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 

www.torquerepress.com 

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