He wasn’t thinking of Kyle that way,
was he? One little shower fantasy was hardly enough to
make Rory go all warm and fuzzy over the guy. But here
he was, waxing poetic over the shade of Kyle’s fucking
eyes, of all things.
Maybe that’s why he was so mad. Okay, this was
stopping now, then. Rory had heard enough psycho-
babble from his mother to know that anger was just a
sure sign of stronger, hidden feelings. Cut out the anger
and the other stuff should go away, right?
Rory stopped short and Kyle nearly walked right into
him. Rory hadn’t realized Kyle was so close on his
heels; he must have hurried to catch up with Rory.
He forced a smile. "Hey. Sorry for snapping. I’m
tired, it’s hot, the usual. We cool?"
Kyle regarded him with an unreadable expression.
"Sure," he said slowly. "We’re cool. Sorry I harassed
you about your bracelet. I… I wish I had known what it
was."
Happy World - 53
"Now you do." Rory shrugged and held up his wrist.
"Had diabetes since I was a kid. Used to be embarrassed
by it, especially since I’ve always had to wear this thing.
As a teenager, I wore it as an anklet for a while so I
could hide it better. Now I don’t care."
"Uh-huh." Kyle studied the bracelet from where he
was but made no move to see it close up. "Okay, well.
Sorry again." He seemed subdued and unwilling to meet
Rory’s eyes.
Rory made himself grin. "No problem. It’s over. So,
Wild West Land? What’s our mission here?" If he
steered the conversation back around to work, they’d
both be safe. And besides, he was feeling slightly guilty
for almost getting Kyle fired. The least Rory could do
was pretend to be a good boy until next week.
"We need to start at the Buffalo Bill Shootin’
Gallery. From there, we’ll do a clockwise sweep of the
area before lunch." Kyle sounded more sure of himself
when in trainer mode.
"Lead on, boss."
Kyle did just that, winding his way through the
Happy World guests that populated the western-themed
land. There seemed to be an abundance of cowboys and
pioneers that were dressed in "authentic" Old West
wear, as well as a wide stretch of riverfront that was
home to the Park’s steam powered riverboat, Old Glory.
Rory thought he might like this land the best, especially
when they passed an impromptu gun fight between a
cowboy and a sheriff.
They came around the corner of a merchandise store
selling coonskin caps and the like, and there, standing
amidst a crowd of eager tourists with autograph books,
was Charlie Taylor.
No, no. Daniel, not Charlie. He was in character as
Daniel, which Rory thought was kind of weird over here
Happy World - 54
in Wild West Land. Daniel the Dragon Slayer didn’t
really fit the Wild West theme.
Rory said as much to Kyle. "What’s he doing over
here? Isn’t Daniel more of a Fairy Tale Land dude?" Not
like it really mattered; Rory saw Happy Hamster all over
the Park, so it stood to reason that they all just roamed
through whatever land they were told to be in.
He looked behind him to see if Kyle had heard the
question and found Kyle partially hidden by the corner
of the merchandise store. The look on his face was not
what Rory would call thrilled. "Maybe we should go the
other way."
Rory could feel his brow go up. "Seriously? Why?
Because of that d--" He successfully cut himself off
before the rest of the word "douchebag" could pass his
lips. "Dork?" he finished.
"I don’t want to cause any more trouble." Kyle
nibbled on his bottom lip and glanced worriedly at
Charlie. "There’s been enough."
Rory leaned against the artificial logs that made up
the side of the store and studied Kyle closely. "Your
whole life has been about avoiding trouble, hasn’t it."
Rory didn’t phrase it as a question.
"What’s wrong with that?"
Rory shrugged, not caring if the movement made his
white costume shirt rub against the wall. "Didn’t say
anything was wrong with it. Just trying to get a better
handle on you."
Kyle looked startled. "Why?"
Rory wouldn’t mind knowing the answer to that,
himself. Probably better to ignore the question. Instead,
he pushed off of the wall and twirled his broom around a
couple of times. "Come on. We’re just doing our jobs,
right?"
Happy World - 55
"I… guess." Kyle looked as if he’d rather slide into a
crack between the logs, but he straightened up as well.
"Yeah. Just doing our jobs."
"Then let’s do it." Without giving Kyle another
chance to slink off in a different direction, Rory headed
straight for the walkway where Charlie was signing
autographs in his crowd of admirers.
The autograph thing was another one of those Happy
World traditions that Rory didn’t understand. Every
merchandise store sold little blank books for the bargain
price of $6.95 -- Happy World truly believed there was a
sucker born every minute -- and Rory had seen not only
children carrying these things around, but adults as well.
Rory and Kyle hovered around the edge of the crowd,
sweeping up the inevitable garbage the excited guests
were dropping in their haste to get closer to Daniel and
his breeches. "So, what’s the deal with the adults and the
autograph books?" Rory asked, sweeping up some
popcorn. "I get why the kids want one, but their parents
too?"
"Collector’s item." Kyle picked up a bit of paper with
his claw, but kept his back to the crowd in what seemed
to be an effort to stay anonymous in case Charlie looked
up.
Rory frowned. "How is that considered a collector’s
item? Every single freaking kid in this Park can get
Daniel’s autograph. And their moms can, too."
"Sure," Kyle agreed. "Daniel makes an appearance at
least once a day. But have you seen Henrietta Hamster?"
Henrietta was billed as Happy Hamster’s girlfriend,
and she was easy enough to find in the television
cartoons that Happy World produced on a mass basis.
Rory had seen plenty of little girls wearing pink T-shirts
imprinted with Henrietta’s fuzzy face. But he couldn’t
Happy World - 56
recall ever seeing the hamster costume roaming the
Park. "I guess not."
"Right. She only comes out two or three times a year,
usually at holiday time. Getting her autograph is a big
deal."
"But what do they do with it? Sell it online or
something?" Rory couldn’t figure it out.
Kyle shrugged and picked up another piece of litter.
"Some might, I guess. But most people keep them so
they can brag about it on the message boards."
"Message boards?"
"That’s what I hear," Kyle mumbled. His cheeks
were stained pink, and Rory watched him concentrate
hard on making sure he got every kernel of spilled
popcorn.
Rory stepped closer, a real grin creasing his face.
"Kyle?" he teased. "Do you have Henrietta’s
autograph?"
Kyle didn’t answer. Instead, he kept his back to Rory
and continued to study the ground intently for trash.
Rory stepped closer. "Kyle. Who else’s autograph do
you have?" He followed Kyle’s broom with his own,
pushing little pieces of paper out of reach so Kyle would
be forced to pay attention to Rory instead. "Huh? Do
you have… Floppy?" Floppy was a sweet little brown
rabbit that often followed Happy Hamster on his many
adventures. One ear flopped over in an endearing
fashion, and even Rory thought he was kind of cute.
Kyle snorted and Rory thought he might have
detected a bit of laughter. "Floppy isn’t a rare character.
You can see him a couple of times a week. And he
makes appearances over at the Rabbit Warren in Fairy
Tale Land."
"Huh, okay." Rory thought hard. "Do you have…
um, that one that’s always trying to make trouble for
Happy World - 57
Daniel." Rory inclined his head slightly toward Charlie,
still signing autographs with his blindingly white smile
in place.
"Pierre?" Pierre was an evil knight that seemed to
side with whatever dragon Daniel was trying to hunt.
Part of Pierre’s costume was an enormous sword that
was, at times, too heavy for him to lift. "Pierre was in
the Heroes and Villains parade that Happy World did
before I came here. I’ve never seen him in the Park,
though."
"Too bad. I’d give him some pointers on how to get
that sword of his up Daniel’s ass." Rory rolled his eyes
and waited for the inevitable reprimand.
None came. Instead, Kyle choked out a laugh and
darted a look around to see if anyone heard. "Rory," he
warned, but there was mirth in his voice.
That was encouraging. "What? He and Pierre would
make a great couple. Charlie’s got a small brain and
Pierre obviously has a small dick. Why the hell else
would he carry that huge sword around?"
This time Kyle really did laugh out loud, much to
Rory’s surprise. The sound made Rory smile too, and he
considered making another dick joke to see if he could
keep Kyle laughing. As he was about to smart off again,
however, they were interrupted by a young lady in a
nondescript Happy World costume. Since moments ago
she’d been standing next to Charlie, Rory knew this was
Daniel the Dragon Slayer’s handler.
Each costumed character that appeared in the Park
was accompanied by another employee. This was
ostensibly to protect the character from over-exuberant
children or the occasional adult guest with wandering
hands.
"Daniel requests that you move along," she said
politely.
Happy World - 58
Rory looked at her in disbelief. "Daniel requests it? Is
he allowed to do that?"
The girl shifted a bit uncomfortably and glanced back
at Charlie over her shoulder. "I… don’t know. He just
told me to come and tell you guys that you were being
too loud and you should find somewhere else to work."
He knew if he looked at Kyle, Rory would change his
mind about what he was about to do. So instead, he
dropped his broom and dustpan on the ground with a
loud clatter and stalked through the crowd that
surrounded Charlie. He managed to wait until a small
boy had retrieved his autograph book from Charlie’s
hand, then pushed his way to the front of the line.
"I’m doing my job." Rory met Charlie’s eyes and
didn’t look away.
Charlie, to his credit, remained in character. "You
sure are, my friend! It takes a village of friends and
family to get all the work done around here!" He flashed
his smile at the crowd and they all seemed to give one
collective, dreamy sigh.
"So we’re not leaving the area until the job is
finished. Got that?" His tone was steely and Rory didn’t
give one shit what the guests were hearing.
The white grin remained in place, though Rory
caught Charlie’s nostrils flaring slightly. "Happy World
has many areas that need to be swept and cleaned,
friend! Who knows what kind of rubbish dragons have
left down there in Fairy Tale Land?" He gestured with
his hand and Rory could feel the crowd’s gaze swiveling
to him to hear his answer.
"There’s trash here." And he reached out to poke
Charlie in the pectoral region of his well-muscled chest.
"I’m standing in front of it."
Rory didn’t realize his whole intention had been to
provoke Charlie enough to get a reaction until it
Happy World - 59
happened. When Charlie finally dropped the smile and a
snarl came over his handsome features, Rory felt a
strange sense of satisfaction.
"I’ll have you fired," Charlie hissed, stepping closer.
Rory didn’t move. "Try."
"You’re nothing here," Charlie continued. "You’re no
one. You and that so-called trainer of yours. He’s been
giving me puppy eyes for years, watching me when he
thinks I’m not looking. He’ll never get anywhere with
this company, and neither will you. I can make sure."
It had gotten very quiet around them, though the Park
still hummed with ambient noise and activity. The
watching guests had pressed closer and Rory could
detect a faint air of discomfort and concern.
Rory spoke very quietly, just loud enough for
Charlie’s ears alone. "A douche like you can’t touch me.
You think this company wants all your admirers to
know how much cock you like to suck? I could have had
my dick in your mouth that first day and you know it.
I’ll make sure everyone else knows it, too."
The sneer on Charlie’s face shifted into a twisted
scowl. One hand reached out and grabbed the front of
Rory’s costume. "You’re full of shit!" Charlie shouted,
and Rory knew he’d won.
He stepped back and widened his eyes as far as they
could go, schooling his features into an expression of
shock. Rory put both hands up in the air, demonstrating
to the avidly watching crowd that he was neither
touching Charlie or trying to involve himself in a fight.
That they could see, anyway. Inside, he was gloating
over his triumph.
"I’m sorry," Rory said, loudly enough for the guests
to hear. "I just wanted an autograph for my sister. She
loves you. I’m really sorry. I didn’t know it was the
Happy World - 60
wrong time." He made an apologetic face at the nearest
soccer mom he could see and she nodded back at him.
Charlie let go instantly and stepped away. His grin
was back in place, though his eyes still seethed. "That’s
all right, friend! There are many villagers who’ve been
waiting before you, so let’s let them have their turn!"
He’d never taken a drama class in life, but Rory
pulled out all the acting he could muster. He dropped his
eyes to the pavement and mumbled, "Sure, of course.
Sorry, everyone." Then he turned and shouldered his
way back through the crowd, keeping his eyes on the
ground and willing himself not to start laughing. That
had been perfect.
Rory made his way back to Kyle and avoided the
horrified expression he knew he’d see on Kyle’s face if
he looked. "Come on," Rory whispered fiercely and
grabbed the short white sleeve of Kyle’s costume.
"Follow me and don’t say a word." Without looking to
see if Kyle would follow, Rory made a beeline for one
of the more secluded walking paths that would lead
them out of the area.
When they finally reached a relatively quiet spot that
didn’t have throngs of people milling around, Rory
slowed his pace and turned to see Kyle. He couldn’t help
the giant smile that creased his face as he remembered
Charlie grabbing him and cursing. "Did you see that?"
he asked Kyle. "It was perfect. Perfect!" He raised his
arms over his head in triumph.
Kyle wordlessly handed back Rory’s forgotten broom
and dustpan. His face was white and there was a deep
furrow between his brows.
"Oh, come on." Rory sighed and sat down on a
nearby bench, not caring if he was in costume or not.
"Seriously, Kyle. Do you realize what just happened?
Charlie Taylor grabbed me and used the S-word. In front
Happy World - 61
of guests. It was amazing. Someone’s going to
complain, you watch and see." Of this, Rory was
absolutely sure.
Kyle blinked slowly and then sank down onto the
bench next to Rory. "I can’t believe you did that," he
murmured, his eyes wide. "I just… you… I can’t do this
anymore. I can’t train you. I’m sorry." He stood again,
abruptly. "I’m sorry," he repeated, and then Kyle walked
away, leaving Rory sitting on the bench.
Happy World - 62
Chapter Seven
During the span of his career at Happy World, Kyle
had left work before the end of his shift on exactly three
occasions. Even when they were overstaffed and his
managers offered him an early release, he politely
refused, and passed the opportunity along to someone
who actually wanted to go home.
The first time was just six months after he’d begun
work, when his Aunt Sally died. Aunt Sally was his
mom’s sister, and his mom took the news of Aunt
Sally’s demise very hard. So much so that she suffered a
heart attack, and he’d left work to rush to her bedside at
the hospital.
The second time was last December, and it hadn’t
been his idea to leave. He passed out at work, slumped
into a white polyester heap on the ground backstage at
Fairy Tale Land, still clutching his retractable claw in
his hand. He was transported from the Park’s backstage
medical facility to the local urgent care unit by
ambulance. The cough he’d been ignoring turned out to
be a slight case of pneumonia. He’d still managed to
return to work after only three days’ absence.
The third time was today.
After Rory’s stunt with Charlie in Wild West Land,
Kyle snapped. Something inside, something he always
made sure to keep caged, had broken free. He couldn’t
even put a name to it. It wasn’t anger, not really. It
wasn’t fear, either. All he knew was that he couldn’t
tolerate being in the Park a moment longer.
He’d calmly declared he could no longer train Rory
and walked away. Unfortunately, he found that putting
distance between himself and Rory wasn’t enough. Kyle
simply couldn’t find it in himself to continue working at
all, something he’d never before experienced. He didn’t
Happy World - 63
inform his supervisor that he was removing himself as
Rory’s trainer -- there would be time enough for that
tomorrow. He claimed illness instead and clocked out
early.
It wasn’t a lie, not really. After Rory’s confrontation
with Charlie in front of guests, and knowing the shit-
storm the act was probably going to bring down on both
their heads, Kyle found he actually did feel sick to his
stomach.
He drove around for a while, not wanting to go home
but not wanting to go anywhere else, either. Finally, he
stopped at the grocery store, bought a couple of cans of
tuna fish and a loaf of sliced bread, got back in his car,
and went home.
He let himself into his apartment, tossed his keys on
the kitchen counter along with his groceries, and sank
down on the sofa in the living room, staring up at the
ceiling. He realized he felt more confused than anything
else. He wasn’t angry at Rory. He wasn’t even sure why
he’d told Rory he couldn’t train him anymore. In fact, he
admitted he was flattered because Rory thought enough
of him to go after Charlie.
Sure, Rory was irksome at times, and didn’t follow
the rules as he should, but he was also good with the
guests, fun to work with, and often made Kyle laugh.
Being honest with himself, Kyle admitted he enjoyed
the bloom of pleasure he felt at Charlie’s loss of control
and public humiliation. The crowd had definitely not
been pleased with Charlie’s use of vulgarity, particularly
since they didn’t know Rory had goaded Charlie into it.
Although Kyle felt Charlie definitely deserved a little
payback, was secretly delighted to have witnessed it, he
knew it was wrong and would only come back to bite
them in the ass.
Happy World - 64
But that didn’t explain why he’d bolted. No, it was
something else, something he couldn’t quite put his
finger on.
I don’t understand any of this. This just isn’t like me.
He forced himself to his feet, into the kitchen, and began
to go through the motions of making a tuna salad
sandwich. Just as he plopped a spoonful of Miracle
Whip onto the small mound of chunk light tuna --
albacore was outside his meager budget -- he froze.
That’s it, exactly, isn’t it? That’s the problem. This
isn’t like me. I never make waves, never make trouble. I
take whatever ball of crap anyone flings at me, and
brush it off with a smile. It was me Charlie humiliated.
I’m the one who caught the heat from Garrett about the
complaint Charlie filed, and accepted it, even though I
knew Charlie was lying. I’m the one who should’ve
stood up to Charlie and defended Rory from Charlie’s
lies, but I didn’t. Par for the course for me, right? It’s
just another example of good ol’, bend-me-over-may-I-
have-another Kyle. Everyone walks all over me and I let
them.
Why? Because I love my job? That’s no reason to put
up with being embarrassed and harassed at work. If
anyone knows the rules, I do. There are channels I could
use, procedures in place for things like this. I could’ve
reported the incidents to my manager. If Garrett
wouldn’t cooperate, I could’ve gone to my union rep,
filed a grievance.
I didn’t, because I was afraid. I was afraid the
Company would pick Charlie over me. Why? Because
Charlie is handsome? Because he’s a face character
and I’m only a lowly Groundskeeper? What makes face
characters so much more important than the other
Happy World employees? We work just as hard as they
Happy World - 65
do. If it wasn’t for us, the Park wouldn’t be as magical.
It sure as shit wouldn’t be as clean.
I’ve got a stellar work record. Spotless. No points, no
unexcused absences, no written warnings. Great
reviews, and commendations from guests and
management alike. I’m nice, polite, never make trouble,
and always follow the rules.
Charlie’s nothing but a good-looking douchebag.
I’m a coward.
He dropped the spoon in the tuna, set the Miracle
Whip jar on the counter, and sat down on a kitchen
chair, staring into space.
That’s it. That’s why I couldn’t stand to be at Happy
World another minute. That’s why I told Rory I couldn’t
train him anymore, and why I ran. I’m a fucking
coward, and I’m mad because Rory had the balls to go
after Charlie and I didn’t. I’m sick and tired of being
invisible, and even more tired of being stepped on, but I
still couldn’t find the nerve to say anything to Charlie.
It’s not Rory’s fault. Oh, sure, he shouldn’t have
gone after Charlie onstage, and especially not in front of
guests, but the one who lost control was Charlie. Rory’s
new --Charlie should have known better.
It’s me I’m pissed off at. Too bad I can’t walk away
from me.
A knock at the door startled him. He wasn’t
expecting anyone, and he wasn’t particularly friendly
with the neighbors. He would wave and nod when he
saw them in the hallway, but that was the extent of it.
Solicitors weren’t allowed inside the apartment
building, but that didn’t always stop the occasional,
over-enthusiastic entrepreneur, or Girl Scouts selling
cookies. He went to the door fully expecting the person
on the other side to be one or the other. He peered
through the peephole and gasped.
Happy World - 66
Rory stood outside the door, looking slightly
distorted through the peephole’s fisheye lens. He was
still dressed in his white Groundskeeping costume.
Kyle glanced at the kitchen wall clock, visible from
the front door. Their shift had ended a half-hour ago.
Rory must have come straight to Kyle’s apartment from
work.
Kyle unchained and unlocked the door and flung it
open. "What are you doing here, Rory? How did you get
my address?"
"Hi, Rory. Good to see you. Come on in and sit a
spell," Rory said with his usual sarcastic tone. He leaned
against the doorjamb, arms folded across his chest, his
cheek hitched in a lopsided grin.
Kyle frowned. "How did you find me?" he asked
again.
"I asked a couple of the other guys if anyone knew
where you lived. Said you forgot your cell phone, and I
was going to drop it off to you."
"So... you lied."
Rory nonchalantly lifted a shoulder as he walked past
Kyle into the living room, just as if Kyle had asked him
in. "Sort of, I guess, if you want to get technical. But if
you didn’t run off like you did, I wouldn’t have had to
track you down. Nice place, by the way. You gonna ask
me to sit down?"
"What do you want, Rory?" Kyle was in no mood to
be hospitable. He was still angry at himself, and more
than a little annoyed at Rory for following him home.
He was also feeling embarrassed over his earlier
outburst, and from leaving work early. Nice example you
set for the new guy.
Rory turned to face Kyle and the full effect of Rory’s
handsome face and gray eyes stopped Kyle cold.
Somehow, while at work at Happy World, with Kyle’s
Happy World - 67
mind consumed by the rules and regulations, he’d been
more or less oblivious to the fact that Rory was
gorgeous. In the small confines of his apartment, with
nothing to distract him, Kyle was suddenly keenly aware
of Rory’s good looks. He felt a stab of desire rip through
him that went balls deep.
His annoyance forgotten, and embarrassed by his
body’s reaction, Kyle tore his eyes away and looked
toward the kitchen in an effort to distract himself. "So
sit," he said. "Do you want a glass of water? Soda? I
have tuna salad." He knew he was rambling, and bit his
lip to stop himself.
Rory laughed, and the sound did funny things to pit
of Kyle’s stomach. "Okay, a one-eighty. I can live with
that. Water is good, and tuna salad sounds fabulous. I
haven’t eaten anything since lunch, and I’m feeling a
little funky."
Funky? Kyle remembered Rory’s medical alert
bracelet and diabetic condition. The last thing he needed
after the day he’d had was Rory going into shock or
whatever it was that diabetics did when their sugar
dropped, especially not in the middle of his living room.
"Are you okay? What can I do?"
"Feed me, Seymour," Rory said.
Kyle was momentarily surprised by the quote from
Little Shop of Horrors, one of his favorite movies. He
wouldn’t have thought somebody like Rory would’ve
seen the movie, let alone quote from it. "Sure. Come in
the kitchen. Sit." He hustled to the counter and finished
whipping together the tuna salad, slapping a couple of
white bread sandwiches together. He tossed a few potato
chips on two plates, and poured them each a glass of
water.
Placing a plate in front of Rory, he took the seat
opposite him at the small table. He played with the chips
Happy World - 68
on his plate, unwilling to look at Rory, still feeling self-
conscious about his strong attraction to Rory. "So, why
did you come here?" he asked.
Rory took a bite of his sandwich and answered
around a mouthful of tuna. "I was worried about you.
It’s not like you to leave work like you did, in the
middle of a shift. I figured you were really pissed off at
me."
Kyle looked up, surprised that Rory would’ve given
him a second thought. He was certain no one else
would’ve bothered. "I was. Well, not really. I was more
pissed off at myself," Kyle confessed. "I should’ve been
the one to say something to Charlie. You shouldn’t have
had to do it."
"Yeah, well, he’s an asshole, and he really got under
my skin. I guess I stepped over the line... again. I
shouldn’t have started anything in front of the guests,
right?"
"Technically, you shouldn’t have started anything at
all, but yeah, especially not in front of guests."
"I know, but he shouldn’t have said the things he did
to you, Kyle. You’re a good guy, even if you are a little,
er, rigid when it comes to the rules. And the lies he told
the managers about me... he’s an asshole of the first
degree." Rory polished off the rest of his sandwich in
silence, then turned those smoky gray eyes on Kyle
again. "I don’t want you to stop training me, Kyle. We
have a good time together, don’t we? I mean, when I’m
not screwing up."
Kyle watched Rory drink a half glass of water at one
shot, fascinated by the way Rory’s Adam’s apple
bobbed as he swallowed, finding it incredibly sexy. A
drop of water dribbled down Rory’s chin, and Kyle was
struck with the urge to lick it off.
Happy World - 69
He coughed and quickly picked up his own glass to
cover his discomfort, taking a long drink. "Huh? Oh,
yeah. I shouldn’t have said what I did. You’ve only got
a few more days left anyway. I’ll finish training you."
"Cool!" Rory’s grin was blinding.
A bolt of desire zipped through Kyle’s body. His
cock reared, pressing hard against the zipper of his
pants. His mouth went dry but when he lifted his glass to
his mouth, he realized it was empty.
Standing up to get more water was not an option for
Kyle. He hadn’t changed his clothes when he came
home from work, and his thin, white Groundskeeper
pants would do little to nothing to hide the erection
straining at his fly. He cleared his throat and tried to
think of other, less arousing things. After a few
moments of silence, he asked Rory the question he’d
asked himself often. "How do you do it, Rory? People
always see you. The guests, the Actors... " He almost
said "Charlie," but bit his tongue in time. "They take
notice when you pass by, even when you’re just
sweeping up trash. Nobody ever sees me. Practically no
one remembers me, even if they do see me. It’s like I’m
invisible. I mean, I know I’m not as good looking as
you, but I don’t think I belong in a zoo. What’s the
secret?"
Rory cocked his head, blinking. "You’re not
invisible. Man, you have a really bad case of low self-
esteem, don’t you? Look, I think you’re a really good-
looking guy, Kyle. You’re just a little too caught up in
the rules. If other people don’t pay attention to you,
believe me, that’s their loss."
Kyle felt himself blush at the compliment, even
though he didn’t really believe it. "Thanks. I know I’m
anal when it comes to the rules. I just always figured it
Happy World - 70
was the only way to get out of Groundskeeping and
move on."
"You just need to relax once in a while and have
some fun." Rory offered Kyle another dazzling grin.
"Don’t worry... I’ll pry that stick out of your ass soon
enough." This time when Rory looked at Kyle,
something in his expression changed. His gray eyes
darkened, his lips parting slightly. If Kyle didn’t know
better, he’d think Rory was getting turned on.
Don’t be stupid. He’s into guys like Charlie, not you,
no matter what he says. You wouldn’t stand a chance
with him. He dropped his gaze and picked at his
sandwich, his smile sliding from his face.
"We’re not at work, right?"
Kyle looked up at Rory’s question and cocked his
head. "What are you talking about? Of course not."
"I mean, even though we’re in costume, it doesn’t
count, right? There’s nobody here to see us, right?"
"Rory, I have no idea what you’re talking about."
Rory stared hard at Kyle for a moment, then bit his
lip and shook his head. "Never mind. Stupid idea." He
stood up and patted his flat stomach. "Thanks for the
sandwich, and I’m glad you’re not mad at me. I have to
get going, though. See you tomorrow?"
"Bright and early," Kyle answered, still confused. He
followed Rory to the door, careful to stay behind Rory
so Rory wouldn’t see the pitch his dick was making in
his pants. It had to be one of the strangest afternoons of
his life, but he had to admit, embarrassing hard-on aside,
he’d enjoyed Rory’s impromptu visit.
Rory had yet another surprise for Kyle, it seemed. He
stopped short of opening the door, his back to Kyle.
"Wait. This isn’t me. I don’t back off just because of a
few stupid rules."
Happy World - 71
Kyle frowned. Something was wrong. Rory’s hands
were at his sides, palms rubbing his pant legs as if he
were nervous. "Rory? What are you talking about?"
"The fucking Handbook, that’s what."
"What about the Handbook? Rory, you’re not making
any sense."
"I know. Never mind. Look, you like me, right?"
"Huh?"
"You like me. I mean, you don’t think I’m
Quasimodo material, do you? You’re kind of attracted to
me?"
Kyle’s jaw popped open, and his hands automatically
dropped to cover his crotch. Had Rory noticed his hard-
on? How? He’d been careful to stay behind Rory. He
tried to deflect Rory’s question with sarcasm. "What?
It’s been a few hours since your last compliment, and
you’re going through withdrawal? Sheesh. You’re
starting to sound like Charlie. "
"Fuck Charlie. Just answer me and be honest." Rory
hadn’t turned around; he was still facing the door, and it
was really starting to make Kyle uncomfortable. "Are
you attracted to me?"
Kyle’s brow wrinkled in confusion. What the hell is
going on with him? "You know you’re hot, Rory. Even
Charlie wanted you... and he could have anybody. So
can you, and you know it. What I think is irrelevant."
Did Rory’s shoulders slump slightly? No, surely Kyle
was seeing things.
"So, you don’t like me?"
Kyle was bewildered. Obviously, something was
wrong with Rory, although Kyle had no idea what it
might be. "I guess I do."
"You guess?"
"Damn it, Rory, what do you want from me? Okay,
yeah. I think you’re hot. There, are you satisfied?"
Happy World - 72
"Are you sure?"
"I said so, didn’t I? Although I still don’t understand-
-"
Kyle didn’t finish his sentence. He couldn’t. Rory
moved so quickly, Kyle didn’t have time to react. He
suddenly found himself pushed up against the wall, his
mouth full of Rory’s hot, wet tongue.
Rory’s body, lean and muscular, was pressed up
against the full length of Kyle’s own. His head swam as
it tried to process everything all at once -- the taste of
Rory’s mouth, the touch of Rory’s hands on his hips, the
roughness of Rory’s five o’clock shadow against his
cheek, and especially the feel of Rory’s cock, hard and
uncompromising, rubbing against his own. Kyle’s
erection returned with a vengeance. The only sound
Kyle could manage was a moan, low and throaty.
Then Rory’s hips began to rock, and suddenly the
world exploded. All Kyle could do was throw his arms
around Rory’s shoulders and hold on as his orgasm took
him by surprise, ripping through him with roughly the
same velocity as a tornado, and just as devastating. He
heard Rory grunting softly, but it sounded far away, on a
distant planet in another solar system.
Kyle’s eyes opened and his vision cleared, filling
with the sight of Rory’s face mere inches from his own.
He found he still couldn’t speak, although he didn’t
know if it was because of the strength of his climax, or
shock.
Maybe both. Probably both.
Rory broke eye contact first and looked down
between them. He offered Kyle a sheepish grin. "Guess
we’re going to have to wash these pants before we turn
them into Wardrobe, huh? We made a mess in them."
Kyle nodded. Reason returned, but he still didn’t
know what to say. What did you say to a hot guy you
Happy World - 73
never once thought would be interested in you after he
practically attacks you in your living room?
His eyes remained wide open, staring as Rory leaned
in and kissed him softly. "I don’t run away from what I
want," Rory said. "I go for it. You might want to
remember that. See you tomorrow, Kyle. We've got a
night shift tomorrow, right?"
Again Kyle nodded, and watched as Rory -- who,
Kyle noticed absently, wore as big a stain on his crotch
as the one Kyle sported -- let himself out of the
apartment, closing the door with a soft click.
Kyle leaned back against the wall and let himself
slide to the floor. He touched his crotch; his fingers
came away wet. It had happened, he hadn’t imagined it.
Rory, troublesome, exasperating, gorgeous, amazing
Rory had given him an orgasm to remember.
Oh, my God. Why did I let him do it?
Another thought came close on the heels of the first.
This is going to change everything.
Looking toward the closed door, Kyle smiled.
Happy World - 74
Chapter Eight
He purposely didn’t call that night or make any other
kind of effort to get in touch with Kyle until their next
shift. Rory was pretty confident that Kyle would show
up, but there was still a tiny niggling of doubt that
maybe Kyle had meant what he said about not training
Rory anymore. That would be the worst of all possible
scenarios.
They were scheduled for an evening shift from four
to midnight. It was Rory’s first night shift. He was kind
of excited about it, if only because it was something a
little different, and he’d always been a night person
anyway. Cool stuff happened after dark.
Okay, so working a night shift wasn’t really the only
reason he was looking forward to working, for once.
Aside from having a burning curiosity to see what, if
anything, had happened to Charlie after his outburst,
Rory was mostly just looking forward to seeing Kyle.
He’d known that Kyle would be responsive, but it
had still been surprising. The poor guy was just so
repressed all the time, it made Rory want to see what
else he could do just to get Kyle to break out of his shell
a little. Well, that and the fact that Rory simply thought
Kyle was hot. Rory wanted him.
Rory checked in at Wardrobe and got his costume,
donning the now-familiar white outfit and picking up his
broom and dustpan from the supply closet. He didn’t see
Kyle, but there were still ten minutes before their shift
started, so he’d be along any time now. It occurred to
Rory that he was actually early, for once.
When the digital time clock clicked over to 3:58 and
Kyle hadn’t made an appearance, Rory found himself
tapping his fingers anxiously on his broom handle while
Happy World - 75
he waited. This wasn’t good. Maybe he’d been wrong.
Kyle wasn’t going to show.
Four o’clock came and Rory knew he was right. Kyle
Forester was never late. Yesterday had been for nothing.
Shit, shit, shi--
"Hi." Kyle grinned shyly at Rory just as the clock hit
4:01.
Rory licked his lips and cleared his throat. "You’re
late." Kyle looked delicious, his warm brown eyes
watching Rory’s face.
Kyle shrugged. "I guess they can dock me a minute’s
pay." The words were casual, but Rory caught him
darting a look around to see if there were any
supervisors on the immediate area.
"Heh. Next shift, try being two minutes late. We’ll
work on it."
"Oh, I couldn’t," Kyle protested, making Rory
chuckle.
"I bet you’d surprise yourself with all the things you
think you ‘couldn’t’ do, but actually could." Rory
reached out with his grabby claw and untied Kyle’s
shoelace yet again. He made a practice of doing it at
least once each shift, just to hear Kyle sigh in annoyance
and bend over to retie it. He had a nice, tight little ass.
True to form, Kyle pulled a scowl and put his foot up
on the nearest bench to tie his lace. Rory had a full six
seconds to admire Kyle’s butt before Kyle said firmly,
"Okay. It’s our last training shift, and our first night
one."
"I know." Rory raised his brows and smiled.
"Nighttime’s cool. For one thing, the Park sells those
light-up glowy things." He knew they were kids’ toys,
but he kind of liked the glowing sabers, swords,
necklaces, and spinning toys. It’d be fun to smoke a
joint or something and wear one to a party.
Happy World - 76
"Nighttime is different," Kyle instructed. "We have to
be more vigilant. It’s really easy to miss trash that the
guests drop."
Rory followed him down the cool hallway along the
green line on the wall. Kyle was sounding exactly like
his old self, pre-yesterday, and that just wouldn’t do.
Just before they reached one of the doors leading on
stage, there was a small alcove in the wall. Rory slid into
it and reached out a hand. He managed to grab the
waistband of Kyle’s costume and yank him into the little
space.
"Urk!" Kyle protested, but Rory silenced him by
bringing his mouth down hard on Kyle’s.
"When you use words like ‘vigilant’," Rory
whispered against Kyle’s mouth, "it turns me on. Just so
you know." He kissed Kyle again, darting his tongue out
very quickly to taste Kyle’s lips.
It couldn’t have been more than a few moments, but
as soon as Rory felt Kyle begin to kiss him back, he
gently pushed Kyle away and stepped back into the
hallway. He wiped his mouth, straightened his shirt, and
adjusted his cock inside his pants. Then he smiled.
"Ready? Let’s do this." He pushed open the stage door
and walked out into the bright Florida afternoon.
Rory could hear Kyle behind him. "You can’t do
that," Kyle protested in a loud whisper. Rory knew
without looking that Kyle was staring around frantically,
wondering if anyone had seen.
He threw a glance over his shoulder. "Yes, I can. You
liked it. And every time you use fancy vocabulary, I’ll
do it again. Where are we starting?"
"Uh." Kyle moved up next to him and Rory was
pleased to note that he looked flustered. Good. Flustered
Kyle was cute. "On Shell Island. We need to catch a
raft."
Happy World - 77
"A raft? You’re kidding me. There’s no underground
tunnel?" Rory was genuinely surprised by this. Happy
World had so many secret tunnels leading from place to
place that it resembled a giant ant hill underground.
"No tunnel. We take a raft over, just like the guests
do."
Shell Island was just what it sounded like: a small
island in the center of the Park, located directly in the
middle of the Country Lakes. Guests were transported
back and forth from the island on motorized "rafts",
which were actually sturdy square boats, able to carry
about fifty people at a time. The island had a beach
theme going for it with soft white sand and lots of
tunnels and bridges for the kids to play on. Rory thought
it was pretty ideal for adults, too, since there was no way
off the island except for the rafts, so the parents could
relax on a bench and let the kids wander.
"Okay." Rory shrugged. "Then I guess we hail a raft."
Luckily, they didn’t have to stand in line with guests,
at least. The ride attendant nodded at them and
unhooked the rope so they could board immediately.
Four minutes later, they were disembarking on the
island. Kids were swarming everywhere, but it was still
less crowded than the mainland.
"We’ll start on the other side and work our way
around slowly," Kyle explained. "We’ve got to spend at
least two hours on the island."
"Fine by me," Rory acknowledged. "It’s quiet over
here."
And it was. In relation to the rest of the Park,
anyway. Shell Island wasn’t a huge crowd draw, being
as there were no rides or food stands. It was basically a
big playground and that was about it.
They strolled around the island using the dirt trail,
pausing now and then to sweep up any debris they
Happy World - 78
found. Rory discovered quickly that the island was fairly
clean, due to the lack of food being sold. The occasional
plastic water or soda bottle littered the ground, but that
was the most trash they found.
When they reached the opposite side, Kyle looked at
the large cave that had a sign proclaiming "Coral
Grotto" on top. "I guess we’ll do gum scraping," he
sighed, sounding less than thrilled.
"Gum scraping." Rory looked at him askance.
Without a word, Kyle produced a flat scraping tool
from one of the hooks on his costume’s belt. He held it
up so Rory could see it, then proceeded inside Coral
Grotto. Rory followed him in, letting his eyes adjust to
the dimness. Kyle had stopped at the first low overhang
and was working the tool against a nice purple wad of
gum that someone had left on the cave wall.
"Nice," Rory muttered, unhooking his own scraper.
"Real nice. Twenty thousand fucking trash cans in this
Park and people can’t find one for their gum." He
worked at the next wad of sticky stuff on the wall, this
one a bright lime green.
Kyle gave a low chuckle and kept scraping. "I
thought about writing a book, once. About all the
different kinds of gum I’ve scraped off the walls here."
A group of small children squeezed by them in the
tight quarters, laughing and shrieking. The confines of
the cave made their screams echo off the walls and Rory
winced. "Oh, sure," he replied to Kyle. "Fascinating. It
would have been a best seller."
They kept at it in silence for a while until the cave
walls were fairly clean. Rory felt the overwhelming need
to wash his hands after touching all the chewed gum.
"Where’s the nearest restroom?" He held up his
hands and made a face.
Happy World - 79
Kyle mimicked Rory’s expression and nodded.
"There’s one just past the Seaweed Suspension Bridge. I
wish they’d give us gloves, you know?" He led the way
out of the grotto and Rory followed.
"You should put it in the suggestion box." There
actually was a suggestion box near the time clocks, but
Rory had a feeling it was more symbolic than anything.
At least, he’d never witnessed anyone putting something
in there. They’d probably get written up if they did.
"I did," Kyle admitted, sounding a bit sheepish.
"Twice."
Rory laughed. "Congratulations, you’re probably one
of the only people who’s ever dropped something in that
box."
Instead of giving Rory his usual hurt look, Kyle
flushed a little pink and grinned. "Maybe. But that’s not
going to stop me from suggesting things that I think
could be improved around here."
Luckily, they arrived at the restroom and Kyle was
spared from hearing everything Rory wanted to tell him
about exactly what Happy World needed in the
improvement department. They washed up quickly and
did a fast restroom check, changing out paper towels and
emptying the half-full trash can.
"Where do we get the restock?" Rory indicated the
supply cabinet that they’d just emptied of paper towels.
"Supply closet around the corner. I’ll show you."
Kyle relocked the cabinet and left the bathroom, veering
to the right and stopping in front of a door that was
cleverly concealed within the rock wall. A few barnacles
and shells were stuck to the outside.
The door opened to reveal a much bigger space than
Rory had anticipated. It wasn’t so much a closet-sized
area as it was a small room that was bigger than his
dorm at college had been.
Happy World - 80
"Jeeze," he said in surprise, pushing his way in
behind Kyle. "This isn’t a closet, this is an apartment."
Kyle rummaged around on some shelves for the
paper towels. "Yeah, I think initially it was supposed to
be part of Shell Grotto." He knocked on the wall next to
the shelving. "One of the Grotto’s exits is just about
here. Then they realized that there wasn’t any adequate
storage on the whole island, so they closed this part off
and nailed up some shelves."
"Wow. I could move in here. They’d never know. I
bet a cot would fit in here." Rory kicked the door shut
behind him and cruised around the ample space.
Arms loaded with paper towels, Kyle made an
impatient noise. "Hey. Open that door, let’s go. We need
to go down and rake the sand at Barnacle Beach."
Rory ambled back over to where Kyle was standing.
"As fun as that sounds," he smirked, "I can think of
something else I’d rather do." He reached out and
knocked the paper towel packets to the floor.
Kyle looked down at them and frowned. "What’d you
do that for? Come on, help me pick them up." He made
as if to crouch down and gather the brown packages
again, but Rory was quicker. With one swift move, he
crowded into Kyle’s space and spun him so his back
connected with the stone wall between the two rows of
shelving. "Rory, hey!"
Kyle looked at Rory bemusedly and Rory had to roll
his eyes. For all his hotness, sometimes the guy was
slow.
"I said--" he raised an eyebrow and talked slowly "--I
can think of something else I’d rather do." To illustrate
his point, Rory reached out and cupped Kyle’s dick
through his white pants.
Happy World - 81
A slight breath caught in his throat and Kyle’s
chocolate-brown eyes widened. "Oh," he murmured.
"Right. Something else."
When there was no protest, no recitation of the rules,
no lecture about how they were on the clock and this
was definitely not in Happy World’s Style Guide, Rory
counted it as a win. "Don’t worry," he told Kyle
seriously. "You’ll like it better than raking the sand."
Before Kyle could come to his senses and remember
that they were on the job, Rory slid down Kyle’s body
and dropped to his knees. He made fast work of the
white belt that was part of the costume and unzipped
Kyle’s fly. Rory was rewarded immediately with a
quickly-hardening cock pushing forward into his hand.
"Nice," Rory grinned, his mouth already watering for
it. And it was nice, he realized, since this was the first
time he’d actually seen it. Warm and velvety-soft
beneath his fingers, Kyle’s prick was just the right size
and thickness. God, Rory was dying to taste it.
"Rory," Kyle whispered, but that was all.
Rory looked up to see Kyle nibbling on his lower lip
and desire on his face. "Let me," Rory said gently. "I
want you." He leaned forward just a bit and licked at the
tip of Kyle’s cock.
He was rewarded with a soft moan. "Yes," Kyle
allowed, voice husky. "More."
Of course Rory couldn’t ignore that plea, so he did it
again, this time closing his mouth over the head and
sucking a bit. God, Kyle tasted good. Sharp and sweet.
He went down farther and made his mouth as soft and
wet as he could in order to take in more.
He spent some time rubbing his tongue over as much
skin as he could, listening to the noises of pleasure Kyle
was making and enjoying the little leaps and twitches
Kyle’s dick was making inside his mouth. Then Rory
Happy World - 82
increased the pressure just a bit, using soft and sweet
suction and staying gentle so he didn’t spook Kyle into
remembering where they were.
Rory felt Kyle’s hands slide into his hair and tangle
there, his fingers grasping and tugging. A quiet
repetition of "yes, yes, yes" was being whispered softly
in the room. The words went straight to Rory’s cock,
causing it to push painfully against his costume pants.
There sure wasn’t much room for growth in these things.
When Kyle’s hips moved a little, pushing in just a bit
farther, Rory encouraged it. He’d already discovered
that Kyle had a very responsive side to his personality,
and frankly, Rory wanted to experience more of it. A
hand splayed on Kyle’s ass was all the coaxing he
needed to push in a little farther.
"Rory," Kyle murmured. Rory looked up to see
Kyle’s head thrown back against the wall, eyes shut
tight. God, so hot.
Rory hummed in answer and Kyle cried out
unexpectedly. Rory felt a gentle throbbing along the
cock in his mouth and then Kyle was shooting, warm
spurts that tasted like the bitter sweetness of very dark
chocolate. Rory swallowed it greedily and caught a
single drip before it could slide down his bottom lip.
When Kyle’s knees buckled and he slid to floor,
wide-eyed, Rory would have chuckled at Kyle’s stunned
expression if it wasn’t for the way his own prick was
pressing painfully against his zipper.
"Um," Rory said, fumbling at his fly. "I need… can
you…" His sentence couldn’t find a reasonable finishing
point. All that mattered was feeling relief.
Kyle blinked slowly. "Can I what? Oh!" Realization
dawned and he rose to his knees. "Here. Here, I got it.
Wow, sorry." With fingers that shook only slightly, Kyle
undid Rory’s zipper and reached in for his dick.
Happy World - 83
The warm hand around Rory’s cock seemed
surprisingly talented for this type of thing. Rory made a
mental note to ask Kyle just how many guys he’d jacked
off, but then in the next moment it didn’t even matter. It
just felt so fucking good to have a tight fist tugging and
pulling at him.
And then he was coming, gasping and shaking and
surprising both of them with the suddenness, and it just
felt way too nice for Rory to be embarrassed by how
long he didn’t last. His spunk coated Kyle’s fingers and
dripped between them onto the cement floor.
"Uh," Rory finally managed. He was already sitting
back on his heels, but even that felt like a lot of effort.
He sort of melted to the floor and lay on his back, not
caring what kind of dirt got on his costume. That was
what Wardrobe was for. "Holy cats. That was great." He
started laughing with sheer delight, and after a minute,
Kyle joined in.
"I can’t believe I let you do that in here," Kyle
giggled, not really sounding as if he regretted it. "Do
you know what kind of trouble we could get in?"
"I couldn’t give less of a shit," Rory announced, and
they both dissolved into laughter again.
"Come on," Kyle finally said, getting up from the
floor and tearing open one of the paper towel packages.
"We’ve been in here almost half an hour. If second shift
comes over and can’t find us, we’re in big trouble." He
tossed Rory a few paper towels and crouched down to
help Rory clean up a bit.
"Sometimes trouble is worth it." Rory let Kyle wipe
him up while he looked at the stone ceiling of the
storage room and grinned to himself.
Totally worth it.
Happy World - 84
Chapter Nine
Kyle decided there was something seriously wrong
with him.
Maybe his neurons were going haywire, or his
synapses were misfiring. Or maybe he’d just spent far
too much time under the broiling hot sun, and had
finally fried his gray matter. Whatever it was, it was
making Kyle think about things he never had before.
Things like sex. Lots of it. With Rory. In places that
would make Happy Hamster’s googly eyes spin around
in their sockets.
He’d had sexual daydreams before, of course. After
all, what healthy, red-blooded American male hadn’t?
What worried Kyle was that he couldn’t seem to stop
having them, even when he had other things to do.
Important things, like going to work and doing his job.
He’d jacked off in bed the night before, and again in
the shower this morning hoping it would free his mind,
but it hadn’t worked. He was almost three minutes late
clocking in for his shift because he’d been caught up in a
fantasy in which Rory gave him a blow job on one of the
glittery islands in the It’s a Tiny Planet ride. In Kyle’s
daydream, Rory was humming the ride’s famous theme
song while he sucked Kyle inside out, surrounded by
bobbing, spinning, animatronic, Day-Glo kids.
There just had to be something mentally wrong with
him, right? No normal person would have a fantasy like
that, would they? And certainly not be involved in it
enough to make him late for work.
It wasn’t the only one Kyle had, either. He’d
fantasized about having sex with Rory on almost every
ride in Happy World, in every position imaginable.
Worse, he was sorely tempted to actually make some of
them come true.
Happy World - 85
We did it in the storage closet on Shell Island and
didn’t get caught, an evil little voice that sounded like
Kyle but couldn’t possibly be Kyle, whispered as he
punched his time card and hurried to Wardrobe. You
know where all the security cameras are. You know
what bits and pieces of the rides aren’t being filmed.
Like inside Spooky Manor, for example. You and Rory
could fuck each other’s brains out in the graveyard
behind the Happy Hamster-shaped tombstone, and
nobody would ever see you. Somehow, the thought of
screwing onstage, just out of sight of the reams of guests
riding the attraction made Kyle hard all over again.
No! He had the urge to shake his head violently, as if
to clear it of his lustful, totally un-Happy World-worthy
thoughts. At the same time, Evil Kyle said, Rory would
be willing. You know he would.
Kyle couldn’t resist barking a short, quiet laugh. That
much was true enough. Rory would probably think it
was a great idea. Hell, Rory would think having sex
aboard one of the floats in the three o’clock parade
would be doable.
What scared Kyle was that he was beginning to agree.
No, no. It’s a very, very bad idea. Bad, Kyle. Bad. No
biscuit.
He admitted it wasn’t just the lurid fantasies he’d
been having that had him on edge. It was Observation
Day for Rory. In other words, Kyle had to shadow Rory
all day, watch him do his rounds, and make sure Rory
had everything down pat. It was like a final exam, and if
Rory passed, training would be officially over. They
would work together only if they happened to be
scheduled for the same shift. Even then, they would only
cross paths now and then while inside the Park.
He sighed unhappily as he checked his image in the
full length mirror. For the first time he could remember,
Happy World - 86
Kyle wasn’t looking forward to seeing another
Groundskeeping actor graduate. The truth was, he was
going to miss working with Rory all day, maybe more
than he should, considering all the trouble they’d gotten
into together. He got the distinct impression work would
never be as much fun again. He was distracted, pinning
on his nametag, when a hand clamped down on his
shoulder, and spun him around. He was shocked to find
Charlie standing behind him and felt his stomach lurch
with apprehension.
"Hey... it’s Kyle, right?" Charlie’s handsome face
creased with a warm smile.
Smile? At him? Kyle frowned. Something was up,
and whatever it was, he didn’t like it, not one bit. Why
would Charlie, who’d never so much as acknowledged
Kyle’s humanity before, and who’d already had a couple
of run-ins with Kyle’s protégé Rory, want to talk to
him? "Uh, yeah. Kyle. That’s me."
"I’ve seen you around. Look, I just wanted to make
sure there are no hard feelings, you know, over what
happened with that jackass you’re training. I mean, I
don’t hold you responsible for his assholery, you
know?"
"Rory’s not a jackass," Kyle stated firmly. His frown
deepened. "He might be a little misguided, but he only
did what he thought was the right thing."
Charlie put up both hands, as if to deflect Kyle’s
anger. "Sure, sure. Look, whatever problems I have with
him, they don’t involve you. You and me, we’re good,
right?"
Oh, something was definitely up. "What do you want,
Charlie?"
"Just to make sure that you don’t get the wrong
impression of me, that’s all. I’ve been watching you,
Happy World - 87
you know? You’re cute. I was hoping you and I might,
you know, catch dinner or something."
Kyle resisted the urge to look over his shoulder to see
who Charlie was really talking to, certain that it couldn’t
be him. "Me and you? On a date?"
"Yeah. We could eat food, catch a movie. What do
you say?" Charlie cocked his hip, and his smile held a
promise of something a lot more fun than a simple
dinner date.
Kyle wouldn’t have been more shocked if Happy
Hamster himself walked up and tried to jerk Kyle off.
Charlie had been the focus of many of Kyle’s fantasies,
but earlier, before Kyle found out what a supreme
asshole Charlie could be. Since Kyle met Rory, Charlie
had definitely been relegated to the back of Kyle’s
fantasy bus. "Uh, I don’t think so. Thanks, but I can’t."
"Can’t or won’t?" Although Kyle was sure Charlie
tried to hide it, there was a new edge to Charlie’s voice
that belied his pouty lip and sad, puppy dog eyes.
"Both." Kyle was positively shocked at his temerity.
He would have never dared been so cavalier with
Charlie before. Charlie knew people, people who could
make Kyle miserable, and keep him in Groundskeeping
forever. He didn’t feel that way anymore, not after
Charlie had tried to get both he and Rory fired. Now, he
found he could care less if Charlie imploded on the spot,
and actually found himself sort of wishing Charlie
would. It gave him the courage to turn Charlie down
flat. "I just don’t think it’s a good idea."
Charlie, however, was having none of it. Either he
couldn’t take a hint, or was too self-absorbed to believe
he was being turned down. After all, who in their right
mind would turn down a date with a man who looked
like Charlie? "Yeah? Well, I think it’s a great idea.
Look, you don’t have to answer now. Take some time
Happy World - 88
and think about it, okay? I’ll catch up to you later."
Charlie flashed him a toothy grin and a wink, then left,
leaving Kyle feeling a little shell-shocked.
What the fuck had just happened? Charlie Taylor,
asking him out? Had he somehow fallen down some
twisted, fucked-up rabbit hole into an alternate reality
that morning?
He shook his head. Best to pretend it never happened.
Charlie was up to something, of that Kyle was
absolutely sure. Maybe Charlie lost a bet or something.
Yeah, that was probably it.
Kyle tried to push the encounter out of his mind, but
a niggling little voice kept whispering that trouble was
streaking toward him like a runaway freight train, and
that Charlie Taylor was the engineer.
***
By the time Kyle found Rory, all thoughts of Charlie
had been wiped clean from his mind, replaced by all the
wicked little fantasies he’d been storing up since he last
left Rory. His hard-on returned, and he hoped fervently
it wasn’t too obvious through his thin costume pants.
Rory’s arched eyebrow and lecherous grin told him it
was indeed visible, probably highly so. Kyle groaned
and turned to face the wall of the Bits o’ Magic
Boutique, trying to adjust his dick into a less noticeable
position.
As if he could. One look at his groin told him he
looked as if he were smuggling a broomstick in his
pants. There was just no hiding it. In a last ditch effort to
appear G-rated, he grabbed one of the maps he always
kept in his back pocket and held it over his crotch.
Happy World - 89
Rory grinned at him. "Does your dick know how to
read a map? Because if it does, I say we’re ready for the
talk show circuit."
Kyle’s cheeks heated and he frowned. "It’s your
fault. You should be ashamed of yourself."
"Me? What did I do?"
The look of faked surprise on Rory’s face was
comical and made Kyle chuckle in spite of his
discomfort. "You know what you did," Kyle said. He
lowered his voice into a hoarse whisper. "The janitor’s
closet on Shell Island? Remember that?"
Although Kyle didn’t think Rory’s grin could grow
any wider, it did. "Like I could forget it. Baby, that was
the most fun I’ve had since I started working here. If
that was an attraction, the line for it would be at full
capacity day in and day out."
Kyle snorted. "Yeah, well, Mr. Full-of-Yourself, I
couldn’t stop thinking of it either, hence my unfortunate
condition."
Rory looked left and right, then brushed his hand
over the map covering Kyle’s bulging erection. "I don’t
think it’s very unfortunate at all."
Kyle fought to keep the groan that escaped him low
enough not to be heard. He didn’t think he succeeded.
"Damn it, Rory, stop that! I don’t want to have to go
change my pants."
Rory took Kyle’s arm and manhandled him around
the corner of the Bits o’ Magic shop, and into the darker
shadows on the side of the building. "One kiss. Come
on, Kyle. I’m dying to taste you again."
The hungry look in Rory’s eyes took Kyle’s breath
away. Rory looked like he actually meant it, like he was
starving for a kiss.
Kyle’s lips parted to say no, no way, it was a bad
idea, completely against the rules, but before he could,
Happy World - 90
Rory’s tongue was in his mouth. It was only by supreme
effort that Kyle managed to end the kiss and gently push
Rory away. "Dude, not now! There are guests around.
Somebody will see us," he said. He sounded a little
breathless, which in fact, he was. Rory’s kiss did that to
a guy, stole the breath from his lungs and pushed all the
blood in his body to a central location. Kyle’s dick
throbbed with need, harder than ever.
"Then let’s get ourselves someplace where they can’t
see," Rory said. His hand brushed over Kyle’s cock
again, making Kyle moan softly. "You know the Park
better than me. Where can we go?"
"No. We can’t do that again, Rory. We’ll get caught...
"
"We weren’t last time, and we won’t this time either.
Look at you, Kyle. You can’t walk around like that all
day. People will think you’re a pervert."
"Well, maybe if you stopped touching me, it would
go away," Kyle answered huffily.
"Maybe I don’t want it to go away. I like having you
hard for me," Rory said. His smile was more wicked
than ever. "I like it a lot." He took Kyle’s hand and
placed it over his crotch. "Feel that? I’m hard for you
too, baby."
Oh, fuck. Kyle’s body stiffened to the point of pain.
On one point, Rory was absolutely right -- he couldn’t
walk around all day with a hard-on. He had two choices,
as he saw it. He could either punch out and go home,
which he really couldn’t afford, or do what Rory
suggested.
He didn’t want to admit that even if he could afford
to go home without pay for the day, he would still find
the second option the most tempting. "Fine, but this is
the last time," he said. Liar, his inner voice said with a
mocking laugh. He ignored it and looked around.
Happy World - 91
They were in the middle of Fairy Tale Land. The
closest attraction was the Pieces of Eight Pirate Ride. It
consisted of "ships" that carried guests through a
rollicking adventure complete with pirates, treasure, and
booming cannons. It was loud enough to cover any
sounds they might make, and had enough dark corners
out of sight of guests and cameras to make a tryst
possible. "Come on," Kyle said. He nodded toward the
back of the ride. "We can slip in through the back door.
There shouldn’t be anyone back there. All the Actors
will be up front loading the rides, or working in the
control tower. Follow me."
Holding his map firmly over his crotch, he led Rory
toward the back door of the ride. He’d been right -- there
was no one in sight, for which Kyle was eminently
grateful. The last thing he wanted to explain was why he
was trying to enter the ride building, especially while he
had huge hard-on.
It was very dark inside. The onstage area was beyond
a thick black curtain, assuring that no guest on the ride
might glimpse the inner workings of the ride and have
the experience ruined for them. Kyle led Rory down a
narrow hallway and then through a dimly lit tunnel.
Moving quickly, he pulled Rory onstage, onto the
Pillage the Village scene.
In front of them was a crowded collection of
animatronic buccaneers and villagers chasing each other
back and forth across the stage, as boatload after
boatload of guests sailed by. The familiar pirate music
boomed from hidden speakers while periodic cannon
blasts rattled the walls.
He and Rory ducked behind a well in which a hapless
pirate was repeatedly being dunked by an angry peasant
woman.
Happy World - 92
"Nobody can see us from here," Kyle said. He
grinned at Rory before both of them popped open the
buttons on their pants, unzipped, and wriggled their
pants down to their knees. They sat on the floor with
their backs to the well, dicks pointing up toward the
star-speckled ceiling.
God, Rory’s cool hand felt so good on the hot skin of
his cock! He could smell the scent of sex, although he
didn’t know whether it was his own or Rory’s, and cared
even less. He reached over Rory’s leg and captured
Rory’s dick in his hand, stroking.
"Fuck," Rory whispered. "Like that. Sweet fuck,
Kyle. Keep it up, make me come."
There was nothing Kyle wanted more at the moment,
other than to come himself, which was a foregone
conclusion with the way Rory was jerking him. He was
going to come and hard, and only hoped all the racket of
the ride would keep his cries from reaching the ears of
the tourists.
"Faster," Rory hissed. His hand picked up speed on
Kyle’s dick, too. "Coming!" he cried in a hoarse,
strangled voice. He grunted loudly as hot spunk dripped
onto Kyle’s hand.
The smell of sex got stronger, more potent, and drove
Kyle beyond the point of his endurance. He came just as
hard as he’d thought he would, stars winking behind his
tightly closed eyelids. When he finally opened them, he
saw Rory grinning at him.
"Dude, I love the way you look when you come. And
sound. Shit, I think they may have heard you over in the
Wild West section of the Park."
"Shit," Kyle whispered. "Really?" He peeked around
the corner of the well. He could barely see a boatload of
tourists sail by. None of them seemed to be paying much
Happy World - 93
attention to the well, never mind the men who crouched
behind it with their dicks out.
Rory chuckled. "Nah. But it was really sweet music,
baby."
"Stop calling me that. I’m not your baby."
"Oh, so sorry. I thought having mind-blowing sex in
an off-limits area of a ride made us more than just co-
workers," Rory answered. He sounded huffy.
"Sorry. I’m just not used to... to... "
"Being bad?"
"Yeah, that."
"Admit it, Kyle. You’re starting to like being a bad
boy," Rory said. His grin was impish, and it somehow
irritated Kyle while pleasing him at the same time.
Plus, he was right, not that Kyle was ready to admit
it.
"Come on, let’s clean up and get out of here before
somebody sees us," Kyle said.
"Okay," Rory replied. He handed Kyle a wad of
tissues from his pocket. "It ought to hold us for a while,
at least."
A while? Kyle frowned. How often did Rory think
they were going to do this? He tried, but was unable to
stop the steady stream of possibilities from flooding his
brain, including one he wanted desperately, but was too
embarrassed to ask Rory about. Was Kyle just Rory’s
work fuck buddy, or was there a possibility of them
doing it in a real bed some time?
As they snuck back outside, tossing the tissues soiled
with evidence of their crime into the nearest trash can,
Kyle reluctantly admitted that not only would there be a
next time, but he was actively looking forward to it, be it
hidden behind one of Happy World’s animatronics, or
bare-ass naked on a soft bed.
Happy World - 94
Chapter Ten
His Observation Day had come and gone, and now
Rory was officially a Groundskeeper. Not a
Groundskeeper-in-training, not even a Groundskeeper-
on-probation. He was an employee for Happy World and
no longer had to answer to a trainer.
Not that he’d ever really answered to Kyle anyway.
Rory grinned to himself. Poor Kyle, stuck with a
troublemaker for a recruit. That had been way more than
Kyle had bargained for, but Rory knew Kyle didn’t
regret it. Despite his protests and frustrated expressions,
Kyle had eventually given in to Rory’s slow seduction
of him.
And it was a seduction, no doubt about that. Rory had
seen something he’d wanted and gone after it. Just as
he’d suspected, Kyle had been totally worth it. So
responsive, so eager, so willing to let Rory touch or suck
or fondle any part of him. God, he was delicious to taste.
Damn it. There went his dick again, firming up just at
the thought of what Kyle tasted like. Rory adjusted
himself inside his white costume pants, which wasn’t
easy. The stupid Wardrobe department never had any
pants that left a little extra room.
Rory thought about baseball for another minute or so
until his cock was under control, then wandered out of
the break room in the general direction of the time clock.
He knew Kyle had been working for a couple of hours
already and was scheduled in Galaxy Land for the
morning.
His own schedule dictated that he start his shift on
Shell Island, then move to Galaxy Land from there.
Hopefully, he and Kyle would overlap and Rory would
have a chance to haul Kyle into a private space
Happy World - 95
somewhere. Even stealing a few kisses would be better
than nothing, but Rory was hoping for more.
Things were pretty much status quo on the Island. A
few random food wrappers, one paper towel mess in the
restroom, and a little girl who fell on the wooden bridge
and needed a bandage. Several times, Rory caught
himself turning to ask Kyle a question before
remembering that his trainer wasn’t hovering over his
shoulder anymore.
Kind of a bummer, actually.
Right at the stroke of noon, Rory boarded a raft to
take him back across to the mainland. If he timed it
right, he’d be in Galaxy Land before Kyle left the area.
Thank God for the underground tunnel system. It
saved him at least five minutes of dodging and weaving
his way through the Happy World crowd. Mid-August
and the Park was at near capacity every single day with
tourists hoping to squeeze one more day out of their
summer vacation.
Rory rounded the corner, still following the colored
stripe on the wall, and passed one of the many doorways
that led to a break room. His mind registered that there
were at least two employees in the room, but it wasn’t
until he was halfway up the stairs to a Park exit that he
realized who it was. Or who one of them was, anyway.
He backtracked quickly and stuck his head into the
break room, a grin stretching his face. "Hey," he began,
but the word died in his throat.
Kyle was leaning against a counter. That much Rory
had seen as he’d breezed past. But the second person in
the room was none other than Charlie Taylor. And man,
he was standing really, really close to Kyle. With a hand
on his arm.
Rory blinked a time or two to make sure he was
seeing the right people. For a moment he thought
Happy World - 96
Charlie was trying to start some type of fight, but his
stance wasn’t aggressive and Kyle didn’t look afraid,
just… wary. Instinctively, Rory pulled back out of sight
and turned his head to try and hear the conversation.
"So did you give it some thought?" Charlie asked.
"Give what some thought?" Kyle sounded nervous,
although his voice was strong.
"Aw, you know. Come on."
A peek around the corner confirmed that Charlie was
smiling at Kyle and had leaned in a bit closer. Rory felt
an immediate flash of possession. What the hell was
Charlie trying to pull, being that close?
"I told you before. I don’t think it’s a good idea."
Kyle looked as if he wanted to back up a step, but the
counter behind him prevented that.
Charlie laughed softly. "I think it’s a great idea. You
ever been to Martinique?"
Martinique? The fuck? It was a ritzy French
restaurant about ten miles from Happy World. Rory had
been once or twice with his father and girl of the
moment. Why the hell would Charlie be asking Kyle
about it? Unless… nah.
"No," Kyle answered, sounding very unsure.
"Then let me take you. Come on, you’ll love it, Kyle.
You ever had escargot?"
If Rory hadn’t been so dumbfounded by what he was
hearing, he would have laughed out loud. Of course
Kyle had never had escargot. That would be out of his
comfort zone. Outside of his comfort zone was a place
Kyle rarely went. Anyone who paid attention could see
that. Charlie Fucking Taylor obviously didn’t pay
attention.
"He doesn’t like French food," Rory announced,
stepping into the room. He actually had no idea if Kyle
Happy World - 97
liked it or not, but eating anything with Charlie would
be enough to turn him off to it forever.
Kyle and Charlie both whipped their heads around
quickly. In the split second before they both wiped their
expressions clean, Rory caught guilt on Kyle’s face and
what could only be described as triumph on Charlie’s.
Charlie straightened up and shoved his hands in his
pockets. "I’ll catch you later," he said to Kyle. Rory was
ignored, but that wasn’t surprising. Only sheer will
power kept Rory from shoving Charlie with his shoulder
as the other man passed him on his way out the door.
"What was that?" Rory folded his arms and leaned
against the door jamb. The break room was surprisingly
empty, but he didn’t know for how long.
"What?" Kyle had an embarrassed flush working its
way up from his neck, coloring his cheeks and staining
them pink.
"Really? You’re going to pretend? Come on, neither
of us is stupid. What was that?"? Rory thumbed over his
shoulder in the direction Charlie had gone.
Kyle darted a glance toward the door, then back to
Rory. "Nothing. It really was nothing. He… he’s… I
don’t know. He thinks I want to go out with him."
Rory blinked. "Why would he think that?"
"I don’t know, Rory." Kyle had a furrow between his
brows and his expression had changed from guilty to
confused. "He’s never talked to me before you started
working here. I have no freaking clue why he thinks I’d
want to date him."
"Uh-huh. Is this the first time he’s asked you out?"
Rory knew he was sounding like a jealous lover, but
somehow he couldn’t help it. Seeing Charlie standing
that close to Kyle had been like a punch in the stomach.
Happy World - 98
Kyle shifted nervously and licked his lips. "Um. No.
There was one other time, about a week and a half ago.
He cornered me then, too. I said no."
Okay, this was sounding weirder by the minute, but if
Kyle’s puzzled look was anything to go by, Rory knew
he was telling the truth. "All right," Rory sighed. "Let’s
forget him. That idiot isn’t worth anyone’s time."
Kyle gave an uncertain nod and flicked his gaze
toward the clock on the wall of the break room. "He
made me late." He didn’t make a move toward the door,
however.
"Then I guess you’d better go. Why were you down
here, anyway? Your shift up there didn’t end until noon,
and you always wait to make sure your relief shows up.
Even if it costs you your break." Infuriating when Rory
had to lose out on his break too, but now that Rory was
on his own, Kyle’s work habits were kind of… cute.
"I knew you were on your way over." Kyle looked
up, his brown eyes soft as he met Rory’s gaze. "As soon
as it hit twelve, I came down here to try and catch you
before you headed upstairs. Then Charlie found me."
Any thoughts of what game Charlie Taylor was
playing vanished. Rory leaned in and planted a hard kiss
on Kyle’s mouth. He snaked a hand down to cup and
squeeze Kyle’s prick through his white pants, then
stepped back and grinned. "Take that with you to
Freedom’s Fair. You want to go out to dinner
tomorrow?" Rory knew they both had the night off.
Kyle blinked slowly and touched his mouth, then
gave an embarrassed glance downward at his crotch. His
cock had responded nicely to Rory’s squeeze. "Um," he
said, cheeks turning pink, "dinner? Where?"
"Martinique." Fuck Charlie Taylor.
"You can’t get in there without a reservation! It’s
booked weeks ahead of time."
Happy World - 99
"I’ll handle it. Dinner at Martinique, yes or no?"
"Like a date?" Kyle looked mystified, as if he didn’t
go on many of them.
Rory chuckled. "Sure, I guess. Why not? A date."
The idea had merit.
There was a long pause in which Rory found himself
holding his breath, though he wasn’t sure why. Then
Kyle finally gave him a slow nod.
"Yeah," he replied. A corner of his mouth turned up
in a charming way. "Okay, sure. Dinner tomorrow night.
And it’s okay if you can’t get us in there. I’m fine with
Mama Rosa’s Italian Café, even."
"Martinique," Rory said firmly. "I’ll pick you up
tomorrow at seven."
***
"Wow." Kyle looked around with wide eyes. "I’ve
never been in a place like this."
Rory looked up from his menu and glanced around
the restaurant. Martinique was one of the nicest places in
town, for sure, but it wasn’t the finest Rory had been in.
"Yeah, I guess it’s kind of pretty."
Not as pretty as Kyle, though. When he’d opened the
front door of his apartment, Rory had to fight the
temptation to forget their dinner reservations and eat
something else instead. Kyle was gorgeous in black
slacks and a short-sleeved, light blue shirt.
"Pretty? Rory, this is the fanciest restaurant I’ve ever
been to." He laughed a little and looked slightly
embarrassed.
"Fancy places aren’t all that." Rory grinned at him.
"If you ask me, I’d rather have a good cheese steak
sandwich from the food truck. But this place does okay.
Get the lobster bisque."
Happy World - 100
Kyle nodded and went back to reading his menu.
"Lobster bisque, okay." There was a momentary pause.
"And… what else? What are you having?"
When Rory looked up, Kyle was studying the menu
with what appeared to be alarm, and Rory realized his
earlier suspicions had been correct. French food was not
an everyday occurrence for Kyle. It probably wasn’t an
every year occurrence, actually.
"Hmm, let me see. You want to just get what I’m
getting? Then you don’t have to worry about it."
The answer was abrupt. "Yes, uh-huh. I want what
you’re getting." Kyle nodded a lot and shut his menu.
Rory ducked his head and pretended to read the menu
again. "Their sweetbreads with poulette sauce are pretty
good. How about that?"
"Sure! And lobster bisque." Kyle looked relieved to
have the choice made for him.
"Heh. Do you know what sweetbreads are?" Rory
did.
"Uh… yes. They’re like… they’re bread. The sweet
kind. Like pastries." Kyle looked hopeful and Rory
laughed out loud.
"They’re the pancreas of a calf. Among other organs.
Still sound good?"
Even under the dim lighting, Rory could see Kyle
turn an interesting shade of green. "That’s what you’re
having?"
Rory considered teasing him some more, but at this
rate the guy wouldn’t be able to eat anything. Besides,
Rory had plans for later and they didn’t involve
watching Kyle find the nearest toilet to lose his dinner
in.
"No," Rory chuckled. "I’m having beef bourguignon.
Beef with wine sauce," he added, when Kyle still looked
uncertain.
Happy World - 101
"That," Kyle said firmly.
Rory grinned and placed their order for them when
the waiter came around. He took a sip of wine and
nodded at Kyle’s almost full glass. "Not a wine
drinker?"
"Oh!" Kyle reached for his glass and took a sip. "Not
usually, but I like it. You were right, the French know
how to make a good one." He took another taste. "How
the heck do you know how to order wine, anyway? And
I still don’t know how you got us in here on such short
notice."
"I dunno." Rory shrugged it off and buttered a roll.
"Been here a couple of times with my family. They
know my dad or something."
Kyle looked impressed, but Rory was bored with the
topic of discussion and turned their conversation to other
things. They chatted easily about school, friends, and of
course, Happy World. It seemed that Kyle knew plenty
of gossip about their coworkers, and revealed much of it
with only a little prompting from Rory.
Their food arrived and Rory laughed at Kyle’s
relieved expression when he tasted it. "Good," Kyle
pronounced with his mouth full.
"Of course it’s good." Rory dug in too and they ate in
companionable silence.
When their meal was complete, topped off with a
perfect vanilla bean crème Brule, Rory found himself
reluctant to end the evening. The valet brought Rory’s
truck around and they both climbed in.
"So, my mom’s out of town this week." It sounded
kind of dumb when he said it, especially considering
Kyle lived on his own. But Rory was kind of partial to
the fifty-five-inch television at his mom’s place and the
swimming pool in the back yard. She’d made out pretty
well in the divorce, and Rory sometimes wondered if
Happy World - 102
she avoided getting married again just to keep receiving
alimony from his father.
"Oh. Were you planning on introducing me?" Kyle
gave him a half-smile.
"No! I mean. Um, maybe. Sure. Sometime." Rory
found himself unexpectedly flustered. "Jeeze. I just
meant if you want to come over and go for a swim or
something, that’s all. Watch a DVD? We’ve got a good
library."
Kyle considered the invitation. "Are you allowed to
have friends over when your parents are gone?"
Rory snorted. "You and your rules. One, I’m twenty-
five years old. Two, there are no parents, there is only
parent, singular. My mom’s cool. She doesn’t care who
comes over, as long as I don’t drink her liquor cabinet
dry."
Kyle gave Rory a sidelong look. "You might be
twenty-five, but you still live at home." There was a
very gentle tease in the tone, if Rory listened hard
enough.
"Oh, you want to give me a hard time about that?"
Rory reached out and poked Kyle in the ribs.
"Hey!" Kyle laughed and grabbed Rory’s hand.
"Eyes on the road, hands on the wheel!"
"Fine, fine." Rory put both hands back on the steering
wheel. "So, is that a yes? You’ll come over?"
Kyle nodded and looked out his window. "Yes."
Rory made it home as fast as traffic laws would
allow. Suddenly, all he could think about was getting
Kyle naked somewhere in his house. That seemed to be
pretty much all he thought about lately when Kyle was
near him.
He pulled into the driveway and caught Kyle by the
hand as soon as the truck door was closed. "Come on,
I’ll give you the whirlwind tour. Here’s the front yard."
Happy World - 103
Rory gave a vague wave at it and then pulled Kyle up
the front steps and into the house. "Living room, dining
room, kitchen. Back porch is there." He pointed to the
sun room where Dandy was asleep on her bed. "Pool is
behind that. Want to swim?"
Kyle was looking around the spacious kitchen.
"Swim? I didn’t bring a suit. Wow, this place is really
nice." He craned his neck up to look at the wide
skylights that graced the ceiling.
"What do you need a suit for?" The more Rory
thought about it, the better it sounded. The weather was
perfect for a late swim. Especially a naked one. "Come
on. The pool is screened."
Florida weather necessitated a screen around and
over the pool to deter mosquitoes and other bugs, but it
also worked as a sort of privacy shield from their
neighbors. Rory had skinny-dipped out there plenty of
times. If anyone had seen him, he didn’t know about it.
Or care, really.
Kyle allowed himself to be dragged through the sun
room to the door in the pool fence. Rory let them in and
immediately stripped down, leaving his nice clothes in a
crumpled heap by one of the lounge chairs. It took him
another ten seconds to unhook the tiny tube of his
insulin pump and set it on the chair. Without even
looking at Kyle, he strode to the far end of the pool and
dove underwater.
By the time he surfaced in the shallow end, Kyle was
just finishing folding up Rory’s dress pants and shirt in a
neat pile on the chair. Rory watched with one eyebrow
arched as Kyle undressed and carefully did the same to
his own clothes.
"Seriously, man?" Rory used his hand to splash water
at Kyle. "Drop trou and get in here. Screw folding
them."
Happy World - 104
"I always fold," Kyle said primly. "What’s that?" He
motioned toward the little black box that Rory had put
on the lounge chair.
"Insulin pump," Rory explained. He waited for Kyle
to make a concerned face or ask a hundred questions
like other guys had, but Kyle merely nodded. Then he
made a neat stack of shirts and, without warning, turned
and cannonballed into the pool. Rory was doused.
"Hey! You’re a jerk!" Rory jumped on Kyle,
laughing and holding him underwater.
They wrestled and splashed for a few minutes. Kyle
was much stronger than he appeared and Rory found
himself pinned underwater several times. He was only
able to free himself by making a grab for Kyle’s cock,
which always made Kyle jump and loosen his hold
enough for Rory to wiggle away.
Finally, Rory was able to pin Kyle to the side of the
pool, his stomach pushed up flat against the brick and
Rory’s chest pressed against Kyle’s back. They were
both panting and laughing in between gasping breaths.
"Gotcha," Rory said, pressing in even harder. "Now
you’re stuck."
"Lucky me." Kyle turned his head to look at Rory
over his shoulder. "Now what?"
Now what, indeed? Rory’s dick was quite pleased to
be rubbing up against Kyle’s bare ass. "Now this," Rory
murmured and kissed him.
They were both wet and slick and their skin slid
against each other’s beautifully. Kyle moaned and tried
to turn around to face Rory, but Rory tightened his hold
and kept Kyle right where he was. "No, stay there,"
Rory whispered. "I like you where you are."
To prove the point, Rory slid one hand from Kyle’s
shoulder down to the curve of his ass. Letting his hand
linger there, Rory began sucking up a mark on Kyle’s
Happy World - 105
shoulder at the same time he began rubbing his erection
against Kyle’s crack.
Kyle made a soft sound and dropped his head
forward. One hand gripped the side of the pool but the
other one disappeared into the water. Rory looked over
Kyle’s shoulder and saw him jacking himself in time
with Rory’s thrusts against his ass.
"Oh, yeah," Rory encouraged. He moved his fingers
slightly and felt along Kyle’s crack, sliding them up and
back while he continued to thrust against smooth, wet
skin. He moved his free hand to Kyle’s chest and teased
at one of the small, peaked nipples Rory found there.
They had quieted to only soft sounds and murmurs
and a bit of splashing, but when Rory worked the tip of
one finger into Kyle’s ass, Kyle’s sounds grew louder
and a bit more urgent and his hand flew faster on his
prick. "Rory. Please."
Rory nodded against Kyle’s wet shoulder and slid his
finger in just a bit more. He was careful; Kyle was
awfully tight. The thought of how the tight passage
would feel around Rory’s cock almost made him come
right there, but he took a deep breath and found some
last vestiges of control.
When his finger was buried in Kyle’s ass, Rory
managed to turn his hand a bit and pressed forward. He
was rewarded with a jump and groan from Kyle.
"Again. Do that again!"
Rory obliged, pressing his finger up and forward
against the sensitive gland while still rubbing himself in
the perfect spot along Kyle’s crack. This wasn’t going to
last too much longer, but at the same time, Rory wanted
it to go on forever.
His cock had to be leaking, though of course it was
impossible to tell underwater. Rory gave himself an
Happy World - 106
absentminded reminder to have the pool guy come
tomorrow to clean.
He increased his pressure on Kyle’s gland while
rubbing himself a bit harder. "Kyle," he whispered. "Tell
me when." And please, for all that’s holy, let it be soon.
"Tell you-- oh, God!" Kyle tossed his head back and
cried out to the night sky, his body jerking back against
Rory’s finger and bucking into his own hand. Rory
could feel him shuddering.
"That," Rory said with a shaky laugh. He withdrew
his finger carefully and pressed his full body weight up
against Kyle’s limp form. With two more hard rubs
against Kyle’s ass, Rory came with hard, quick pulses.
It was a good thing that the pool steps were close to
them. Rory half-swam, half-sank onto the middle one,
pulling Kyle down with him. He leaned back onto the
step behind him and started laughing. "Don’t tell my
mom I came in her pool."
Kyle was nearly draped across his lap. "Okay," he
mumbled, one hand caressing Rory’s thigh. "Don’t tell
her I did, either."
"No problem. It’ll be our secret." Rory petted Kyle’s
shoulder and grinned up at the stars through the screen.
Take that, Charlie Taylor, he thought. Fuck you.
Happy World - 107
Chapter Eleven
Kyle sighed as he sank into one of the molded plastic
chairs in the cafeteria. He leaned his dustpan and
retractable claw against the wall next to the table, and
thought briefly about getting up to buy something to eat
on the lunch line, but quickly decided it wasn’t worth
the effort. Eating was overrated anyway. Resting was
much more important, especially since he only had
twenty minutes left to his break and another four hours
to get through until the end of his shift, and his feet were
already killing him. He tried to wiggle his toes and
fought the impulse to kick off his shoes.
He hated breaking in new tennis shoes. They were
always stiff and made his feet ache and his heels blister
for the first two weeks he wore them, probably since he
bought the least expensive ones he could find in Wal-
Mart instead of a pair from one of the better quality (and
pricier) shoe stores in the mall. Plus, his choices were
limited by more than budget -- he needed to adhere to
Happy World’s Wardrobe policy, which firmly stated
that tennis shoes be completely white (or black,
depending on the area of the Park you were scheduled
in), without any splash of color or visible trademark. No
comfortable, stylish Nikes or Adidas for his poor little
piggies, even if he could’ve afforded them.
He sighed again and let his mind wander. As usual, at
least lately, he thought about Rory. His thoughts went
back to the day before last, when he’d gone skinny-
dipping with Rory at Rory’s house after the great dinner
at Martinique. They’d had sex again, something that was
turning into a regular habit with them. Kyle’s lips
curved into a smile. A nice habit, to be sure, and one he
could get hopelessly used to, very fast. Except of course,
they simply had to stop doing it inside the Park. It was
Happy World - 108
too dangerous. If they were caught, they’d be fired on
the spot. Danger, though... it made everything just a
little more exciting, a little juicier. His smile broadened,
thinking about exactly how juicy Rory could be.
"Hope that smile is for me."
Kyle looked up and his smile instantly fled at the
sight of Charlie Taylor’s handsome face grinning down
at him. "Oh, hello."
Charlie was the last person Kyle wanted see. He
didn’t trust Charlie, and felt Charlie was up to
something, although what it might be, Kyle had no clue.
Still, it couldn’t be good. Charlie simply wasn’t that nice
a guy and had never found the time to acknowledge
Kyle’s existence before. Charlie’s sudden interest in him
was a giant red flag. He knew he sounded totally bitchy
but didn’t care.
To his chagrin, Charlie slid into the chair next to him.
"I heard you went to Martinique without me."
Kyle felt his mouth pop open. How did Charlie find
out? More importantly, why did Charlie care? "Uh... "
"Yeah. I have a buddy who waiters there part-time.
You must know him. Phil Setters? He’s one of the
character handlers here. He was working my Daniel the
Dragon Slayer autograph session yesterday. Told me
he’d seen you and a dark-haired guy at Martinique. Who
were you with?"
Kyle frowned, feeling anger begin to nip at his
normally placid personality. Where he chose to go and
who he spent his time with after his shift was over was
none of anybody’s business, including Charlie Taylor.
"Why do you care?"
"I asked you to go there first. What? Am I a freak or
something? Do I have warts, or drool uncontrollably?
Why would you say no to me, and yes to somebody
Happy World - 109
else? It was that Rory guy, wasn’t it? What did he do?
Hock his grabby claw to afford to take you there?"
"Charlie, it’s not you," Kyle said immediately,
although it was a lie. Of course it was Charlie. Kyle
wanted nothing to do with Charlie, but he didn’t want
any trouble either, and telling Charlie the truth would
probably only serve to give it to Kyle in spades.
Charlie’s temper was well known, and Kyle had already
felt the brunt of it several times. Charlie’s offhanded dig
at Rory pissed Kyle off, but he had no wish to tangle
with Charlie again. "We... had a previous engagement,
that’s all."
"Oh. Well, that’s good then. I can understand that."
Something in his expression told Kyle that Charlie
didn’t understand, not at all. Charlie’s eyes were cold
and hard. "You can make it up to me this Friday. What
time should I pick you up?"
Kyle felt the first stirrings of panic fluttering in his
stomach. "No, I mean I--"
Without warning, Charlie grabbed the front of Kyle’s
shirt and pulled him in close. Suddenly, Charlie’s lips
were crushed against Kyle’s. Kyle was shocked -- it was
the last thing Kyle ever expected Charlie to do,
especially in a public place. The kiss wasn’t passionate
at all; it was rigid and brutal. He could feel Charlie’s
teeth grinding against his lips. Kyle got the distinct
impression Charlie was punishing him with the kiss,
maybe because Charlie’s friend blabbed about seeing
Kyle at Martinique. He knew the news had made Charlie
mad. Kyle gave Charlie a push and sat back in his chair,
stunned. "Charlie, no! Stop!"
Charlie’s eyes narrowed and his voice lost all of its
previously friendly tone. It was obvious that Charlie
didn’t like the word "no." Kyle thought it was quite
possible no one had ever said it to Charlie in all of his
Happy World - 110
privileged, stuck-up, narcissistic life. "No? What do you
mean? Nobody’s looking at us."
For the first time, Kyle was actually a little scared of
Charlie. The idea occurred to him that Charlie might not
"punish" him with a kiss the next time Kyle pissed him
off. Next time, it might be Charlie’s fist that connected
with Kyle’s lips. "I... it’s not right. It’s against Happy
World policy. You know that. You don’t want to get
into trouble, do you?"
"Oh, yeah. I’m not worried. I’ve been caught doing
worse. I’m Daniel the-fucking-Dragon Slayer,
remember? I walk on water around here. So, how about
it? What time should I pick you up on Friday?"
"I... I can’t, Charlie. I’m sorry. I’m afraid I have
things to do on Friday." Kyle bit back the panic now
clawing at his throat. He had to get out of there, and
quick, before Charlie lost his temper again. He made a
show of glancing at his watch. "Oh, wow. Look at the
time. I have to run. Gotta get back onstage. Break’s
over. You know how it is. Can’t be late. Bye, now." He
jumped up and refused to look at Charlie as he gathered
up his claw and dustpan. He didn’t have a damn thing
scheduled for Friday night except doing his laundry, and
he didn’t want Charlie to see the lie that he knew must
be written all over his face.
He risked a glance back as he reached the door
leading from the cafeteria into the tunnel. There was
rage coloring Charlie’s features, but it melted into a
smile right before Kyle’s eyes, a predator’s grin that was
somehow much more sinister and threatening than
Charlie’s outright anger had been.
Kyle still didn’t know what Charlie had up his sleeve,
but the look in Charlie’s eyes cemented Kyle’s feeling
that whatever it was, it was going to be ugly.
Happy World - 111
***
Kyle tried hard to put Charlie and the unwanted kiss
out of his mind, and thinking about Rory was the perfect
way to do it. Kyle was scheduled in Fairy Tale Land all
day, and he knew Rory was working in Galaxy Land. It
was likely their paths would cross at some point, and
Kyle kept a keen eye out for Rory whenever he got
within spitting distance of Galaxy Land. He was
sweeping up in front of the Princess and the Pea rock
climbing wall when he finally spotted Rory. The
attraction, a gigantic wall built to resemble a stack of
mattresses with foot-and-hand holds spaced at regular
intervals, was situated at the crossroads of Fairy Tale
Land and Galaxy Land. Rory was scooping up trash in
front of Rocket Racers, the first attraction inside the
boundaries of Galaxy Land, and looked up at almost the
same moment, giving Kyle a wave.
He debated telling Rory about his latest run-in with
Charlie, but quickly decided against it. Rory would
probably do something all heroic, like finding Charlie
and decking him. That would only serve to get Rory
fired, and maybe rack up a few assault charges, too.
Kyle didn’t want to see Rory get in trouble over him.
He’d just avoid Charlie at all costs.
They met at the hedge separating the two areas,
staring at each other over the shrubbery like feuding
landowners, neither one willing to step over the line
drawn in green by the landscaping department.
"Well, look what the Hamster dragged in," Rory said.
His eyes sparkled and his grin did funny things to the pit
of Kyle’s stomach. Things that made Kyle want to drag
Rory deep into the shrubs, strip him bare and suck him
inside out.
Happy World - 112
He swallowed hard and tried to get his renegade
thoughts under control. "Uh, hey, Rory. How’s your day
going?"
"Oh, let’s see... picked up about a half ton of trash,
dealt with two protein spills, and found a lost kid who
screamed in my ear for fifteen minutes until we found
his parents." He rubbed his ear. "I think he might’ve
have caused permanent damage."
Kyle smirked. "I think you’ll live." He decided not to
tell Rory about his run-in with Charlie. Why get Rory
upset? Kyle was worried enough for the both of them.
Besides, maybe Charlie would lose interest and forget
Kyle existed again. "I got drafted to help with a VIP
today."
"Oh yeah?" Rory rested his long-handled dustbin in
front of him, and Kyle didn’t miss the way Rory’s hand
slid along his crotch as he did so. Guh. There was a
distinct bulge under Rory’s zipper. A nice bulge. One
that Kyle knew well. His fingers itched with the memory
of way Rory’s cock fit in his hand.
Kyle was trying hard not to stare at the erection
rearing at Rory’s crotch and failing. "Yeah. Tom Elliott.
You know must him -- he starred in that movie last year
about the robots. He was in the Park with his family."
Kyle shifted his weight, and looked around, hoping to
distract himself from his lascivious thoughts. No good.
All he could think about was Rory’s cock. Damn it. He
felt his dick fill. "I hate when those celebrities come into
the Park. They get preferential treatment, you know?
Everybody else has to wait in line for hours in the heat,
but the celebs get escorted past the lines and right into
the attraction. Then we get stuck having to explain to the
other guests why the VIPs are special." He was prattling,
and knew it, but was powerless to stop himself. He had
to keep talking to keep from saying what was really on
Happy World - 113
his mind -- namely, that Kyle was willing to drop trou
right there in front of God and everybody if Rory would
agree to suck his dick.
Or he would suck Rory’s. Either way was good.
He glanced at Rory and was surprised to see pink
flaring in Rory’s cheeks and wondered what Rory was
thinking. "Are you okay?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Me. I’m fine. Guess it pisses
everybody off when VIPs come in."
Why didn’t Kyle believe he was fine? "Yeah, usually.
I hate to complain about it. I mean, I know why the rules
regarding celebrities are in place, but it still bugs me."
"You? Complain about the rules? I’m shocked."
Kyle snorted and nodded. "I didn’t say I wouldn’t
follow them, only that I didn’t like them. Well-known
people like movie stars are apt to get trampled by the
regular guests if they wait in line. The stars are here to
have fun just like everyone else, and having people
pester them for photographs and autographs all the time
ruins the experience for them. But it still sucks to have
to run interference between them and the regular guests.
That’s what I had to do this afternoon. I spent a half
hour fielding angry questions from people standing in
line, wanting to know why Tom Elliott and his party got
to bypass the line. I just wish the Park would come up
with another way to handle celebrities." He bit his lip
and looked around to make sure he wouldn’t be
overheard. "Do you know what I did? I told the guests to
stop at the Customer Service kiosk and complain about
it."
Rory’s mouth quirked in a half smile. "Look at you,
being the little rebel! I’m proud of you. Why, the next
thing I know you’ll be organizing the union and
marching in a picket line."
Happy World - 114
Kyle laughed and shook his head. "Not me. You
know how I feel about Happy World. I just hate when
regular guests are made to feel less important than
movie stars or politicians. We had a rapper here last
month who made us close down the entire Western
Pavilion for him and his entourage." He shrugged a
shoulder. "It’s nothing new, though. It’s been going on
since the Park opened. Legend has it that twenty years
ago or so, a VIP from Happy World Corporate once had
Fairy Tale Land shut down in the middle of the day so
he could hold a private birthday party for one of his
kids. Can you imagine? Closing Fairy Tale Land? It’s
the most popular area of the Park! I wasn’t here then,
but one of the old-timers told me about it."
The pink in Rory’s cheeks suddenly deepened to
rose, again making Kyle wonder what was wrong with
him. Rory looked as if he were going to drop at any
second, do a face-plant into the hedges. Heat stroke was
a constant worry among Happy World Actors who spent
most of their shifts outside under the burning sun. Or
maybe Rory was having trouble with his diabetes. Kyle
didn’t know much about the illness, but he knew if
Rory’s sugar dropped too low or went too high it could
cause health problems. Kyle frowned and reached out to
touch Rory’s arm. "Are you okay? You don’t look so
good. Are you drinking enough water? Are your sugars
okay? Maybe you should go sit in the air conditioning
for a minute, or go to First Aid."
"No, I’m fine." Rory didn’t sound fine, though. His
voice was too tight, too controlled, and Kyle could see
his hands trembling. He looked very upset. "Maybe
you’re right. I’m just a little warm. I’ll see you later,
okay?" He walked off without another glance in Kyle’s
direction, leaving Kyle behind, scratching his head.
Happy World - 115
What the fuck had just happened? If he didn’t know
better, he’d think Rory was mad at him or something.
He hadn’t done anything, just shared the details of his
day. What had he said that made Rory so upset?
Happy World - 116
Chapter Twelve
He didn’t start feeling bad about his reaction to Kyle
until a day or so later. Rory knew that just walking away
from him like that had been kind of a dick move, but
Rory really hated talking about the preferential treatment
that VIPs or celebrities got when they visited the Park. It
was never going to change, so why get so worked up?
Rory knew he should apologize, though. Maybe take
Kyle out for lunch or something on their next day off.
Other than dinner last week, they hadn’t ever gone out
together just to do something fun. Central Florida was a
huge tourist area, so there was plenty to do. Water parks,
movies, zoos, museums, theaters… yeah, maybe it was
time for a real date.
As soon as he made the decision, Rory wanted to see
Kyle. He checked his watch and found six minutes left
before Kyle started his shift for the day, which meant
that Rory could conceivably leave his own shift six
minutes early and head down to the break room. He’d
learned the "stay out of a supervisor’s view" tricks fast
enough to give himself a little freedom while still on
Happy World’s clock.
He slid behind one of the fake brick walls in
Freedom’s Fair that declared "Happy World Actors
Only" and hurried down the steps to the tunnel that
would take him over to Fairy Tale Land. Rory was
getting kind of annoyed at the shift calendar. He and
Kyle had yet to be scheduled at the same time in the
same area of the Park. It was making their furtive sexual
encounters that much more difficult.
But fun. Always fun.
Rory grinned to himself, even though he knew there
was no way Kyle would mess around before his shift
and risk being late. Not even if Rory teased and flirted.
Happy World - 117
Kyle was still a stickler for rules, although he was
getting a little less rigid as time went on. Rory counted it
as a personal triumph.
The tunnel began slanting upwards and Rory knew he
was close to the Fairy Tale Land break room. Kyle
usually went there first before clocking in to take one
last sip from his water bottle in the fridge.
However, the only person in the break room was
Darren Hayes, a face character that Rory knew only
slightly but had always seemed like a nice enough guy.
Darren often played the role of King Oceanus on Shell
Island, though Rory had also seen him stand in
occasionally for Pierre.
"Damn," Rory muttered as he watched the clock tick
over to the hour. He knew Kyle was clocking in
somewhere above him right now.
"Thanks," Darren laughed. "I thought I took a shower
today." He made a show of sniffing himself.
Rory waved him off. "Nah, sorry. Was looking for
someone else."
"No one in here but us chickens. Who’re you looking
for?" Darren opened the fridge and took out what looked
like last night’s leftovers in a Styrofoam box.
"Kyle Forester." Rory sighed and slumped into a
plastic chair. "Too late, though." Damn. Now Kyle was
on shift for the next six hours and Rory would be
trapped over in Town Square, the main entrance to
Happy World.
"Wow, he’s a popular guy." Darren stuck his box in
the microwave and leaned on the counter, facing Rory.
"I didn’t even know the kid existed until Charlie started
talking about him."
God, Rory hated hearing that name. He was about to
say something rude in response when it occurred to him
that maybe there was information to be learned if he
Happy World - 118
played dumb. "Charlie?" he asked innocently. "Daniel-
Charlie?"
The microwave beeped and Darren retrieved his
lunch. The smell of marinara sauce and cheese drifted
toward Rory, making his stomach growl. "Yeah,"
Darren confirmed. "That’s the one. Charlie the virgin
slayer." He laughed at his own joke and took a big bite
of spaghetti and meatballs.
"Kyle’s just a Groundskeeper. What does Charlie
want with him? Hell, you better not let anyone see you
talking to me." Rory grinned. "They’ll demote you to
food services or something."
Darren made a face. "I don’t hold to all that cliquey
shit around here. I’ve already been through high school
once. I used to be engaged to a girl who worked the ice
cream cart over in Wild West Land. Nobody gave me
grief about it."
"Huh, cool." Rory nodded. "So, how come Charlie
was looking for Kyle, then? Going to propose to him or
something?"
A forkful of pasta almost landed on Darren’s shirt as
he laughed. "Hey, funny. I don’t know, man. I think
they’re going out. Caught them making out in the break
room a few days ago."
"They what?" The words came out much louder than
Rory had intended.
"Okay, maybe not making out." Darren rolled his
eyes. "But they were kissing. Least, that’s what I saw on
my way out the door. Charlie wasn’t shy about it,
either."
The rage that instantly boiled up in Rory made it hard
for him to think. "You saw Charlie and Kyle kissing?
Was anyone else in there?" Maybe Darren had it wrong.
Maybe it only looked like they were kissing, when in
fact Kyle was actually punching Charlie. Or something.
Happy World - 119
"I dunno, man. It was a couple of days ago. There
could’ve been someone else in there." Darren shrugged.
"I don’t get involved in other people’s business."
Great. This whole Park is a hotbed of gossip and I
find the one guy who doesn’t get involved.
"Oh right, sure." Rory nodded vigorously. "Me either.
Mostly." His gaze drifted to the clock on the wall.
Fifteen minutes left in his break. Seemed like just
enough time to find Kyle and ask him about his new
boyfriend. "I gotta go. Take it easy, Darren."
Rory barely heard Darren’s goodbye as he barreled
out of the break room and up the stairs to the stage door.
His common sense was telling him that it was a horrible
time to confront Kyle about this, that they both could get
in trouble or even fired if they made a scene where
guests could see, but Rory kept on going anyway.
Fairy Tale Land was as crowded as always. On any
given day, it was the most populated land in the Park.
None of the rides had height or age restrictions and all of
them were suitable for very young children. Rory always
had to laugh when he saw the fathers uncomfortably
squeezed into the tiny cars on the Red Riding Hood or
Three Little Pigs ride.
It wasn’t a big area, but the narrow walkways and
heavy crowds made it nearly impossible for Rory to
easily spot the white costume of the Groundskeepers.
Not to mention the fact that he was wearing one too,
thereby making himself a target for questions from
guests. "I’m on my break," was not a sufficient answer.
If he was in costume and onstage, he was expected to
answer guest questions.
He finally broke free of the most congested area --
why they put the Three Bears walk-through house and
the Hansel and Gretel ride in one tiny corner was
beyond Rory’s realm of thought -- and climbed up onto
Happy World - 120
a bench that was in the shade of Candy Mountain. It
allowed him a bit of a vantage point, although he knew
that employees were strictly forbidden from standing on
the benches and tables.
Rory stood on his tiptoes and craned his neck. The
only white costume he saw belonged to Tiffany Meyer,
the other Groundskeeper scheduled on Kyle’s shift.
Maybe she’d know where Kyle was.
He was just about to hop down and make his way
through the crowd again to Tiffany when the flash of
another white costume caught Rory’s eye. Bingo. Kyle
was sweeping up what looked like the remains of a
dropped ice cream cone.
The line for Rumpelstiltskin’s Gold snaked out into
the walkway. Rory thought about telling the ride
operators up front that they needed to open up the queue,
but his urgency to get to Kyle won out. Besides, he was
still on his break for another nine minutes.
He squeezed through the mob of tired, sweaty people
who were standing in line until he reached the area
where Kyle was doing his sweeping.
"Hey!" Kyle looked up and gave Rory the kind of
smile that Rory was fast coming to recognize as one that
was for him alone. Any other time, Rory would have
smiled back and tried to think of a way to get Kyle
somewhere private.
"Hey." Rory wrapped his fingers around Kyle’s bicep
and pulled him around the corner of the Rumpelstiltskin
tower. There was a small alcove that housed a drinking
fountain there, but most guests seemed to bypass it in
favor of the one next to the restroom. At this moment in
time, it was relatively deserted.
"Rory!" Kyle hissed, but he was still smiling. "Not
here, are you crazy? And you only have a few more
Happy World - 121
minutes of your break. Meet me tonight after I clock out;
I’ll wait for you outside Wardrobe."
It would have been easy to let the whole thing go,
especially in the face of Kyle’s invitation, but then Rory
remembered the stomach-turning nausea he’d felt when
Darren had mentioned Charlie and Kyle kissing. "What
the hell are you doing with Charlie Taylor?" Rory
demanded, his hand still gripping Kyle’s arm.
The flash of guilt that crossed Kyle’s face was
exactly the opposite of what Rory was hoping for.
"Wh… what do you mean? I’m not doing anything with
him." Kyle glanced around uneasily.
"That’s not what I heard. I heard you’ve been doing a
lot with him."
"What? From who?" Kyle wrenched his arm out of
Rory’s grasp and gave another nervous look at the
crowd around them. Rory knew this public showdown
had to be killing him.
"Darren Hayes saw you guys messing around in the
break room. You couldn’t even do me the favor of
finding somewhere no one would see you? I know we’re
not, like, exclusive or anything, but Jesus Christ, Kyle."
Rory didn’t realize just how hurt he was until the words
came out.
Kyle raised his eyes and finally met Rory’s gaze.
"Messing around? Are you freaking kidding me?!"
A little girl was approaching the drinking fountain
next to where Rory stood, but upon hearing Kyle raise
his voice, she turned on her heel and skedaddled back to
her parents.
"No," Rory said calmly. "I’m definitely not kidding.
Darren said he saw you and Charlie making out a few
days ago. Why the hell would he lie?"
Kyle rolled his eyes. "Darren told you he saw us. Did
he tell you that Charlie was forcing it on me? Did he tell
Happy World - 122
you I said no and pushed him and then turned him down
for a date again? Did he hear that part? Or how about
where I had to get up and leave the room to make
Charlie leave me alone? Did Darren tell you all that,
too?"
Rory blinked at him. "Um… no. He didn’t."
"Course he didn’t. He and Charlie work together, so
why the hell would he believe me over him? Charlie
probably bragged to Darren after I left." Kyle’s eyes
were flashing and there were two spots of color high in
his cheeks.
"You didn’t tell me Charlie was harassing you," Rory
said in a low voice. "Did he really do that? Force
himself on you?"
Kyle huffed out a frustrated sound. "Yes. I don’t
know why. He found out you and I went to Martinique
and was pissed, I guess." Kyle snapped his grabby claw
a couple of times and glared at the ground.
"We need to report him." Rory was ready to do it
now, too. Fuck his shift. He’d go right now with Kyle to
Human Resources and get Charlie fired. Sexual
harassment was against the law.
Kyle looked alarmed. "Rory, no! God, this is why I
didn’t tell you! It wasn’t really a big deal, okay? I told
him to stop and I’m not going out with him. He’ll find
someone else to bother and forget all about me. It’ll go
back to normal."
Rory had some serious doubts about that, but the fear
on Kyle’s face was enough to make Rory take a deep,
calming breath. "You can’t ignore it," he warned.
"Charlie won’t forget about you. He wants to get back at
me, and he knows the best way to do it is through you."
"Rory, please," Kyle implored him. "We’ve already
gotten in enough trouble here. They know my name
now. I have a file." He looked horrified at the thought
Happy World - 123
and Rory had to struggle not to laugh. "Please. Please let
it go, okay? I promise I won’t let Charlie corner me like
that anymore."
If Charlie wanted to get at Kyle, Rory knew he could
do it. But Kyle seemed upset enough about the situation,
so Rory didn’t want to add fuel to the fire. "Fine," he
sighed. "But you listen to me good, Kyle. If that guy
ever makes another douchebag move, he’s done. I’ll
make sure his ass is fired."
He didn’t bother saying that he’d also beat the ever-
loving shit out of Charlie, but Kyle could probably guess
what Rory meant. Rory hoped he could, anyway.
"Okay." Kyle nodded. "I hear. It won’t happen. Don’t
worry."
I do worry, Rory thought to himself as he looked into
Kyle’s worried eyes. I worry a lot.
"Sure," Rory agreed. "I won’t worry."
"Good." Kyle slid past Rory, back into the bright
sunlight. "Do you still want to meet up after work?" He
looked as if he doubted Rory would want to.
Rory nodded and offered Kyle a smile. "Definitely.
You’re here until eight?"
Clearly relieved, Kyle smiled back. "Yeah. Meet me
for cheeseburgers?"
"With extra pickles. I’ll see you tonight." Rory
winked and made sure Kyle saw him give a slow look
up and down. Sure enough, there was the blush.
"Rory, jeeze," Kyle mumbled, cheeks pink. He turned
away, but not before Rory saw the small smile on his
face.
As Rory headed back down to the break room to
collect his broom and dustpan -- whoops, already four
minutes late -- he debated with himself over whether or
not he could actually let the situation go, as he’d told
Kyle he would. On one hand, Charlie deserved to be
Happy World - 124
fired for what he’d done. On the other hand, Rory had
promised Kyle he wouldn’t go to Human Resources
with the issue.
But had Rory said anything about not doling out a
little vigilante justice on his own? He didn’t think he
had.
Charlie Taylor had better learn how to look over his
shoulder, if he was smart.
Happy World - 125
Chapter Thirteen
Kyle tried to concentrate on work. He really did, but
his upsetting conversation with Rory kept replaying in
his head. Rory wasn’t going to let the situation with
Charlie rest. The fury flashing in Rory’s eyes when Rory
cornered him at the water fountain under
Rumpelstiltskin’s tower startled Kyle. It was exactly
why Kyle hadn’t told Rory about the incident. He knew
Rory would want blood from Charlie over it, and while
Kyle was flattered over Rory’s reaction, it also terrified
him.
Rory’s angry reaction told Kyle that Rory had
feelings for him, although he couldn’t be sure how deep
they went or how solid they were, which was the only
bright point in the entire situation. Maybe Rory was so
angry because he and Kyle were friends, but Kyle had
the niggling suspicion that Rory’s feelings were of a
different stripe than mere friendship. He smiled to
himself, thinking he sort of liked the idea of Rory acting
all possessive over him. He’d never had anyone who
wanted him so badly. It was heady stuff.
At the same time, the very idea of going to Human
Resources and filing a formal complaint about Charlie
made Kyle’s blood run cold. He knew how things
worked at Happy World. Human Resources would take
the complaint, and by law, they’d have to follow
through with it if for no other reason than to avoid a
huge lawsuit. There’d be statements taken, and hearings
held, the union would get involved, and maybe Charlie
would be fired as a result.
It wouldn’t be a total victory for Kyle, though.
Although Happy World couldn’t legally do anything to
Kyle because he filed a sexual harassment complaint,
there were other, more subtle ways to retaliate.
Happy World - 126
People would gossip, for one. Some people might
understand, but others would say Kyle asked for it, was
flirting with Charlie, that the harassment was somehow
Kyle’s fault.
His bosses would label Kyle a troublemaker. Not on
paper, of course, but the managers would talk, and the
word would get out. He’d seen it happen before, to
others. They would watch Kyle constantly, write him up
for the tiniest infractions, and give him the least
desirable shifts and duties. Maybe there would be a
sudden overabundance of trainers in Groundskeeping,
and he’d lose his place on the training team. He would
never get a decent raise, never get his pick of shifts,
never be in the running for any of the employee awards
like Groundskeeper of the Month, or Happy World’s
highest honor, Actor Extraordinaire. There would be no
reduction in his salary or benefits, of course, nothing
that Kyle could use to prove they were harassing him,
but he’d be miserable just the same. The goal would be
to force Kyle to quit without having to risk firing him,
and he admitted they might very well succeed.
Either Rory didn’t understand how the system
worked, or else his strong feelings blinded him to the
possible ramifications of Kyle filing charges against
Charlie.
Kyle wasn’t so naïve. He loved his job too much;
there was no way he could allow Rory to talk him into
filing charges. No way.
Plus, there was an open audition for characters
coming up the following week. Kyle had been practicing
for months, hoping it would be his chance to get out of
Groundskeeping and into Entertainment, and finally
realize his dream. Not that he thought for a minute he’d
have a chance at a face character, but he would be
thrilled they selected him to play any of the suited furry
Happy World - 127
characters. He’d spent hours in front of a mirror in his
apartment practicing pantomime. You had to be able to
convey feelings and emotions without speaking if you
were in a fur suit. The big, oversized character heads
precluded anyone from seeing your facial expressions,
too. Everything had to be conveyed through expressive,
bigger-than-life body language.
He’d practiced dancing, too, in case he could snag a
part as a chorus boy in the shows. He’d nearly worn
groove in his living room carpet doing his jazz routines,
and there were permanent pockmarks in the kitchen
linoleum from his taps.
Rory was going to try out, too. They’d made plans to
go together, and talked about how great it would be if
they both won spots in Entertainment.
It would never happen if Kyle filed charges. Never,
not if he worked at Happy World for a million years,
would he ever get out of Groundskeeping. Kyle would
be blacklisted forever.
He began cleaning up a recent protein spill at the
Hansel and Gretel ride. Whoever thought it was a good
idea to put a turkey leg stand right next to a spinning and
bumping attraction never had to pour Voban, a mixture
that strongly resembled cat litter, on regurgitated turkey
bits. So many kids got sick after riding it that instead of
"Hansel and Gretel’s Breadcrumb Trail," Kyle thought
they should have named the ride "Hansel and Gretel’s
Lost Lunch."
Kyle tried to keep focused on the task at hand, but he
couldn’t stop worrying that Rory would do something
stupid -- if incredibly sweet -- like confronting Charlie,
or reporting the incident. He made up his mind to talk to
Rory about it at length when they met after Kyle’s shift.
He had to convince Rory that the best course of action
Happy World - 128
was to let it go, and forget the whole thing ever
happened.
***
The fast food restaurant was packed when Kyle and
Rory arrived at Burger Heaven, mostly with Happy
World Actors. The hamburger joint was known for its
generous servings and low prices, a perfect combination
for those working at or just above minimum wage and
looking for a bite to eat. Especially popular was the
fixings bar, where people could pile lettuce, tomatoes,
pickles, and onions on their burgers, or where people
who didn’t have the cash to buy a Goliath Burger or a
Cheezy Deluxe could covertly stuff themselves with the
free condiments.
It took them nearly twenty minutes to get their food,
fix their burgers, and snag a table for two near the
windows. Kyle sighed as he took a large bite of his
cheeseburger, beef juice and ketchup dribbling down his
chin. His angry stomach rumbled once, almost as if
chiding him for waiting so long to fill it, then settled
happily down. He’d missed lunch when forced to deal
with a Groundskeeping emergency -- some dumbass
filled the bubble machine at the Bubble, Bubble, Toil
and Trouble Emporium with dishwashing liquid, and the
sudsy mess nearly swamped the street and the nearby
attractions. He didn’t know who did it, but was sure that
whoever it was had a pink slip waiting for them. The
mess tied up the area for hours while Groundskeeping
tried to mop it up.
He swallowed his bite of burger and opened his
mouth to tell Rory about it, but Rory beat him to the
punch.
Happy World - 129
"We need to talk about this Charlie thing. We have to
do something about it, Kyle."
Kyle felt his stomach twist, an unfortunate occurrence
since he’d so recently filled it with masticated chunks of
medium-rare Cheezy Deluxe with extra onions. He had
to swallow hard to keep the burger from making an
unwanted reappearance. Oh, he just knew Rory wouldn’t
let it go! "Rory, I told you I just want to forget it ever
happened."
Rory sat back in his chair, ignoring his food, fingers
tapping on the table as he stared out the window at the
crowded parking lot. His face was dark and troubled,
and Kyle instantly lost his appetite, hating that they were
arguing over stupid Charlie Taylor.
Again.
"Come on, what’s wrong, Rory? Don’t tell me you
still don’t believe me!"
"I just don’t get it, Kyle. If Charlie forced himself on
you, why don’t you want to report it? If it was me, I’d
be furious. If nothing else, I’d want to make sure Charlie
didn’t do it to anybody else!"
Kyle felt blood rush to his face. "You make it sound
like I’m either guilty, or a selfish bastard. I don’t... I
can’t... I have to think about my job, Rory! And what do
you mean, ‘if’ Charlie forced me? You still don’t believe
me. You think I wanted to kiss him!"
"I didn’t say that." Something in Rory's expression
told Kyle otherwise.
"You didn’t have to!" Kyle pushed his half-eaten
burger away. His appetite was gone. He took a deep
breath and tried to calm himself. "Look, Rory, you don’t
understand how it can be for somebody who reports
something as serious as sexual harassment at Happy
World. Management will think I’m not a team player.
Happy World - 130
They’ll think I’m a troublemaker. I’ll never get out of
Groundskeeping!" Why did this have to happen, just
when he’d been so happy with Rory, and so excited
about the upcoming Entertainment open call? It’s your
own fault, a spiteful little voice whispered in his mind.
This is what you get for breaking the rules. It’s karma,
come around to take a nice big chunk out of your butt
for messing around with Rory in the Park. To his horror,
Kyle found himself near tears, and he turned away,
rubbing his hand angrily over his eyes.
He could feel Rory’s eyes burning into the back of
his neck. When he risked a peek back, Rory’s angry
expression was melting into one of remorse. "Oh, man...
I’m sorry, Kyle. I didn’t mean to get you all upset again.
Look, it just grinds my balls that Charlie can be such an
asshole and get away with it. He hurt you, and that
pisses me off."
Kyle blinked at Rory, feeling his anger washed away
by a feeling of pleased warmth. "It does?"
"Of course it does! Do you know what they call
Charlie behind his back? Charlie-the-Virgin-Slayer.
He’s got a reputation for playing with people, for using
them to get what he wants, Kyle. I don’t want that to be
you. I don’t want him to hurt you."
Kyle felt his lips curve in a smile, even if tears still
threatened, although for a different reason. He'd been
right. Rory did have feelings for him! "Thanks, but he’ll
only hurt me if I let him, right? Next time he tries
anything, I’ll knee him such a good one, he'll be singing
soprano with the Christmas chorus this year."
Rory laughed. "Okay, then." Then the smile dropped
from Rory’s face and his expression grew serious.
"Listen, I promise I’ll never mention it again after today,
but I have to say it now. If Charlie ever forces you to do
anything you don’t want to do again, all bets are off,
Happy World - 131
Kyle. I’ll find him and ram my grabby claw so far up his
ass I’ll be able to pull out his spleen and feed it to him
for lunch. Nobody hurts you and gets away it. Nobody."
Does that include you? Kyle wondered, but bit his
tongue and just nodded. It was weird for him, having
somebody who was so protective and possessive of him,
and he wasn’t entirely sure if he liked it. He liked the
way Rory made him feel, but he worried that Rory
would try to control him, run his life for him. He didn't
want a relationship where he had to justify himself all
the time, or watch who he smiled at or talked with. "Just
promise me one thing. Believe me when I tell you
something, Rory. I don’t lie, not ever, and it’s insulting
when you doubt my word. You’re supposed to be my
friend."
Rory blushed and looked abashed. "I guess it sounded
that way, didn't it? I promise. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have
believed Darren when he told me about Charlie kissing
you. I should’ve known there was more to it. And
Kyle?"
"Yeah?"
"You have to know that we’re not just friends
anymore, right?"
Kyle felt his cheeks flush. "Yeah, I know. It’s just
that we never really talked about, you know...
exclusivity or anything."
"Well, maybe it’s time we did."
Kyle’s eyes flashed open. Was Rory saying what it
sounded like he was saying? "You mean, be a couple?
You and me?"
"No, me and Happy Hamster. Of course, I mean you
and me. Unless you don’t want to be with me."
"Oh, I want to! I mean, you know, if you want to." He
tried to keep his face from splitting into a wide grin and
failed. All his worries about Charlie, about possible
Happy World - 132
ramifications of filing a sexual harassment suit, and
Rory's doubting him, everything vanished in an instant.
"I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t." Rory took his
hand and held it, gave it a squeeze. "There, it’s all
settled. Now, let’s eat. We both have early mornings
tomorrow, and I have plans for you for after dinner."
Kyle started to ask what sort of plans Rory had, but
one look at the lascivious expression in Rory’s eyes told
him the answer. He practically stuffed the rest of his
burger in his mouth and swallowed without bothering to
waste time chewing.
They never made it past the parking lot.
Kyle just opened the door of Rory's car when a hand
clamped down on his shoulder. He stiffened, wondering
if he was about to be mugged, and if his assailant would
be satisfied with the few dollars Kyle had in his wallet.
It wouldn't be the first time somebody was held up in the
parking lot of Burger Heaven.
Then he looked across the roof of Rory's car and saw
the look on Rory's face. Rory didn't look frightened... he
looked pissed off. Rory's face was a thunderous black
cloud, his lips pulled back to show his teeth.
Kyle risked a look over his shoulder and was shocked
to see Charlie standing behind him. A few of Charlie's
friends stood nearby, waiting. There wasn't a smile
among them except for Charlie's grin, which struck Kyle
as plastic and false.
"Hey, babe. Fancy meeting you here."
Kyle tried to shrug off Charlie's hand, but Charlie's
fingers dug into his shoulder blade. "Let go, Charlie!"
Kyle heard Rory slam his door and heard a thump.
He turned his head in time to see Rory sliding over the
hood of the car. "Get your fucking hands off him!"
Charlie's friends rushed up, putting themselves
between Rory and Charlie. Charlie sneered at Rory.
Happy World - 133
"Aw, green just isn't your color, shithead. I just want a
few words with Kyle, here."
"He's got nothing to say to you!"
"He's got a mouth. He can speak for himself," Charlie
said. "A very sweet mouth, might I add, and he knows
what to do with it, too. Don't you, babe?"
To Kyle's horror, Charlie leaned in and flicked his
tongue over Kyle's mouth. Kyle was sorely tempted to
try to bite it off. He shoved Charlie away. "Get away
from me, asshole!"
"Ooh, baby's got a dirty mouth tonight! I like it."
Charlie's grin was icy cold and sent a shiver dancing
down Kyle's spine. What the hell was he up to?
Rory roared, trying to push past Charlie's friends.
"Get away from him, Charlie, or so help me, I'll--"
Charlie laughed, and slung his arm around Kyle's
shoulder, despite Kyle's efforts to keep him off. "You'll
do what? File a grievance with Happy World? We're not
on the clock, dipshit." He gestured toward his friends.
"Besides, I've got a ton of witnesses. You try anything,
and not only will I get your sorry ass fired, but I'll have
you arrested for assault."
He'd do it, too, Kyle knew. Charlie would get Rory
fired simply because he could if Rory gave him the
slightest excuse. Kyle slipped out from under Charlie's
arm. "Leave him alone. What do you want, anyway?"
"I want what we had before, Kyle, before this asshole
got hired and started fucking with your head. You're
mine. You always have been. Come on, baby... don't
you remember how fucking good we are together?"
Kyle was stunned and confused. Why was Charlie
pretending they'd been lovers? Charlie barely knew Kyle
was alive before Rory came to work at Happy World.
Then, suddenly, all the pieces fell into place, and he
understood.
Happy World - 134
It was Rory Charlie wanted. Rory turned Charlie
down in favor of Kyle. Charlie wanted revenge on Kyle,
not Rory, and he was trying to get it by breaking them
up. Evidently, if Charlie couldn't have Rory, nobody --
especially a nobody like Kyle -- could have him. Kyle
looked at Rory and with horror saw the indecision in
Rory's eyes. "Rory, don't listen to him!"
"Hey, you can't fuck both of us," Charlie said. "That
would just make you a whore. Are you a whore, Kyle?
You know, I'm getting tired of this game you're
playing."
"You're a lying sack of shit, Charlie!"
"Ouch, babe, you're hurting my feelings. Don't say
things you'll regret." Charlie looked at Rory. "You know
my little honey is just using you, right? He does it all the
time. New guy comes into Groundskeeping, and Kyle
just can't resist trying to get the guy into bed. Gets some
nice dinners out of the deal and a couple of good fucks,
but then he gets tired of them, and always comes back to
me."
"He's lying, Rory!" Kyle cried. "Rory, tell me you
don't believe him!"
Rory looked from Kyle to Charlie and back again.
Kyle could see uncertainty coloring Rory's expression.
"I... I... "
Charlie chuckled. "Well, I'll leave you two to say
your goodbyes. I'll call you later, Kyle." He nodded
toward his friends, and the group swaggered off toward
the entrance to Burger Heaven.
Kyle felt sorrow pierce his heart, deep and painful,
followed swiftly by anger. Rory believed Charlie!
Believed Kyle was a slut, a whore who fucked around
and was two-timing Rory for shits and giggles. He was
devastated, especially considering their conversation in
Happy World - 135
Burger Heaven. Exclusive, my ass! How can I be
exclusive with somebody who doesn't trust me?
Rory shook his head, watching them go. "Kyle, I--"
"Shut up, Rory. Leave me alone," Kyle hissed. He
narrowed his eyes at Rory. "You believed him. You
believed everything he said! Well, that's it. We're done.
Goodbye."
Rory tried to grab Kyle's arm but Kyle shrugged him
off and started walking. With a sinking heart, he realized
Rory wasn't following him.
It was over between them, for good, and it hurt that
Rory would let him go so easily.
Happy World - 136
Chapter Fourteen
Well, that’s it. We’re done. Goodbye.
Over the next few days, Rory kept replaying the
words in his head. For real? Who even talked like that?
It was so… so… Rory wasn’t sure what word he was
looking for, but it was probably something like
"clichéd". You didn’t just end relationships like that, for
Christ’s sake.
It was the reason he’d just let Kyle walk away from
him in the parking lot that night. Rory had been so
confused by what he was hearing that it hadn’t even
occurred to him to call Kyle back. He’d half expected
Kyle to stop in his tracks and turn around, but by the
time Rory realized that wasn’t happening, Kyle was
gone.
And then Rory got mad.
Being shouted at in the parking lot of Burger Heaven
was not exactly cool. Especially not when Charlie was
sitting there smirking at both of them, enjoying the
show. Plus, the fact that Kyle played right into Charlie’s
little trap after Rory had been warning Kyle about him
forever was totally fucked up. This was exactly what
Charlie had wanted!
Yeah, Rory was pissed. Any ideas he’d had about
calling Kyle or going over to see him to make things
right had vanished. Why the hell had Kyle just flown off
the handle like that?
If Rory were going to be honest with himself about
the whole thing, he did have to admit that he’d let
Charlie infuriate him. The way he’d talked about Kyle
and the imaginary things they’d done together… well.
There had been a moment where Rory had had a bit of
doubt. Charlie just seemed so sure, so cocky.
Happy World - 137
Kyle belonged to Rory, goddammit. Or rather, he
used to belong to Rory. Now things were all screwed up
and Rory was mad, and all thanks to Charlie fucking
Taylor.
Fuck everything.
He’d almost decided not to go to the casting call
today. The call sheet hadn’t been specific about which
characters they were looking for. It was just a general
"Casting for Parade Performers and Happy World
Character Look-Alikes". "Look-alikes" were the people
who most closely resembled Happy World’s animated
cartoons. Happy World had very strict guidelines and
regulations about their face characters, including proper
eye color and height. Rory had no damn idea if he
looked like any of the Happy World characters and
almost decided to scrap the whole thing, but then he
reconsidered.
Kyle was going to be there. If Rory didn’t go, Kyle
would think he’d run Rory off or that Rory was too
embarrassed to show his face or something. And that
wasn’t going to happen.
The auditions were at two p.m. and Rory was going
to be there.
***
Sign-ins were promptly at two. Rory scribbled his
name on the sheet and retreated to the corner of the
room, next to the ballet barre and the big mirror. Several
people were already there, using the barre to stretch, or
practicing a routine in the mirror.
He knew that it was possible that they would all be
taught a short piece of choreography, but he’d heard
from other employees that sometimes it didn’t matter if
the dance steps were forgotten or done wrong. The
Happy World - 138
interviewers would be looking for animated faces, hand
movements, big smiles. Rory had heard plenty of people
talking about demonstrating coordination and attitude
during their tryouts. He wasn’t too worried about it.
Rory tried to pretend he wasn’t watching the door for
Kyle, but as soon as Kyle entered the room, Rory went
on alert. He kept his back to the door but used the mirror
to track Kyle’s every move, noting that Kyle seemed
nervous. It made sense, considering that Rory knew how
much Kyle wanted to get out of Groundskeeping, and
this could be his ticket.
For a minute -- thirty seconds, maybe -- Rory felt a
wave of guilt. Kyle had wanted this for years, and here
Rory was, trying to take that away from him. It wasn’t
the most fair or chivalrous thing to do, even though the
two of them had discussed it at length before their fight.
"I want you to audition, too," Kyle had said. They
had just finished messing around and were sprawled
across Kyle’s bed, limbs tangled.
"Nah. Why?" Rory laughed off the idea.
"Because you’d make a great face character!" Kyle
sat up and Rory was immediately distracted by his
nakedness.
"I’ll give you a face character," Rory leered, reaching
for him.
Kyle laughed and moved away. "Listen, I’m serious.
Try out with me. It’s an open call for dancers and
character look-alikes, so there are a lot of spots
available. We won’t necessarily be competing with each
other, and just think, what if we both get it? No more
cleaning up little kids’ puke!"
Rory grinned, pleased both with Kyle’s attitude and
the fact that he was finally calling "protein spills" by
their real name. Off the clock, at least. "I don’t look like
Happy World - 139
any of Happy World’s characters," he chuckled. "And I
can’t dance."
Kyle had raised an eyebrow and went to retrieve his
Happy World handbook. He flipped to the back where
there was a list of all the characters that made regular
appearances in the Park. "Look." He pointed at King
Oceanus. "You look like him, and you have the body for
it." King Oceanus often appeared shirtless or in
something wet. Rory thought Happy World had a weird
idea of what constituted appropriate attire.
He tilted his head and studied the picture. "Maybe.
Darren plays him, though."
"You know there are at least three Actors for each
face character! Darren can’t be there for every single
Oceanus appearance. But okay, look. Here’s another
one." Kyle turned two pages and displayed a picture of a
mischievous-looking character in a jester’s hat. "You
look like Jester Jax, too."
"Thanks, asshole." Rory chuckled and gave Kyle a
shove. Jester Jax was funny and always getting into
trouble over there in Queen Fantastical’s court in Fairy
Tale Land, but who the hell wanted to wear a jester’s
costume?
Kyle shut the book. "Okay, the point is, you don’t
need to dance or sing to be a character look-alike. And
there are plenty of roles available! You and I don’t even
have to try out for the same thing!"
In the end, Rory had given in, mostly because Kyle
had begged and pleaded and then given him a very nice
blow job. It was hard to turn someone down when your
dick was in his mouth.
But now, all of his doubts about doing the audition
were coming back. He didn’t care about being in
Entertainment; at least, not as much as Kyle did. Maybe
this was a mistake.
Happy World - 140
Rory was two seconds away from crossing his name
off the audition sheet and leaving when Charlie fucking
Taylor, of all people, strolled into the audition room.
Rory watched him cross the floor and talk to one of the
casting directors. They both nodded and laughed, then
Charlie took a seat at one of the long tables with the rest
of the casting team.
Oh, for crying out loud. Rory stared at the table and
watched Charlie joke and laugh with the other Actors
who would be judging the auditions. Was it possible that
Charlie was actually part of the casting team? This just
went from bad to worse.
However, one look across the room at Kyle made
Rory change his mind about leaving. As pissed as he
was at the guy, Rory couldn’t bear the thought of
leaving Kyle alone to audition. Not with Charlie on the
judges’ panel.
His damn protective streak was becoming a problem,
Rory realized. He ought to get a handle on that.
Not surprisingly, auditions began at the stroke of two.
Happy World lived by the clock. A few instructions
were given by a casting director, mostly to separate
those who were auditioning for a singing or dancing
part, and those who were interested in a face character
part. Rory waited to see if Kyle would join the group
who was going next door to learn a dance routine, but he
stayed put. Interesting.
Next, the casting director introduced himself and his
casting team. Rory rolled his eyes when Charlie got a
smattering of applause from the applicants. Clearly,
everyone knew who he was.
One of the casting team members got up and showed
the applicants a very simple, eight count routine. It
consisted of two or three dance steps and some hand
gestures, ending with a big smile and dramatized facial
Happy World - 141
expressions. It was simple enough to memorize. Rory
repeated the steps to himself under his breath while
waiting his turn to audition, all the while sneaking
glances at Kyle.
Kyle looked even more nervous than before. Rory
could see him sending apprehensive looks Charlie’s
way, even though Charlie just seemed to ignore Kyle
completely. Two groups of people went through their
audition routine for the judges, and then Rory heard
them call Kyle’s name.
Rory went and sat in one of the folding chairs to
watch. Kyle stepped up to the edge of the floor with the
two other people in his group, and when the music
started, he went through his routine quickly and easily.
He’d done well, and if Rory wasn’t still irked over the
way he’d been treated by Kyle, he would have gotten up
to congratulate him.
The only thing that drew Rory’s attention away from
Kyle was Charlie. Rory watched him whisper to one of
the other casting team members and shake his head. The
other team member nodded slowly and marked
something down on the sheet in front of him.
No. Charlie wouldn’t dare screw with Kyle’s
audition. Not unless… not unless maybe he and Kyle
had really had something going on and now Charlie was
pissed about it ending.
All the rage that Rory had managed to push back and
suppress was boiling up again. Rage at Charlie, at Kyle,
even at goddamn Happy World for being such a
corporate machine. This was ridiculous. Rory got up and
took a step toward the door, but then his name was
called.
"Jenny Cooper, Rory Stafford, Benjamin Tan. Line
up on your marks, please!"
Happy World - 142
Fuck it. He’d do the audition and then get himself the
hell out of here, and possibly out of Happy World. He
didn’t need the grief this job was bringing him.
The music started and Rory went through the simple
choreography by rote. He remembered to smile, he
remembered to use his hands for expressiveness, and he
remembered to convey personality and attitude. For one
split second, he considered ending the routine by
flipping Charlie the bird, but his conscience got the
better of him and Rory ended his audition like everyone
else: on one knee, elbow propped up with his chin in his
hand.
He barely heard the rote "thank you" from the judges,
and Rory certainly didn’t bother to see if Kyle was still
there or if Charlie was watching him. Rory just grabbed
his backpack from where he’d left it on a chair and got
the hell out.
***
Rory called in sick for his next shift and spent all day
at the lake with friends. He’d hoped that maybe a day
away from the theme park would help soothe his
troubled thoughts, but it was only a temporary balm.
That night in bed, sunburned and still a little drunk,
Rory couldn’t help thinking of Kyle. Thoughts of Kyle
led to thoughts of Charlie, and then Rory found himself
right back in the same place he’d been for days.
Messed up.
As much as he would have liked to avoid his next
shift too, Rory did what he considered to be the
honorable thing and reported for duty. On time, even.
Kind of. Two minutes late wasn’t really a punishable
offense, right? Especially not if Rory was thinking about
quitting this job. He’d find something else to satisfy his
Happy World - 143
father, another kind of job that wasn’t quite so
demeaning.
He sighed and pushed open the door that led to
Fantasy Street. According to the calendar, Happy
Hamster was scheduled to be signing autographs under
the awning of the Sweet Confections candy store. That
meant a crowd, which meant trash. Some people just
couldn’t understand the concept of placing their litter in
the proper receptacle.
Rory dutifully headed that way, scooping up kernels
of popcorn or crumpled napkins as he went. Someone
had spilled what looked like a whole box of shredded
wheat cereal right next to the Three Little Pigs’
Carousel, so that took Rory several minutes to sweep up.
When he finally finished, he looked up to discover that
Happy Hamster had indeed drawn a crowd, and
dropping all of their garbage on the ground seemed to be
their main goal. Other than procuring a treasured
autograph, of course.
He lingered around the edge of the mob, using his
claw to grab candy wrappers and napkins almost before
they hit the ground. Rory consoled himself with the fact
that there was one way this could be worse: he could be
picking up trash for Daniel the Dragon Slayer’s crowd
instead.
After exactly thirty minutes had passed, Happy
waved to the crowd and did his signature little jig before
his handler led him safely away. The crowd quickly
dissipated and Rory was left with a clear path to sweep
up the rest of the trash on the ground.
A lovely combination of popcorn, churro sugar, and
melted ice cream kept Rory busy for a while, and when
he finally looked up again, he was met by a very
familiar brown gaze.
Happy World - 144
"Uh. Hi?" Rory blinked at Kyle standing in front of
him. Rory hadn’t bothered to check when Kyle’s next
shift was. What would it matter? Their messing-around
days were clearly over. A closer look, though, revealed
that Kyle was in street clothes. Today wasn’t a regular
shift for him at all.
"You got it."
Rory furrowed his brow. "Got what?" Kyle’s
expression was almost completely blank. Rory didn’t
like it.
"The part. They gave you a look-alike part."
"What? Who?" Rory asked, still confused. The
auditions? Was that what Kyle was talking about? Rory
had shoved the tryouts from his mind and had nearly
forgotten them. There had been no phone call or email
within the time limit, so Rory had assumed that he
hadn’t gotten chosen. His next step was to figure out
when he was quitting.
Kyle spoke with a flat tone. "Pierre. You got hired for
Pierre. The list is up, backstage in all the break rooms."
"It is? But… but they didn’t call me!" Rory pulled his
cell phone from his pocket -- whoops, that was a no-no,
having your cell phone in your costume -- and checked
the display. There was a tiny blinking envelope on the
screen, signaling a voicemail was waiting. Oops. "Okay,
maybe they did. My phone’s on silent." He put the
phone away without bothering to listen to the message.
"Wait a second… Pierre? You said I got Pierre?"
"Yes. Congratulations." He turned and strode away
from Rory, down Fantasy Street.
Rory watched him go, dumbfounded. He thought
about calling after Kyle, but knew Kyle wouldn’t turn
around. There was no way this could be true. Getting the
part of Pierre meant only one thing.
Charlie had fixed it.
Happy World - 145
Pierre was the only other face character in the Park
that worked closely with Daniel, aside from Daniel’s
costumed dragon. Pierre and Daniel were mortal
enemies, but they were often seen together in parades
and appearances. They had rehearsals together and
practiced their scripted conversations. Granted, Charlie
wasn’t the only actor who played Daniel, but Rory knew
he was the favorite.
Not caring about the rules he was breaking, Rory
broke into a run for the nearest stage door. He pushed
open a wooden gate and then the metal door behind it,
tearing down the stairs into one of the break rooms. Sure
enough, there was the list on one of the cork boards for
announcements.
Three other people were crowded around it. Allison
Combs, another Groundskeeper that Rory had spent a
shift or two with, was beaming. "I got it," she said with
awe. "They gave me the part of Joy!" Joy and Bliss were
Queen Fantastical’s two daughters. "Hey, Rory. I see
your name up there."
And indeed, Rory’s name was on the list. Rory
Stafford - Pierre was fourth from the bottom. "Holy
shit," he whispered.
Allison laughed. "I know, I said the same thing. Hey,
you’re lucky, Rory." She grinned at him and wrinkled
her nose. "You know who Pierre works with, right?"
Oh, Rory knew. "Yeah. Daniel."
"Uh-huh." She giggled. "And you know who plays
Daniel."
"Sam Hogan." He was one of Daniel’s understudies.
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like once a month. But
mostly you get to work with Charlie Taylor."
"I heard that guy’s a prick," Rory said calmly. "Treats
people like shit and thinks he’s the next Messiah."
Happy World - 146
Allison blinked. The other two people who were
standing there with her were unfamiliar faces, but Rory
didn’t care. Both of them snorted and made a show of
covering it up with a cough. "I don’t know him," Allison
said. "I just like to look at him."
"Take it from me," Rory advised. "You don’t want to
know him. He’s a douchebag. Pretty face or not."
The other two Actors had begun edging for the door.
Rory sincerely hoped they were the gossipy type. This
was exactly the kind of thing he wanted spread like
wildfire throughout backstage.
Allison shrugged one shoulder. "Okay," she said. "I
guess it doesn’t matter. Joy and Bliss don’t have that
much contact with Daniel, except when he has to report
another dragon slaying to the queen. Then we just get to
sit there on princess thrones and smile at him." She
laughed. "I have to call my parents. God, this is so
great!" She pulled her phone from her purse and
retreated to the other side of the break room to
presumably call her family.
As Rory turned back to the cast list to read it again, a
thought that hadn’t previously occurred to him began to
take hold. Quickly scanning the column of names, he
searched for one in particular. A second read didn’t
make it appear, nor did a third.
Kyle wasn’t on the list. He hadn’t gotten a part.
Although Rory was sure that was also Charlie’s
doing, it didn’t change the outcome. Kyle hadn’t gotten
the part he was dying to have. Rory pictured Kyle
delivering Rory’s news to him, knowing that he himself
hadn’t made it, and Rory felt sick.
If things had been fucked before, Rory knew they’d
just gotten a thousand times worse.
Happy World - 147
Chapter Fifteen
Kyle leaned against the wooden fence separating
Fantasy Street from the backstage area, feeling sick to
his stomach. Why did he keep torturing himself with
Rory? He hadn't needed to come into the Park on his day
off to deliver the word of Rory's newly won part of
Pierre in person. Rory could've read it for himself in the
postings on the Happy World bulletin boards backstage.
If he were honest with himself, he'd admit he just
wanted to see Rory, to hear Rory's voice. Why couldn't
he just put his affair with Rory behind him and get on
with his life?
The small voice in his head, the one he hated,
whispered, What life would that be? You don't have a
life. You don't have anything. You had a good thing
going, but you blew it, as usual. Instead of talking it out
with Rory, maybe showing a little faith in him, you threw
a hissy fit worthy of a first-grader. You refused to file
the sexual harassment grievance against Charlie like
Rory suggested because you were a fucking coward, and
now look what happened! Is it any wonder he doesn't
want to talk to you anymore? He's probably counting his
blessings that he got out as quickly as he did.
It was true; Kyle knew it in his heart. He'd blown it
big time with Rory, and it was too late to make it better.
He got the distinct feeling he'd lost the best thing ever to
happen to him, almost before he had a chance to
appreciate it.
He banged the back of his head lightly against the
wooden barrier. God, he was such a loser!
He would never get a gig in Entertainment, either. He
knew that now, after seeing Charlie sitting on the judges'
panel. All the crap Charlie had thrown at him, the
compliments, the asking out on dates... Kyle's instincts
Happy World - 148
had been spot on. Charlie was only using Kyle to get to
Rory, and Charlie had won, hands down. Rory would be
working closely in the new role as Pierre to Charlie's
Daniel the Dragon Slayer. Charlie wouldn't give Kyle
the time of day after this, and would never allow Kyle to
get into Entertainment and possibly come between
Charlie and Rory.
Not that he wanted Charlie's attention. It was Rory
that Kyle wanted, but Charlie would no doubt put the
kibosh on any interaction between Kyle and Rory.
To paraphrase Mama Rose in Gypsy, "Some people
got it and make it pay, and some people can't even give
it away." Kyle was obviously forever stuck in the latter
group, doomed to spend his career at Happy World up to
his armpits in tossed trash and protein spills.
Why am I bothering? I should quit. Right now, today.
Just march into the office and resign, hand over my
costume, nametag, and identification card, and try to
forget I ever heard of Happy World and Rory Stafford.
He pushed away from the wall and started walking. He
headed in the general direction of the tunnel entrance,
trying not to think about what a shitty turn his life had
taken, his eyes on his feet, his mind a million miles
away. Maybe he could get a job over at Movie Land,
Happy World's biggest competing theme park in the
area. Although Movie Land wasn't as big as Happy
World, or as family-oriented, and didn't have as many
stage shows, he supposed tossing Voban on vomit was
the same in any Park.
Or, maybe Burger Heaven was hiring.
"Excuse me, you're Kyle, right?"
He stopped, startled, his head jerking up to see an
attractive, older woman standing in front of him. She
was dressed as the Fairy Queen, complete with wings,
tiara, magic wand, and lots of pastel-colored tulle. Her
Happy World - 149
handler hovered nearby, a guy named Jared or Josh or
some "J" name who Kyle dimly remembered as having
started with Happy World in Groundskeeping. "Um,
yeah."
"I'm Kara. I was at the open call when you
auditioned." She fluffed the layers of tulle comprising
her skirt. "I've seen you from time to time. I've been in
Entertainment for ten years, playing the Fairy Queen."
"Yes, I've seen you do the show. You're very good at
it." Kyle managed to sound polite, but the last thing he
wanted at the moment was to be reminded of his
abysmal failure at the open call, particularly by an Actor
who played such a prominent role as the Fairy Queen.
"I watched your audition. You were the best one I've
seen in a while, and believe me, I've seen hundreds of
open calls over the years. It's astounding how many
people try out who don't have enough talent to fill a
thimble. Anyway, I can't believe you weren't selected for
a role, especially since you look so much like Prince
Erik."
Kyle started to say thank you, but stopped short.
"What?"
Kara smiled and picked a minuscule speck of lint
from among the mass of sequins decorating her bodice.
She wrinkled her nose at it, and flicked it away. "You
know, Prince Erik, the son of the Fairy Queen? You
look just like his character. Same brown eyes, same
chin, same hair... everything! I can't believe they didn't
pick you for the part." She tiptoed closer and lowered
her voice to a whisper. "Listen, I shouldn't say this, but
I'm fed up with Charlie Taylor. I heard him talking to
the other judges after your audition. They wanted to give
you the part, but Charlie threatened to get them thrown
out of Entertainment if they did. It sounded like he has
some personal vendetta against you. I've seen him do
Happy World - 150
this before, to others. If I were you, I'd file a complaint.
Everybody in Entertainment is talking about it, and most
of us, especially the people who've been around awhile,
are pretty pissed off. He acts as if he's the only talent on
property! Nobody's happy with him, and we'd love to
see him booted out on his fine rear end. You'd get a lot
of support from the Entertainment crew if you
complained."
Her handler interrupted, tapping his wristwatch.
"Sorry, but we need to go, Kara. You're due onstage in
two minutes."
"Okay. Think about what I said. Take care, Kyle."
She flounced off, followed closely by "J" somebody-or-
other.
Kyle stared after them. Kara only confirmed what
he'd thought about Charlie all along, but it was startling
to hear the judges considered Kyle for the part of Prince
Erik, and that people watching the audition thought he
was good. Him? Plain ol' invisible Kyle?
Damn Charlie Taylor!
So, what are you going to do about it, Kyle? The
wicked little voice inside his head was back, yelling
energetically at him inside his skull. It sounded
suspiciously like Rory's voice. Be a coward and cut and
run? Are you going to let Charlie win and take away
everything, or for once in your life are you going to fight
for what you want?
After all, what was the worst that could happen? He'd
nearly decided to quit his job before his chance
encounter with Kara, anyway. If he failed, he'd just
leave, quit and try to start over somewhere else. He
certainly wouldn't be any worse off than he was now.
And maybe, just maybe, he'd be a lot better off.
Was it possible? Could he make things right again?
Happy World - 151
Before he'd met Rory, he wouldn't have even had to
think it over. He would've tucked tail and run, ducking
back into the shadows, and it would've been a long time
before he found the courage to dare try again.
But he wasn't timid little Kyle anymore. He was a
different person now. Rory had rubbed off on him,
giving him a measure of self-confidence he'd never had
before. This new Kyle didn't take his lumps and hide. He
didn't live his life by the Happy World handbook. The
new and improved Kyle broke the rules. Hell, he'd even
had sex onstage, practically in public! Timid, invisible
Kyle would never have dared dream of doing such a
thing before.
Kara's compliments only served to bolster his
fledgling ego. She was practically a legend in Happy
World, playing the part of the Fairy Queen so long and
so well that in the last five Fairy Queen movies, the
animators actually drew the character to resemble her
more closely.
If nothing else, Kyle decided he owed Rory an
explanation. Rory had been right all along, and deserved
to hear it from Kyle. Kyle should've filed the sexual
harassment grievance against Charlie and dealt with the
fallout like a man, instead of running away like a... well,
like a hamster. If he had, none of the rest would've
happened. He wouldn't have broken up with Rory, and
he would've landed the part of Prince Erik.
He was going to make things right again. He was going
to get Entertainment to change their minds about giving
him the Prince Erik part. He was going to make sure
Charlie Taylor couldn't do what he'd done to anybody
else, and most importantly, he was going to get Rory
back.
Straightening his spine, summoning his newly found
courage, he marched back onstage.
Happy World - 152
***
It took him nearly half an hour to find Rory in a
corner of Fairy Tale World next to the Rabbit Warren,
sweeping up popcorn. The Rabbit Warren was exactly
what it sounded like -- a series of concrete tunnels
cleverly covered with fake grass, fiberglass tree roots,
and plastic heather. Kids were set free at the entrance to
wander through the maze of tunnels populated by
animatronic characters from the Little Rabbit Foo-Foo
cartoon series. At the moment, it was one of the few
attractions currently closed for renovations.
God, Rory looked so good. His costume was at least
a half-size too small (hadn't Kyle warned Rory
repeatedly to get to Wardrobe early before all the
popular sizes were taken?). The material hugged Rory's
broad chest and firm butt in a way that brought Kyle's
body to instant, full attention.
It saddened Kyle to think that only a week ago, Rory
would've greeted him with a happy smile. Hell, Kyle
could've crept up behind Rory and surreptitiously given
those buns a good, solid squeeze, and Rory would've
welcomed his touch.
As it was, Rory's face held a wary frown as Kyle
approached, but he forced himself to keep going until he
stood only a couple of feet away. "Hey, Rory."
"Hey, yourself. What do you want?"
Rory's sharp tone cut Kyle deeper than ever, but he
knew he deserved it, and more, and refused to let it stop
him. "I was wondering if I could talk to you."
"I think you pretty much said it all the other night.
There's nothing else to say."
"I know, I know. Look, just let me say what I have to,
and I'll leave you alone, okay?" Kyle rushed on, afraid
Happy World - 153
that Rory would walk away. "I was wrong, Rory. About
everything. I know it's too late now, but you deserve to
hear the truth from me. You were right. I should've told
you straight up about Charlie coming on to me, and
understood why you would feel jealous. I should've
listened to you, and filed the grievance against Charlie. I
had no business blowing up at you, and I'm sorry I acted
like a stupid infant."
Rory didn't say anything. He just stared at Kyle until
Kyle began to squirm and think coming to talk to Rory
had been a mistake after all. "Anyway, I'm sorry. And
I'm really glad you got the part of Pierre. You deserve it,
and you'll do a great job." He hesitated, but it didn't look
as if Rory was going to say anything. I guess there are
some things an apology can't make right. "Well, that's
all I had to say."
He turned to leave, each step feeling as if he was
walking through quick-drying cement. Well, what did he
really expect? Did he think Rory would burst into tears
and take him back, maybe declare his undying love for
Kyle? That only happened in the movies, and Kyle's life
lately was as far from a fucking fairy tale as it got,
unless it was something dark and gruesome from the
Grimm Brothers. In a way, it made Kyle angry. He'd
been perfectly happy before, going about his business,
living by the rules, until Rory showed up and shook his
world upside down.
He could've held on to his anger, too, if he didn't
admit that he'd been happier in the few short months
he'd had with Rory than in the years preceding it.
A hand suddenly pulled on his elbow, jerking him to
a stop, and spinning him around. He found himself face
to face Rory, who looked furious.
"You're sorry?" Rory hissed. "You're sorry? Christ,
Kyle! Do you know how fucking miserable I've been?
Happy World - 154
It's ridiculous. I don't understand it. You pulled a
goddamn hissy fit and it pissed me off, yeah, but we
were only seeing each other for a couple of months.
Breaking up shouldn't have knocked me for a fucking
loop."
Kyle blinked, not quite understanding what Rory was
getting at. "Uh... "
Rory threw a hand up, cutting Kyle off. "We had
some great sex, but so what? I've had good sex before. It
should be over and done with, right? I shouldn't be
losing fucking sleep over you." He pointed to his
beautiful eyes, which Kyle noticed were carrying some
heavy baggage. "Look at me! I haven't slept. My
appetite is fucking gone, and let me tell you, that doesn't
make my sugar levels happy. Why, Kyle? Why am I
such a wreck?"
He continued before Kyle could even begin to come
up with an explanation. "Then, when I finally decide it's
over, that it's for the best, what happens? You march up
to me and tell me you're sorry, like that fixes everything!
Well, it doesn't. Sorry doesn't cut it, pal."
Kyle swallowed hard. He'd promised himself he
wouldn't get emotional. He planned to tell Rory how he
felt and then leave quickly. This wasn't how it played
out in his head on the walk over. He hadn't counted on a
confrontation, especially in public. He resisted the urge
to glance around and see if any guests were nearby.
"Rory, I--"
"Shut up and listen to me. Yeah, we had a pretty good
thing going. We had great sex, and we laughed a lot, and
I liked being with you, but you have to get a fucking
backbone and grow up, Kyle. I don't want a relationship
with somebody who doesn't trust me, and who keeps
running away whenever trouble comes along."
Happy World - 155
Kyle felt anger begin to cramp his gut, but quickly
staunched it. Rory was right, after all. It was exactly
what Kyle thought, too. "I know. I said I was sorry, but I
don't know what else to say." He turned to leave again.
Better to go now, than risk getting into another argument
trying to defend himself, especially since there was
nothing to defend.
"Kyle, wait."
He turned around, not really looking at Rory. He
couldn't. He was upset, angry, and feeling disappointed
the encounter had turned out so badly. At the least, he'd
hoped he would leave without Rory hating him, but that
didn't look like it was going to happen. Well, he owed it
to Rory to let Rory have the final word. He'd just have to
stand there and take it. "Yeah?"
Rory sighed. "Didn't you just hear what I fucking
said? I want somebody who isn't going to run at the first
sign of confrontation, but here you are, leaving again!"
"I... I figured you didn't want to talk to me anymore."
"For God's sake, Kyle, I want you to man up! Tell me
why I should take you back. Tell me I'm a jackass for
not understanding how hurt you were, that you didn't
have experience with assholes like Charlie-fucking-
Taylor. Tell me if I should've known better, that if I
cared about you, I wouldn't have let you run off like you
did, that I would've followed you and made you
understand!"
Kyle blinked. "But none of that is true, Rory. Didn't
you hear me before? I said you were right about
everything. I was the one who screwed up."
Rory thrust a hand through his hair. "No, we both
screwed up. I wasn't right, not about everything. Yeah,
you should've filed the complaint about Charlie, but I
should've understood why you didn't want to. I should've
trusted you, and known Charlie was lying through his
Happy World - 156
bleached teeth. And you should've trusted me enough to
know I was being a jealous idiot because I cared about
you. We should've been honest with each other."
Kyle snorted. "Not hardly. I'm the idiot. I had a great
thing going with you, and I fucked it up royally by
acting like a stupid jerk." The first glimmer of hope he'd
felt in a long while flickered to life. Well, he'd gone
there to clear the air... he might as well go for the big
brass ring. What else did he have to lose? He frowned,
trying to find the words to tell Rory exactly how he was
feeling, but came up blank. Then he asked himself what
Rory would do, what Rory would say, and almost smiled
when the answer came to him.
He narrowed his eyes and took a step toward Rory.
"Okay. You want the bald, unvarnished truth? You got
it. Yeah, you were an asshole, but I was a bigger one."
He took another step closer, until he breached Rory's
personal bubble. He could feel Rory's warm breath on
the skin of his face, and forced himself to meet Rory's
eyes and not flinch away. "I want another chance. How's
that for honesty?" He pushed forward again, backing
Rory toward the darkened back entrance to the Rabbit
Warren. "I want you back, Rory. I want things to go
back to the way they were before, when you kept trying
to get into my pants every five seconds."
Another step took them into the darkness of the
Rabbit Warren, where Kyle backed Rory into a snug
little nook. "You asked me what I want? Well, right
now, what I want is to get into yours." With a boldness
he'd never managed before, Kyle molded his hand over
Rory's crotch. He was both shocked by his own
audacity, and pleased to find a nice, hard erection under
his palm.
Rory's eyes grew wide. "Jesus, Kyle! You do know
you're breaking about a hundred rules right now."
Happy World - 157
Was that a smile in Rory's voice? Kyle thought so
and it brought one to his own lips. "Fuck the rules."
"Okay... who are you and what have you done to
Kyle?"
"I must be channeling you." He leaned in and rubbed
himself over Rory's thigh. "God, I've missed you." He
breathed in deeply, filling his senses with Rory's scent.
"I can't get you out of my head. I dream about you,
about what you do to me when we're naked."
Rory sighed, long and deep. "Fuck, Kyle... "
"I want another chance, Rory. Do you want to try
again? Can we get past all this bullshit?" He gave Rory
another squeeze, moaning at how good Rory's cock felt
under his hand.
"For what? Sex?"
"Fuck, yeah. But that's not all. I want the whole
enchilada, Rory. I want us to be a real couple. I want to
hang out and watch bad movies, and eat fried food and
complain between bites about how much weight we're
going to gain. I want to feel you take my hand when
we're walking around, and cuddle up with you after we
finish making love. I want to laugh with you, and be
angry with you, and all the rest. I want it all, Rory, and I
want it with you." He looked into Rory's eyes, then
pushed closer and lightly tasted the lips he'd missed so
badly. "Now, what's your answer?"
Happy World - 158
Chapter Sixteen
The feel of Kyle’s lips on his own blocked out any of
the questions Kyle had asked him. Rory leaned in again
for another kiss, anxious to taste Kyle again after going
without for so long.
The cozy darkness of the Rabbit Warren closed in
around them. Rory was thankful the attraction was
closed, but it was still far too public for his tastes. Not
that Rory cared who saw, but he knew Kyle would have
limits, despite his bravado. A bed. A couch. Hell, even
the kitchen table would work, but the Rabbit Warren at
Happy World was not where Rory wanted to be when he
showed Kyle just how much he’d been missed.
Rory expected warm lips to meet his again, but
instead got a strong hand on his chest, pushing him
back. "Hey," Kyle chided. "You didn’t answer me."
"Huh?" He’d forgotten the question.
Kyle rolled his eyes and smiled affectionately. "You
have such a one track mind when you’re horny. I said,
what’s your answer? Do you want to try again? We both
made mistakes, we’re both sorry. I want to give us
another shot. Do you?"
Did he? Up until ten minutes ago, Rory would have
said an emphatic no. Fuck, no. He was confused and
hurt and pissed at both himself and Kyle. The last thing
he wanted to do was to get tangled up again with Kyle
Forester.
But then Kyle had come to him, bold as brass, and
apologized for everything he’d said and done. Even for
stuff that hadn’t been Kyle’s fault. That was the last
thing Rory had expected, and now the real question
hung in the air.
Did he want to try again?
…Yes.
Happy World - 159
Rory grinned and pushed Kyle’s hand off his chest.
"Kiss me first," he demanded, "then I’ll tell you."
But Kyle wasn’t falling for games. He backed up a
step and folded his arms. "Rory."
Rory stopped mid-leer. "Fine," he sighed, folding his
own arms in imitation of Kyle’s stance. "The answer
is… are you crazy? Of course I want to."
The mutinous look on Kyle’s face melted away
instantly and he flung himself at Rory. "Thank God," he
said, just before planting another warm, wet kiss square
on Rory’s mouth.
There it was -- instant erection. Rory shifted and
pulled Kyle snug against him so that he could feel
Kyle’s body pressed to his own. Maybe the Rabbit
Warren was a good place to have sex.
As soon as the thought occurred to him, however,
Kyle was pulling away again with a soft chuckle. "We
can’t mess around right here."
"What? Yes, we can." And they had, several times.
Rory reached for Kyle again, anxious to give his aching
prick some relief.
But Kyle maddeningly stepped out of reach. "Come
see me when you get off," he said with a smile.
Rory made a glum face. "I’m trying to get off now.
You’re not cooperating."
"I’ll cooperate with you later, I promise." Kyle leaned
in for one more kiss. "I don’t want you getting in trouble
on your last Groundskeeping shift. What if they took the
part of Pierre from you?" He looked horrified that it
could be a possibility.
Shit. There was still that hanging between them.
"Kyle, about that…" Rory trailed off, unsure about how
to broach the sensitive subject. He was still kind of in
disbelief that he’d gotten the part. Rehearsals began
Monday.
Happy World - 160
Kyle shook his head. "No, I don’t even want to hear
it." He held up a hand and looked Rory straight in the
eye. "I was serious when I said I was happy for you. I
want to hear everything about what rehearsals are like,
and being on stage, too." Kyle looked a bit wistful. "I
might try out again someday."
"Really?" Rory smiled at him. "That’s what I like to
hear."
"Yeah, well. I had this conversation with Kara. You
know, Fairy Queen Kara?" Rory nodded. Happy World
had two main queens, Queen Fantastical and the Fairy
Queen. Of course, there were a couple of older men on
staff who considered themselves queens as well, but that
was different.
Kyle recounted his discussion with Kara and Rory
blinked in amazement. "That’s fucking incredible," Rory
breathed, already thinking of ways to get a complaint
filed against Charlie. And hopefully before Monday,
when the two of them were scheduled to work together.
"We can talk about it later." Kyle squeezed Rory’s
arm. "When you’re off the clock. See you tonight." With
that, he backed out of the Rabbit Warren and was gone.
***
His shift had never crawled by so slowly.
When seven p.m. finally crept around, Rory nearly
wrenched the door off his locker in his haste to get to his
street clothes. He threw his dirty costume into the bins
backstage and raced out to the employee parking lot.
Only a slight tremble in his hands reminded him he
hadn’t eaten in six hours, so as he drove to Kyle’s place
he gobbled down a chocolate granola bar.
The speed limit was only slightly bent as Rory raced
down Kyle’s quiet street. By the grace of Happy
Happy World - 161
Hamster, there was a parking place right in front of
Kyle’s building. Rory squeezed the truck into the space,
got out, and bounded up the three flights of stairs.
Before he’d even knocked twice, the door was opened
and Kyle was hauling him inside.
"Took you forever," Kyle muttered, pushing Rory’s
hoodie off and tugging up the hem of his T-shirt.
Rory was about to protest and say that he got here a
lot faster than usual, but Kyle was fumbling with Rory’s
button fly and the details didn’t matter. "I know," was
all Rory said before shoving Kyle’s hands away from
his fly and propelling him toward the bedroom. "Let’s
go."
Kyle complied easily. Rory watched in admiration as
Kyle stripped his shirt off on the way there and left it in
a heap on the floor, but then he snorted with amusement
as Kyle turned around and picked it up again. "It’ll get
wrinkled on the floor," Kyle explained, a blush
deepening the color on his cheeks.
"Old habits die hard." Rory laughed. He took the shirt
from Kyle and flung it over a chair, then hauled Kyle by
the arm to land with Rory in a tangle on the bed. "Now
kiss me again."
"I was trying to." Kyle grinned and climbed on top of
Rory as Rory lay on his back. "Stop talking." He leaned
down and began using his tongue to lick and taste
Rory’s mouth.
Rory gave a soft moan and shifted around, trying to
find something to rub up against. His dick had been
half-hard ever since Kyle had paid him an earlier visit at
work, but now it was at full mast and looking for
friction. Kyle’s muscled thigh would be the perfect
thing, if he’d only shift about two inches to the left…
ahh, there. Rory clamped his hands down on Kyle’s hips
to keep him where he was and kissed him back.
Happy World - 162
It took both of them about thirty more seconds of
necking before they realized that there were too many
clothes in the way. Two pairs of jeans, one pair of boxer
briefs, and one T-shirt hit the carpet as they wrestled
their way out of the constricting garments.
"Better," Rory mumbled as warm skin met and they
slid against each other.
Kyle made an unintelligible noise that was likely
agreement. His hands wandered over Rory’s body as if
remembering old paths his fingers had taken. It made
gooseflesh rise on the skin of Rory’s belly and Kyle
kissed the tiny bumps, then licked them with his tongue.
That same tongue traveled lower and swirled around
the tip of Rory’s cock, followed by one gentle finger. "I
missed you," Kyle whispered against Rory’s belly. "I’m
sorry."
Rory nodded with his eyes closed and reached down
to tangle his hands in Kyle’s hair. "I missed you," he
repeated. "I’m sorry."
Kyle nodded as well, then returned to his task. His
hand slid down Rory’s shaft and paused there, holding
the base tightly. He kept his hand there while his tongue
swept again over the crown and then down the side of
Rory’s dick in one long, wet stroke.
"Kyle. I’ll come if you keep that up," Rory warned.
Not that that was a bad thing, it would just end their
reunion a lot sooner than he wanted to.
"No." Kyle let go of Rory’s cock and Rory felt a rush
of cool air where Kyle’s warm fingers had been. He slid
up Rory’s body until their shafts were pressed together
and Kyle’s brown eyes were looking into Rory’s own.
"Don’t come yet. Wait until you’re inside me."
Rory’s mouth went dry. They’d done a lot together,
messed around all over Happy World, but somehow
they hadn’t quite taken it that far. Rory was more than
Happy World - 163
willing, but the time had never seemed quite right. And
besides, he wasn’t sure if…
"Have you ever?" Rory looked up at Kyle, waiting
for the answer. Not that it would stop Rory from fucking
him, but things would need to be approached differently.
Kyle flushed slightly and nodded. "Yeah. Couple
times. But I mean, we don’t have to," he said in a rush.
"It’s just… I just thought that…"
"Are you kidding me? Like you think I don’t want
to?" Rory tumbled Kyle to the side and mounted him,
leaning both elbows on the side of Kyle’s head. "You
have stuff?"
"In the drawer." Kyle pointed to the small nightstand
next to his bed. "I bought them a couple of weeks ago."
"You’re a good planner," Rory laughed. "How could
I forget?" He kissed Kyle’s forehead, then stretched
across Kyle’s body to reach the condoms. "Wow, the big
box, huh?"
Kyle blushed again. "I figured once we got started,
we’d use them up fast."
"Heh. Right again." He snagged the lube, too, then
got a condom out of the box. Rory tossed it to the side,
making sure it was within reach. "First, a little priming
the pump." Rory gave Kyle a leer and was pleased when
Kyle laughed out loud.
"Prime away," Kyle grinned.
With permission granted and no other warning, Rory
lowered his head and took Kyle’s cock in his mouth, as
deep as he could get it. Kyle gasped in response and
immediately bucked his hips up.
Rory spent a few minutes loving on Kyle’s dick with
kisses and licks and nice, pulling sucks. When both of
them were as hard as diamonds and panting like they’d
run a race, Rory sat up and reached for the bottle of
lube.
Happy World - 164
He slicked his fingers with it, then rubbed a bit more
behind Kyle’s balls and down the bit of skin that
separated them from Kyle’s hole. Rory used one finger
to make a wet circle around the little opening, his own
cock throbbing as he did so.
Kyle made a soft whimpering sound and tilted his
hips forward in offering. "Rory, come on. This is the
worst time to tease."
Rory gave a strangled laugh. Kyle thought he was
teasing? Rory would have liked nothing better than to
ram himself into Kyle and pound away until he came,
but he was too much of a gentleman for that. Rory
sincerely hoped that hadn’t been the only kind of
experience Kyle had had with sex.
"I’m not teasing you, trust me," Rory told him. He
took a deep breath and made a quick promise to himself
not to rush, then eased the tip of one finger inside Kyle.
He pushed it in and then let it slip back out, over and
over, until Kyle was pleading with him for more.
Rory bent his head once more and licked at the tip of
Kyle’s cock just as he pushed two fingers deep inside of
him, past the tight ring of muscle and searching for
Kyle’s gland.
"Rory!" Kyle shouted, his hands stretching out to
grab onto whatever part of Rory he could reach. "Come
on, please?"
The pleading wasn’t necessary. Rory didn’t need any
further encouragement, but it was still nice to hear.
"Okay, okay," he laughed, reaching up to squeeze one of
Kyle’s hands with his own free one. "Easy."
He withdrew his fingers and expertly slid on a
condom. Then he leaned up and over Kyle’s body.
Positioning himself just right, Rory paused for a
moment to slick his cock with the lube and nudge the
swollen head against Kyle’s hole. Even that small
Happy World - 165
movement felt good enough to make him come. God,
already? Rory squeezed his eyes shut and counted to
thirty.
When the feeling had receded enough for Rory to
continue without embarrassing himself, he pushed
forward. Kyle’s body was warm and welcoming, the
lube making everything slippery and doing its job of
letting Rory slide carefully inside in little pushes.
Rory paused when he was fully sheathed in Kyle’s
ass. The only sounds in the room were the harsh, panting
breaths they were both taking, and that urgent need to
come had returned in force. He’d wanted to last for a
while, to make this good for both of them, but Kyle was
so tight and felt so good around Rory’s cock that making
this last a long time was an impossibility.
The futility of it became even more obvious when
Kyle started moaning again and clenching around
Rory’s prick. Rory looked down in time to see Kyle
reach for his own cock and start stroking.
"Rory, God. Please move!" Kyle begged and writhed,
and any ideas Rory still had about making this last went
right out the window.
"Moving," Rory gasped, and he did. Long push in,
short pull out, over and over until his jaw ached from
gritting his teeth so hard in an effort not to spill.
"Okay?" he managed to ask.
Kyle nodded with his eyes closed. "Big," he sighed.
"Very nice." Rory chuckled, but the vibrations of that
traveled down to the spot where they were joined and
threatened to end it all. Rory thought it was probably
time to concentrate. There’d be more of this later, he
was sure.
He returned to the push-in, pull-out rhythm, watching
Kyle jerk off the whole time. God, it was so hot to watch
Kyle touch himself like that, but Rory hoped he was as
Happy World - 166
close to the edge and Rory was. "Hurry up," Rory
murmured, his dick twitching inside Kyle’s ass. "I want
to see you come."
Like Rory had whispered magic words, Kyle arched
his neck on the bed and groaned. His entire body went
rigid and Rory watched three white ribbons of come
paint Kyle’s belly and chest. "Rory," Kyle whimpered as
he shuddered beneath Rory’s body.
The picture Kyle made was pretty enough for Rory to
forget he hadn’t shot yet, but his dick had other ideas.
One more slight push inside and then Rory was coming
too, getting short of breath and seeing little fiery sparks
behind his eyes.
He couldn’t help collapsing down onto Kyle’s body,
not caring about the stickiness that Kyle’s spunk had left
there. Rory was still buried deep and wanted to stay
where he was forever. "Holy crap, that was good," Rory
whispered hoarsely.
Kyle half-mumbled, half-laughed his agreement.
"Mhmm. Good. Wow."
Rory started to say something else, but was stopped
by a huge yawn. A nap wouldn’t hurt. Kyle was already
breathing deeply, obviously thinking the same thing.
He withdrew enough to get the condom off and
discarded it in the trash can next to the bed, then
snuggled back down into the warmth of Kyle’s body.
Nap now. Then food. More sex later.
That was the perfect kind of date, Rory was sure.
***
Rehearsals for Pierre began on the following
Monday. At first it was kind of weird for Rory not to
pick up the white Groundskeeper’s costume, especially
when he saw Kyle donning the familiar clothing. But
Happy World - 167
Kyle just shrugged at Rory and gave him a thumbs up as
Rory turned toward the backstage dance studio that
served as a rehearsal facility.
The seasons were changing, which meant a new
parade. Rory would be required to learn the routine that
Pierre and Daniel played out together during the course
of the parade. The routine would repeat itself along the
route, of course, but Rory knew that it was as essential
to know the choreography for Pierre as well as he knew
his own name.
Despite the excitement Rory felt over his new
position, there was also dread about having to face
Charlie Taylor and work so closely with him. However,
his fears for first rehearsal went unfounded, since the
Actor on shift that day to play Daniel was a guy named
Trick Young. Rory knew that eventually Charlie would
turn up at rehearsal, but for now he was glad for the
reprieve.
For the next few shifts, Rory managed to avoid
working with Charlie. He and Kyle spent their evenings
together if their schedules allowed. Kyle would ask
endless questions about the rehearsal process, always
with a wistful look on his face, but he seemed genuinely
happy for Rory and Rory couldn’t detect a hint of
resentment, even if there was some.
Things continued in this way for almost two weeks.
Rory had relaxed enough to start to enjoy his rehearsal
days. The autumn parade was making its debut shortly
and Rory was scheduled to work the very first day of it,
so when he walked into rehearsal one morning and saw
Charlie Taylor dressed in Daniel’s costume, the feeling
of dread returned swiftly enough to make Rory a bit
nauseous.
"Hi there!" Charlie grinned hugely at him and twirled
his sword around before sheathing it safely in the
Happy World - 168
scabbard at his waist. "Looks like we’re practicing
together today!"
Fucker. Rory forced himself to smile back, even
though he was seething inside. "Looks like." He took his
place at the far end of the wooden floor and waited for
their music to start. No sense inviting conversation.
Charlie paused to say something to one of the
choreographers and they both laughed. He moved to the
opposite side of the floor from Rory and withdrew his
sword. "We’re doing the fight scene today, okay?"
Rory knew the question didn’t require an answer.
Charlie was boss around here. He took Pierre’s overly-
large sword from its holder with a sigh and nodded.
Three hours later, Rory knew he was in trouble. The
studio was hot as a fucking oven and they hadn’t had
one break yet. Even the casting director was looking
bored and tired, but Charlie kept insisting that Rory was
missing the fourth step in the choreography.
"Bullshit." Rory planted his hands on his hips and felt
a drop of sweat roll down his back. "I had this down
perfect when I rehearsed with Trick last week. Joanna,
you said I did!" Rory gave the choreographer a pleading
look.
Charlie shook his head sadly. "Oh, man. Trick’s a
nice guy, but he’s not really good with new stuff. This
routine needs to be perfect, Rory. Can you handle that?
We all thought you could, but maybe we were wrong."
He glanced in Joanna’s direction and, like a puppet, she
nodded.
Rory blew out an exasperated breath. His head hurt,
he was soaked with sweat, and he knew it was past time
for him to eat the granola bar he had in his backpack.
His blood sugar was already low. But something about
Charlie’s patronizing, smug face wouldn’t let Rory quit.
Happy World - 169
"Fine," Rory spat. "We’ll do the goddamned thing
again." He returned to his corner of the floor and waited
for the music to start.
And start it did, for three more run-throughs. Rory
ignored the shaky, dizzy feeling that was getting worse
in favor of doing his choreography perfectly. Stupid
fucking Charlie Taylor was not driving him out of this
position, even though Charlie had been the one to put
Rory there in the first place.
Finally, nearly an hour and a half later, Charlie
pointed at the casting director. "I think that’s good!" he
said with a huge smile, clapping Rory on the shoulder in
a fake show of camaraderie. "We’ll pick this up again
right after lunch, in twenty minutes!"
"Twenty minutes? You’re shitting me. We get an
hour for lunch." Rory stared at him.
Charlie gave him a rueful look. "Not today, I’m
afraid. I have something to do tonight, so instead of a
long lunch, we’re knocking off a half hour early. Short
lunch today. Sorry." He managed to look anything but
sorry.
On a normal day, Rory would have argued with him
and pleaded his case to either Joanna or the casting
director. But today was way too hot, Charlie was
working him way too hard, and Rory was feeling way
too crappy to protest. He gave Charlie a narrowed stare
and retreated to one of the tables near the fan to gulp
some water.
The granola bar and apple in his backpack were
completely unappealing. Rory held the granola bar in his
hand while he downed a bottle of water, knowing he
should eat it but unwilling to upset his already queasy
stomach. Maybe two bites and then a bite of apple
would appease his blood sugar enough to get through
the rest of rehearsal.
Happy World - 170
Just as he opened the package, however, Charlie
clapped his hands from across the room. "Ready, Rory?"
he called.
Rory shook his head slowly. "No."
Charlie crossed the room and propped one foot up on
the bench next to Rory. "Come on, let’s get started." He
leaned down close and spoke in a low tone, meant for
Rory’s ears only. "Get your ass up, Stafford. Unless you
want to be embarrassed even more than you’ve already
been. I can make your life hell here, and your
boyfriend’s, too."
It was the mention of Kyle that got Rory moving.
Fully intending to get in Charlie’s face and wipe that
smirk off, Rory stood up from the bench. "I’ll have your
balls," he started, but a wave of dizziness overtook him
and Rory was forced to grab the side of the table.
"Whoa."
Charlie snorted and rolled his eyes. "Good one. Now
you’re pretending to faint? What’s the matter, the heat
getting to you? Just admit this part was too much for
you, Stafford. You won’t be the first one I’ve run out of
here."
Rory blinked at the table and used it to balance
himself. Something was really wrong. He was hearing
Charlie’s words, but they weren’t making sense, and
Rory couldn’t stand up straight. Slowly, he sank down
again onto the bench. "I need to eat," he said to no one
in particular.
"No, you need to rehearse. Get up."
He looked up at Charlie, who sounded very far away.
"Get Joanna." His words were coming out slurred. "Tell
Joanna I…" Rory shook his head to clear it, but that only
made him dizzier. "Charlie. Get Joanna."
Charlie raised a brow. "You’re not getting out of
rehearsal that easily. I’ve seen you work out in the hot
Happy World - 171
sun, carrying that broom, for an eight hour shift. If you
can handle cleaning up puke, you should be able to
handle rehearsing a simple character part. Pierre’s one of
the easiest parts there is."
It wasn’t true, actually. Rory had been informed by at
least two people that Pierre’s choreography was
difficult, especially when Pierre and Daniel appeared
together in a stage show or parade. On a normal day,
Rory would have called bullshit on that, but he was
definitely not feeling normal today.
When Charlie yanked at the sleeve of Rory’s T-shirt
in a final effort to get Rory to stand up, Rory batted him
away weakly. "Get Joanna," he whispered. "Please."
The last thing Rory remembered with any kind of
clarity was Charlie looking at him strangely, and then
there was a soft gray nothing.
***
He knew he was on a cot when he came to, but it
took a moment or three of staring at the ceiling for Rory
to figure out that he’d been transported to the medical
facility that was backstage of the Park.
Another moment of staring upward cleared his head
enough to realize there was an intravenous needle in his
right arm and one of the paramedics that Happy World
kept on staff was monitoring it. "Hey, buddy," the man
said with a smile. "Welcome back."
"Thanks," Rory croaked and lifted his head.
Kyle’s pale face met Rory’s gaze. "God, don’t do that
again!" He was sitting on a plastic chair next to Rory’s
cot. "You didn’t eat when you should have!" Kyle took
Rory’s free hand and squeezed it.
"Uh." Rory scratched his head, trying to remember.
There had been rehearsal, and it was hot, and… oh yeah,
Happy World - 172
there’d been Charlie. Fucker. "Who brought me here?
And how the hell did you even know?" Christ, word
traveled fast in a theme park.
"I was on break when they brought you through."
Kyle’s face was getting a little more color, but it was
still tense and drawn. "And Joanna was making a bunch
of noise backstage. A hundred people heard."
"We brought you," the medic confirmed, nodding to
his partner. "Entertainment called us over, we stuck you
with the needle, then put you on the gurney for the trip
over here. You woke up once on the way, do you
remember?"
He didn’t, but Rory nodded anyway, just to relieve
some of Kyle’s obvious stress. "Yeah, that’s right. I
remember. Thanks."
The paramedic tapped the medical bracelet on Rory’s
wrist. "Good on you for wearing that, but bad on you for
not eating."
Kyle nodded too. "He will, from now on. I’ll make
sure. Right, Rory?"
Rory smiled, a warm feeling spreading in his chest
despite how crappy he felt. Something about Kyle being
so fierce and protective made Rory glow. "Yeah, yeah.
You can make sure."
"I will." Kyle nodded again and looked determined.
A cup of red sports drink was presented to Rory with
an instruction to drink it all, so he obeyed while still
holding tightly to Kyle’s hand. He lay his head back
down on the thin pillow when he was finished and
waited for the sugar to do its job. Christ, how
embarrassing. He hadn’t let his blood sugar get that low
in years.
A bustling near the door of the medical facility drew
Rory’s attention. Three or four men and women, smartly
dressed, had entered the building and were conferring
Happy World - 173
with the nurse who ran the desk. "What’s with the
suits?"
"Oh, yeah." Kyle’s eyes grew wide and he leaned in
close to whisper. "That’s the other thing. The owner’s
here today. We all got informed that he’d be walking
through the Park. Somehow -- I have no clue how --
word got to him that an employee had collapsed from
low blood sugar. I heard on one of the radios that he was
coming over to see. Just act natural, okay? The owner of
Happy World wants to check on you!"
The buzzing in Rory’s ears started up again. The
who? Did Kyle say… the owner of Happy World? The
owner? Oh, God. Rory struggled to sit up.
"Whoa, whoa. No, you don’t, buddy." The paramedic
firmly pushed Rory back down. "You can get up in a
while to eat something, but not yet. Not 'til all of this
sugar’s in you."
"No, I… I…" Rory shook his head and tried to sit up
again. "You don’t understand, I don’t want to talk to the
owner of this place, God!"
Kyle put a hand on Rory’s arm. "Shh," he soothed.
"Don’t worry. I’ve never met him, but I hear people say
he’s a decent guy. He just wants to make sure one of his
team is okay. You’re not in trouble or anything." Kyle
petted Rory’s arm as if this would make Rory feel
better. "This is a great opportunity!"
No. No, it wasn’t a great opportunity, it was the
opposite of a great opportunity, it was completely the
opposite of a great opportunity.
Unable to escape, Rory kept his eyes glued to the
group of people at the door. This had to be one of his
worst nightmares come true. Fainting from low blood
sugar was bad enough, but then to have the owner here
on the same day? Jesus Christ.
Happy World - 174
The door opened once again and this time, a tall,
imposing man entered the room. He looked around the
medical office once, ignoring the fluttering around him
of employees and medical staff alike. Rory watched as
the man’s gaze lit upon him and he strode over to the cot
where Rory lay.
Immediately, Rory turned his head away from the
door and closed his eyes tight. Maybe if he couldn’t see
the owner, the owner couldn’t see him. Kind of like an
ostrich.
He heard the man take a seat in one of the plastic
chairs. Kyle let out a squawk and there was a scraping
on the floor; probably Kyle moving his chair around to
make room.
There was a long silence in which Rory kept his eyes
closed and held his breath. Finally, the man spoke.
"Roarke, are you all right?"
Rory let out the breath he’d been holding and forced
his eyes open. Slowly, he turned his head to look at the
owner of Happy World. The man’s features had softened
considerably from when he’d first appeared in the room.
He took one more deep breath and offered a weak
smile.
"Hi, Dad."
Happy World - 175
Chapter Seventeen
Dad?
Dad... as in father? Sperm donor? Change-diapers-
and-put-bicycles-together-at-Christmas-and-go-to-
school-plays type of father? That kind of dad?
Kyle's head spun as he gaped first at Rory, then at
Mr. Stafford, the owner of Happy World, and back
again. His mind whirled, trying to make sense of
everything.
Stafford. Rory's last name was Stafford, too. Kyle
remembered making the connection when he first met
Rory, but shrugged it off as a coincidence. He even
thought he might have said something to that effect to
Rory. Rory laughed it off, but now that Kyle thought
about it, Rory had never actually denied being a member
of Happy World royalty.
Rory was the son of the owner of Happy World.
Oh, God, and Kyle had made him clean up puke.
Then Kyle remembered all the other things he'd done
with Rory, and where they'd done some of those things,
and the room began to spin.
"Kyle? Kyle, are you okay?" Rory's voice seemed far
away, and barely heard through the buzzing in Kyle's
ears. "Shit, get the paramedic, Dad. I think he's going to
faint."
Kyle felt a strong hand pushing his head down
between his knees. "Take it easy, son. It's okay. Breathe,
now."
Oh, God, please don't let me fucking hurl on Mr.
Happy World Stafford's shoes! The grayness threatening
the edges of Kyle's vision slowly began to ebb as more
blood flowed to his stunned brain, and the nausea
subsided a bit. He risked a glance at Rory. "Your dad is
Mr. Stafford."
Happy World - 176
"Yeah, hon. I know."
"The owner of Happy World."
"Yeah, I know that, too."
"You didn't tell me." Anger began to tinge the
confusion in Kyle's mind as the pieces finally clicked
together. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I was going to, honest." Rory looked up at his father.
"Dad, can we have a minute?"
Rory's father's voice was deep, and the concern in it,
evident. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah. I let my sugar get too low, but it's a long
story. I'll fill you in a little while later. I have to take
care of this now. Please?"
Kyle glanced up at Mr. Stafford, and saw a small
smile play on his lips, although his voice was stern. "Oh,
so this is... Yeah, I get it. Okay. But we're going to have
a long talk, you and I, as soon as you're done here."
"Sure thing, Dad."
Kyle felt his cheeks grow hot. Evidently, Rory had
told Mr. Stafford about their relationship, and he wasn't
sure how he felt about it. Did Mr. Stafford know he and
Rory were lovers? He felt embarrassed, and let his head
hang down again until he heard the door close behind
Mr. Stafford and his entourage of suits. Then he picked
it up and glared at Rory. "How could you keep
something like this a secret from me?"
"It wasn't a secret! I mean, it was, but I was going to
tell you, Kyle. I swear it!" Rory looked stricken,
although Kyle couldn't tell if it was because of what just
happened, or because his sugar was still low. Rory's
hand gripped his, squeezing tightly. "Look, someday I'm
going to inherit this place. My dad thought it would be a
good idea for me to learn what it's like to actually work
here, you know, as an employee. Learn the Park from
the bottom up. I... well, I wasn't such a nice guy before. I
Happy World - 177
was kind of spoiled, you know? Rich kid, best schools,
new cars for my birthday, coasting through life, that sort
of thing. Dad figured I needed a dose of reality."
"Is that what I was? A dose of reality? You used me
to learn how the little people live?" Kyle couldn't keep
the hurt out of his voice, and in truth, didn't really try.
He was crushed... no, he was devastated by the thought
that all he was to Rory was an experiment.
"Hell, no! You're the best thing that ever happened to
me. I swear it, Kyle. The truth is, I was afraid to tell you
who I was."
Kyle laughed, although there wasn't the slightest hint
of humor in it. "Afraid? Of what?"
Rory gestured toward Kyle with his free hand. "Of
this! Of you thinking exactly what you're thinking right
now. I didn't use you, Kyle. What I feel for you is real.
Nothing has changed that."
"Except you didn't trust me enough to be honest with
me. Why didn't you just tell me the truth when we first
met?"
Rory shook his head. "I couldn't tell you before. My
dad had me sworn to secrecy. He didn't want me
catching breaks or being able to goof off because of my
family connections. Nobody knew, Kyle. Not the
supervisors, not the Park leads... nobody. Only the top
level executives knew, and they were warned not to tell
anyone else."
"That still doesn't explain why you didn't tell me after
we started dating."
Rory shook his head, his lips tilting in a half-smile.
"Think about it, Kyle. You were so enamored of this
place... you told me it was your lifelong ambition to
work here. At first, I was afraid you'd try to use me to
get ahead, and then after a while, when I really got to
know you, I wanted you to like me for who I was, not...
Happy World - 178
well, who I was. Then we broke up." His voice trailed
off, and he averted his eyes, looking miserable. "I
couldn't see the point in telling you after that. It
would've been like I was rubbing it in, and even though I
was pissed off at you, I didn't want to hurt you
anymore."
"And after we got back together?"
"I was afraid you'd think I used my dad to get the part
of Pierre. Stupid, huh?"
"Stupid is right. You should know me better than
that."
"I do! I was just scared. I didn't want to lose you
again. After the first night we got back together, I knew
what we had was special, Kyle. I was going to tell you,
but the timing never seemed right."
Kyle sighed deeply. He could understand Rory's
reticence to a point, and believed Rory would've told
him eventually. He just wished he'd found out
beforehand, and not in a surprise revelation in the
middle of a medical emergency. "It was Charlie who put
you here, wasn't it?"
"God, that man pisses me off! Yeah, he pushed me
too hard in rehearsal. I knew I needed to eat, but when
he threatened you again, I--"
Kyle's head snapped up. "He threatened me, so you
neglected yourself? You know, if you still weren't so
pale, I'd smack you. How many times do I have to tell
you that I don't give two shits about Charlie-fucking-
Taylor? Your health is more important than anything
that rat bastard could do to me."
"He fucked us up before, and I wasn't going to give
him the chance to do it again. I didn't want him to come
between us, Kyle."
Kyle shook his head, but he couldn't help feeling a
rush of warmth. Rory had come to his defense again,
Happy World - 179
and this time, at the cost of Rory's health. It was heady
stuff, and told Kyle how much Rory cared for him, even
if Rory hadn't been completely truthful about Rory's
family ties. "Promise me something."
"Anything!"
Kyle looked into Rory's eyes, holding his gaze
steady. "You will never, under any circumstances,
jeopardize your health again, no matter what. Never."
Rory smiled and held up three fingers in the Boy
Scout salute. "Promise. I swear. Word of honor."
"I mean it, Rory. I almost died when I saw them
rushing you past me on a gurney."
"I'm sorry about that, Kyle. Really."
"I know. You couldn't help being sick." He looked
toward the door for a moment, then back at Rory. "Your
dad knows about us?"
"Yeah. I told him."
"He's okay with it?"
Rory shrugged. "He's known I was gay since I was
twelve, Kyle."
"I mean with you dating an employee."
"I'm an employee, too, remember?"
Kyle shot him a look. "You may be, but you're still
his son."
Rory shook his head and waved a hand dismissively.
"He's fine. He only cares that I'm happy, and believe me,
I am. So, we're good now? You forgive me for not
telling you who my dad is?"
Kyle grunted, then nodded, a smile escaping his
control and lifting his lips. "Yeah. I forgive you."
"Good. Now, I need some sugar."
"I'll get some more sports drink. Or would you rather
have something to eat?"
"That's not the kind of sugar I meant."
Happy World - 180
Kyle squeaked when Rory grabbed him, pulling him
out of the chair and onto the gurney, giving him a
hungry kiss. Kyle allowed himself to succumb briefly,
then pulled away. "Oh, no, pal. Your dad might come
back in the room!"
Rory frowned at him. "You're not going to let my dad
affect our relationship, are you?"
"No, but no more fooling around in the Park. No, sir.
All we'd need is for an employee to catch us, or God
forbid, get caught on the surveillance cameras. The last
thing you or your father needs is for a video of us to
show up on You Tube."
"Hey, it's my Park."
Kyle glared at him. "Rory... "
"Okay, okay! I'll behave." Rory grinned at him, and
released his hold on Kyle.
Kyle stood, and straightened his clothes. "How about
that food, now?"
"Can I eat it off your naked body?"
"Rory!"
"Aw, okay. Well, maybe you could just feed me a
few grapes, then."
"You're pissing me off, Stafford." He said it with a
smile, though, and Rory's laughter warmed him. "Tell
you what... you eat your lunch like a good boy, and
maybe later tonight I'll let you have dessert."
When Rory lay back, a big smile creased his face. He
obviously knew exactly what sort of dessert Kyle would
be serving. "Oh, baby. I'll be good. I swear."
Kyle moved toward the door to summon the
paramedic and get a snack for Rory, but he paused.
"What about Charlie?"
"What about him?"
Happy World - 181
"What are you going to do? He could've killed you,
Rory, and he's not going to stop making your life a
living hell in those rehearsals."
"Nothing, that's what I'm going to do. I'm not going
to use my family to get back at Charlie. I'm a big boy. I
can take care of myself."
Kyle snorted, and gestured toward Rory and the
gurney. "Yeah, it shows."
"Just forget about Charlie, okay? I won't let him get
to me again."
"Why don't I believe you?"
Rory threw a hand dramatically over his forehead.
"Feeling weak again, Kyle. I really need a sandwich
now. Everything's getting dark. Room's spinning... "
"Oh, for crying out loud. You big baby. Okay, okay.
I'm getting the food, but don't forget your promise to
me."
"I won't. I swear it by Happy Hamster's big, hairy
balls."
Kyle laughed, but frowned once he stepped outside
the room. He still didn't believe Rory, and as he trotted
down the hall in search of the paramedic, he vowed to
himself that for once in their relationship, he was going
to find a way to protect Rory, instead of it being the
other way around.
***
It was the last big dress rehearsal before the inaugural
launch of the new parade, and Kyle made it his business
to be at the rehearsal hall to watch. He wasn't happy, not
at all, and he scowled as he slipped through the door,
standing at the back of the room.
Rory had come home each night after rehearsal half-
dead. Kyle's prediction came true -- Charlie hadn't
Happy World - 182
stopped making Rory's life miserable. Rory insisted he
had a handle on things, that he wasn't letting Charlie
push him too hard, but Kyle knew Rory was lying. Kyle
could see the long hours and short breaks with barely
enough time to eat were taking its toll on Rory, no
matter what Rory said to the contrary.
It was going to stop, right now, before Rory ended up
in the infirmary again, or worse.
The Actors were all dressed in their costumes, but
most were lounging about against the walls, watching
Charlie and Rory go through their choreography. Kyle
was certain it wasn't the first time, either. From the looks
of them, they'd been going at it for hours.
Rory's skin glistened with sweat, and he looked pale.
He stumbled and held his hand up. "Need a break,
Charlie."
"Bullshit. Keep going."
"I'm not going to get sick again because of you. I
need a fucking break," Rory snarled.
Charlie whacked Rory on the thigh with his sword.
"You'll keep going until I say to stop, or I'll have your
little boy toy thrown out of the Park on his ass."
Kyle heard the door behind him open, but ignored it.
He'd often heard about people getting angry and
claiming to see red, but never experienced it himself
until that moment. Right then, he wanted to take that
sword, shove it up Charlie's sphincter, and give it a good
twist. He stalked onto the rehearsal floor, and got
between Charlie and Rory. "Leave him alone, Taylor!"
He turned to Rory, still fuming. "You go sit down before
you fall down. And eat something. You look terrible."
Charlie blustered, looking surprised that Kyle would
dare interrupt him. He bared his teeth at Kyle. "Are you
kidding me? What do you think you're doing? This is a
closed rehearsal, asshole. Only performers are supposed
Happy World - 183
to be in here, not glorified garbage men. I call the shots
in here, jerk-off, and I say he needs more practice!"
"I don't really care what you say. Rory's health is
more important than the stupid parade, or your bloated
ego," Kyle said. He sounded far more composed than he
felt. Inside, he was seething.
Charlie barked out an incredulous laugh. "Why don't
you just take your little grabby claw and go back to
cleaning up puke before you don't have a job to go back
to?"
"Back off, Charlie."
Kyle jumped when Rory growled close to his ear. He
was so angry with Charlie that he'd nearly forgotten
Rory was there. "Didn't I just tell you to go sit down and
eat something? I've got this."
"Aw, isn't this sweet? Rory's boy toy thinks he's all
that." Charlie suddenly reached out and gave Kyle a
hard shove that nearly knocked Kyle on his ass. "Get
out. You're through here, asshole. Done. Pack your gear,
turn in your costume, and go home. You're fired."
"You fucker!" Rory snarled.
Kyle quickly insinuated himself between Charlie and
Rory before Rory could take a swing at Charlie. In
Rory's condition, he'd probably fall over. "You can't fire
me! You're only an Actor, the same as everyone else."
Charlie laughed, and shoved Kyle again. "I'm Daniel-
the-fucking-Dragon Slayer. I can do anything I want.
My word is law around here."
"Well, actually, no, it's not. But mine is."
The look on Charlie's face was priceless when he
turned around to see the source of the new voice and
saw Roarke Stafford, Senior standing at the back of the
rehearsal hall, along with the usual entourage of suits.
Charlie looked as if he'd been sucker-punched,
although Kyle admitted the slimy little bastard tried to
Happy World - 184
rally quickly. "Mr. Stafford! What a surprise. Welcome,
sir. We were just working through our last rehearsal
before the new parade tomorrow, but had a little trouble.
It's all taken care of, though." He turned to glare at Kyle.
"Right? You were just leaving."
Rory stepped forward and put an arm around Kyle's
shoulders. "No, he wasn't. But I think you may be."
Kyle shrugged off Rory's arm. "If you don't go and sit
down and eat something, I'm going to use your bullwhip
to hogtie you, and force feed you. I told you I had this
covered."
Charlie didn't seem to know what was going on. His
confused expression was almost comical. He turned
toward Mr. Stafford. "Sir, I'm really not sure what to do
with these two. They're nothing but trouble." He pointed
to Kyle and Rory, each in turn. "This one is only a
Groundskeeper, but because he didn't make the cut in
the casting calls, he keeps interrupting our rehearsals
and bothering our Actors. I really think he should be
fired. And this one was given the part of Pierre, but
quite frankly, he's just not good enough. I think giving
him the role was a mistake. He has a stand-in who will
do fine in the parade tomorrow."
Mr. Stafford walked up to them, scratching his chin.
"Really? That's too bad. I'd like to think my son would
be terrific in the role of Pierre."
Charlie turned as pale as milk. "Your... son?"
"Oh, didn't you know? Rory is my son. And Kyle,
here, is his boyfriend. Fine young man, too. Called me
and asked me if I wanted to come watch the dress
rehearsal for the new parade. I thought it was a great
idea."
Kyle ignored them both, grabbing Rory by the elbow
and marching him off to the side. He sat Rory down in a
chair and pushed a granola bar at him. "Eat."
Happy World - 185
Rory looked flabbergasted. "You called my dad?"
"Of course I did. Somebody had to take care of you.
You certainly weren't doing it for yourself."
"I'm not a little kid who needs help with a bully at
school, Kyle."
"Never said you were. You're not eating." He
unwrapped the granola bar and stuck it in Rory's mouth
before Rory could say anything else, then turned around
to watch the show.
For the first time in the years Kyle knew him, Charlie
seemed at a loss for words. He was pale, his eyes darting
back and forth between Rory and Mr. Stafford. He was
obviously trying to figure a way out of the mess he'd
made, and wondered how much of the rehearsal Mr.
Stafford had watched.
Mr. Stafford cleared his throat. His expression was
no longer one of benign amusement. "I was standing
back there for quite a while, and what I saw really
disturbed me. You kept a fellow employee from taking a
break when he obviously really needed one for medical
reasons. You threatened another employee with
termination, which you had no right to do, and
physically assaulted him. This behavior is grounds for
immediate dismissal." He snapped his fingers, and a pair
of suits strode up from the back of the room. "Escort Mr.
Taylor to his locker. Get his costume and his ID, and see
him off property. As of now, he is no longer employed
by Happy World."
Charlie' s mouth popped open. "I'm Daniel the
Dragon Slayer! You can't do this!"
"Oh, but I can, and I did. You have an understudy.
I'm sure he'll do fine in the parade," Mr. Stafford said,
tossing Charlie's words back in Charlie's face. He turned
to his men. "Get him out of here before I decide to press
charges."
Happy World - 186
They practically had to drag Charlie out of the room,
but Kyle barely noticed. He focused his attention on
Rory. "Your color is coming back. You know, I should
be mad at you."
"Mad at me? You called my dad!"
"Damn straight, and I'd do it again. You promised me
you would take care of yourself, but you weren't. You
were letting Charlie run you into the ground again, and I
wasn't going to stand by and watch you collapse. I knew
I couldn't do anything about Charlie personally, but I
knew somebody who could."
Mr. Stafford joined them. "That's right, and don't
think I'm not upset with you for not telling me about this
yourself, Rory. I know that you didn't want to use your
influence with me, but I couldn't understand why you
didn't file a complaint against this Taylor person. When
Kyle told me the whole story, I knew I had to step in,
and not just because you're my son. I don't expect any of
my employees to have to put with such nonsense."
Rory smirked. "Yeah, I guess there'll be a few
hundred employees who'll be sending you thank-you
notes over this. Charlie was a royal pain in the ass to
everybody."
"Use your head next time, son." Mr. Stafford smiled
at Rory, then patted Kyle on the shoulder. "He's a good
man, Rory. A keeper. Don't screw it up with him."
Rory grinned at Kyle. "Oh, I don't plan on it, Dad."
Kyle blushed, but couldn't help smiling. Things had
turned out better than he'd ever dreamed. He only hoped
Rory wasn't too angry with him for going over Rory's
head. He peeled open another granola bar for something
to look at besides Rory and Mr. Stafford, trying to
control his emotions. A keeper. How about that? More
than anything, Kyle knew he wanted Rory to keep him.
Happy World - 187
Mr. Stafford glanced at his wristwatch. "I have to
run. I have a meeting this afternoon. I hope to see you
both for dinner next week. How about Friday night at
Martinique?"
"We'll be there, dad." Rory hugged his dad goodbye,
and Kyle shook his hand.
"Take care of my boy, Kyle."
"I will, sir."
After Mr. Stafford left, Kyle glanced around the
room. Every Actor in the place had been watching the
scene unfold. "Guess your secret's out, huh?"
"Yeah, thanks to a certain busybody who couldn't
keep his mouth shut."
"You're mad at me, huh?"
Kyle felt a wealth of relief wash through him when
Rory grinned. "Nah. Guess I need somebody to look
after me now and then." Rory laughed. "Boy, I thought
you were going to rip Charlie a new one there for a
minute."
"If your dad hadn't shown up when he did, I
would've."
"My hero."
Someone cleared their throat, and they turned to see
the choreographer, Joanna, standing next to them. "Sorry
to interrupt, guys, but we have a parade to put on
tomorrow, and we're going to have to pull in Charlie's
understudy to do it." She grinned. "Not that I'm
complaining, mind you. Do you think you can do it,
Rory? I can call in your understudy, if not."
"Nah, I'll be fine. I just needed to eat a little
something. I'm good now," Rory replied. He gave Kyle's
hand a squeeze and looked at him. "Gotta get back to
work, hon. Meet you after my shift?"
Kyle nodded. "You bet. You know that dessert I
served you the other day?"
Happy World - 188
Rory's smiled grew wider as he nodded.
"Good. You're gonna get a double helping tonight."
He smiled at Joanna and left, with the sound of Rory's
laughter still ringing in his ears and warming his heart.
Happy World - 189
Epilogue
Six months later
Rory shoved his way out of the crowd that
surrounded the call sheet in the break room. He knew it.
He knew it! Oh man, this was so great.
The tunnel that led to the Freedom’s Fair area of the
Park was a long and steep one with a short staircase at
the end. Rory took the steps two at a time and burst out
of the door that was covered in faux brick, ending up
right behind Fort Freedom. He looked around wildly for
the reason behind his mad dash, but Kyle was nowhere
in sight.
The fastest way to find him would be to climb up, so
Rory did. The fort had easy-to-access rope ladders and
Rory scaled one of them, climbing hand over hand until
he reached the top of the structure. From there he could
see most of Freedom’s Fair.
Late winter in Happy World was considered an off-
peak time, luckily. Guests still wandered here and there
through the Park, but the crowds were nothing compared
to the summer season. It only took Rory a moment to
spot Kyle behind a wide brick planter, broom in hand.
He shimmied back down the ladder and made a
beeline for the planter. Kyle was trying very gingerly to
use his claw to grab a paper napkin from the flower bed
without pulling out the delicate blossoms at the same
time.
"Hi!" Rory zoomed up and stood very close, close
enough to get hit with Kyle’s elbow when he jerked
back, startled.
"Hey, hi," Kyle laughed. "Jeeze, you scared me.
What are you doing here? You’re off today! And you
Happy World - 190
invited me over later. Are you trying to get out of
cooking me dinner? You better not be." Kyle scowled.
"No, no. I’ll cook, I promise." His new apartment had
a small but functional kitchen, and Rory was learning to
do more than just boil water for spaghetti. "I need to tell
you something!"
Kyle reached out again and attempted to retrieve the
napkin from the flowers. "So, tell me."
Rory danced from foot to foot, unable to keep still.
"Guess what just got posted backstage?"
Kyle froze for a fraction of a second, so quick it was
almost undetectable. "I don’t want to know." He
managed to grab the napkin, finally, and shoved it into
his dustpan. Then he glanced up at Rory. "I’m serious.
Don’t tell me."
"Aw, man." Rory deflated at once and sank down
onto the nearest bench. "Then let’s go look together!
The call sheets got posted!" They’d been pretty quick
this time, too. Auditions had only taken place four days
ago.
"I’m working. I can’t leave my position." Kyle still
got that faint, lecturing tone in his voice whenever he
rattled off one of Happy World’s rules, despite the fact
that he’d had the future owner of Happy World’s cock in
his mouth just last night. Rory thought that was kind of
endearing. Frustrating, but endearing.
"Oh, fine." Rory huffed out an irritated breath and
stood up again. "When’s your break? I’ll wait."
"Three hours. I just got here an hour ago."
Rory sighed. "God. Okay, I’ll come back." He rolled
his eyes and stood up. "See you in three hours." Kyle
and his rules, Christ. Shoving his hands in his pockets,
Rory wandered down the path in the direction of the
turkey leg food cart. He was starving.
Happy World - 191
He was nearly out of range when he heard Kyle
calling his name. "Rory. Rory!"
Rory turned and looked back. He took his hands out
of his jacket pockets and raised them, palms up, in a
silent question. If Kyle dared to quote again from Happy
World’s handbook, Rory was going to kill him.
Kyle stood in the middle of the path, a tortured
expression on his face. "Did I make it?" he finally asked,
clearly unable to wait a moment longer.
Rory tried to hold back the grin, but it broke through
anyway. "You sure as hell did. I told you that you’d
make a great Prince Erik!" He made his way back down
the cobblestone road to Kyle. "I told you!"
The broom and dustpan dropped to the ground with a
clatter. Kyle flung his arms around Rory with enough
force to knock Rory off balance, but luckily there was a
bench behind them to steady him. "Holy shit!" Kyle
cried, and Rory burst out laughing.
"You’re in costume," he admonished. "No profanity
while on stage!"
"Shut up." Kyle continued to squeeze Rory tight,
despite the odd looks they were starting to receive from
guests.
Not that Rory had ever really cared about the rules
here, but the absolute last thing he wanted now was Kyle
getting in trouble before he’d even had a chance to put
on Prince Erik’s crown. Rory gently detached himself
from Kyle’s bear hug and dropped a quick kiss on his
cheek. "We’ll celebrate later," he promised. "God, I’m
so proud of you."
And he was, too. Kyle had come so far in the short
time Rory had known him, and if truth be told, Rory had
come a long way as well.
They were good for each other, no doubt about it.
Happy World - 192
"Wow." Kyle was looking a bit dazed as he picked up
his broom again. "This is… wow."
"Yeah, it’s pretty wow. But I know something that’s
even better." He couldn’t keep the lascivious tone out of
his voice. Not that Rory really meant to. "I’ll show you
later, after our broom-burning ceremony."
Instead of scolding Rory about wanting to deface
Happy World’s property, Kyle looked a bit intrigued.
"Could we really?" he whispered, before his conscience
got the better of him and he looked horrified. "No.
We’re not burning a broom."
Rory made a mental note to swipe one of the
hundreds of brooms in Wardrobe before he left the Park.
"Sure, whatever you say." He grinned again and winked.
"I’ll see you later, Erik."
Kyle blushed. "See you." But he was smiling too, his
brown eyes lit up with warmth for Rory.
As Rory made his way out of Freedom’s Fair and
down Fantasy Street to the Park exit, he began whistling
softly to himself. Happy World was going to be his
someday, but somehow it didn’t seem as important
knowing Kyle was his now.
Happy Hamster was doing an autograph session near
the Park’s entrance and exit gates. Rory passed by and
lifted a hand in greeting. It was probably Wendy Vale
inside the costume, since she was one of the girls who
was short enough to fit. Happy waved back and gave
Rory a signature tail shake, too.
"Thanks," Rory whispered to Happy under his breath.
"Thanks for everything."
End
Happy World - 193
Wyszukiwarka
Podobne podstrony:
Tory Temple Fireline 01 Heat
Kiernan Kelly [In Their Own Skins 03] Uncaged [Torquere MM] (pdf)
In Bear Country Kiernan Kelly
Kiernan Kelly Seti s Heart
Kiernan Kelly Surfing the Dawn
Kiernan Kelly For Love of War (pdf)
Tory Temple Fireline 02 Flashover
Tory Temple Karma 2 Teaching Topaz
Kelly Kiernan Waiting for Dimi
World of knowledge
Christmas around the world
exploring the world of lucid dreaming
język niemiecki ~$tory niemiecki
highwaycode pol c17 tory tramwajowe (s 100 101, r 300 307)
political world
Castles & Crusades Inzae World Map
HARP Shadow World Races
Bauckham Jewish World around the New Testament
Empire of the Petal Throne The Temple of Sarku
więcej podobnych podstron