Shop Boy (A Star Trek RPF Fanfic)
Title: Shop Boy
Author: therumjournals
Fandom: Star Trek RPF
Pairing: Chris/Zach
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 3,900
Description: There’s a reason Zach has so many striped hoodies… (NYC AU)
A/N: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ladyblahblah!!!!!!! Please consider this little fic an apology for not finishing the next chapter of This is Us in time for your birthday. It's in the works, bb, and will be like a second birthday present for you when I do finish it!!!! Anyway, hope you enjoy this and HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!!!
“Hey Zach, I’m running a little late. Is it cool if we push lunch to 1:30?”
Zach pressed the phone closer to his ear as he navigated the crowded sidewalk. “Oh, uh, sure, sure, no problem.”
“You’re not already there, are you?”
“No, no, I’m in the area, but…I can find some way to occupy my time until then, I’m sure.”
“Uh huh. Zach.”
“What?”
“Don’t go to American Apparel.”
“Psh, what? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do. Your visits to your imaginary boyfriend are single-handedly supporting their Washington Square location.”
“Shut up.”
“I’m serious, Zach. You really don’t need the same striped hoodie in seven different color combinations.”
“Maybe I do. Bye, Tyler, I’ll see you at 1:30.” He hung up, slipped the phone into his pocket and glanced up to see that yes, in fact, his feet had led him unconsciously - unconsciously - to the corner of 8th and Broadway, and there was no decision to be made to go the extra half block and push open the door into the air conditioned familiarity of American Apparel.
*
Zach’s heart skipped a beat when he saw him folding t-shirts at a display near the front. Christopher, as his nametag boldly stated, not that Zach had tried consciously to remember his name, but come on, with those blue eyes (made even more noticeable by the blue zip-up hoodie he was currently sporting) and that sexy bleached, spiked hair…
“Hey you,” said Christopher, and Zach wasn’t quite sure how he’d gotten to the t-shirt display, but here he was, and here was Christopher - talking to him!
“Oh, uh. Hi.” Zach said, picking up a t-shirt casually.
“Weren’t you in here a few days ago?”
“Um, yeah, I guess I was,” Zach said with a nervous laugh. “What can I say, I like your stuff. American Apparel stuff. I like it.”
“Yeah. I think you’ve already got that one,” Christopher said with a grin, gesturing to the t-shirt Zach was clutching in both fists.
Zach felt his face grow hot and he set the now-wrinkled t-shirt down, then picked it up to try to fold it, then blushed again as Christopher pulled the t-shirt gently from his hands, folded it perfectly in one smooth motion, and set it down on top of the pile.
“We got some new hoodies in this week,” he said, pointing toward a display rack. “You should check ‘em out.”
“Right,” Zach said, not daring to look Christopher in the eye as he tore himself away.
*
Zach had a hoodie in his hand and was approaching the register when he shook his head, turned around, and walked over to where Christopher was re-organizing the tube sock display. “Um, hey,” he said, and Christopher stopped what he was doing and turned toward Zach with an eyebrow raised.
“Need some help?”
“Um, no, I just …look, I’m going to just come right out and say this. Can I ask you out? Because this-“ he gestured to the hoodie and Christopher and the store in general - “is getting a little expensive.”
Christopher squinted for a second in confusion, then gave Zach a small, apologetic smile. “Um. I’m straight, actually. Yeah,” he said in response to Zach’s look of disbelief. “Sorry.”
“No, no, that’s cool, I mean, I’m sorry. Sorry about that. Uh. Sorry,” Zach stammered as he backed away, hung the hoodie distractedly on the wrong rack, and made a beeline for the door.
**
“And that is why I can never go back to that American Apparel again. Ever.”
“Bummer, man,” Tyler said sympathetically. “I’m sorry to hear that. Guess you’ll have to find somewhere else to shop.”
Zach shook his head and sipped his therapeutic cosmo. “Actually, I think I’m good on clothes for a while.”
***
“Oh my god, Chris, did that guy just ask you out?”
Chris laughed at Zoe’s ability to overhear - or at least, guess at - anything that sounded like potential gossip from across the entire floor. “Yeah.”
“What did you say?!”
“Uh, I told him I was straight. What?”
Zoe was raising an eyebrow at him skeptically. “I wasn’t aware that straight boys made a practice of getting their dicks sucked by other guys in American Apparel fitting rooms.”
“Okay, yeah, fine. If that guy had licked his lips and asked me if his ass looked nice in a pair of jeans, that’s one thing. But a date? Yeah, right.”
“So you think that guy was hot?”
“I don’t know, Zoe, I don’t pay attention to that stuff!”
Zoe did something with her eyebrow that made clear the true depth of her disbelief.
“He had a nice ass,” Chris commented helpfully. “I guess he’s okay looking. What was up with that hat, though?”
“Ugh, Chris, you’re an idiot. Call me when something interesting happens,” Zoe said, and she stormed away in a huff.
Chris shook his head and turned back to the shelves.
**
Chris could feel Zoe shooting daggers at him from the register as he stumbled out of the fitting room, grinning and tugging at his jeans. In a failed attempt at subtlety, the ruggedly attractive guy with the wedding ring followed him out five minutes later, avoiding Chris’s eyes as Zoe rang him up for $500 worth of merchandise.
“What?” Chris said innocently, leaning on the counter after he’d tracked the guy’s movements out of the front door.
“JJ’s onto you, you know.”
“Whatever.”
“Seriously, Chris. He’s not stupid. What is this now, three guys in one week? That’s a little intense, even for you.”
“I know,” Chris said, dropping his head onto his arm where it rested on the counter. “Fuck.”
“What was that guy’s name?”
“Fuck if I know. He was hot though, right? I started calling him Karl in my head. Do you think he looked like a Karl?”
“He was okay. He had a pretty cute accent though.”
“Did he? We didn’t really talk.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet. Just, be careful, okay? You really don’t want to have to find yourself another job in this economy.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Chris said, grabbing a stack of returns. “Back to work.”
**
“This is fucking bullshit,” Chris fumed, looking at the latest schedule. Zoe took a sip of her beer and waited. “Only eighteen hours this week, and two opening shifts? What the fuck?”
“I told you, Chris, JJ is pissed.”
“Does he know how much business I bring in? You think these guys would voluntarily drop 500 bucks on this shit if I wasn’t charming the pants off of them?”
“I thought you were usually the one with your pants off, Christopher.”
“Whatever. I’m right, aren’t I?”
“I don’t know.”
“This is such bullshit. There’s an opening at Diesel, my friend Simon works there. I can’t stay here with this kind of treatment.”
“Fine, so quit then. What are you waiting for?”
Chris bit his lip and gave her a guilty look.
“What?”
“Um…I just…I kinda wanted to see if that guy ever comes back.”
“Who, Karl?”
“Who? No - what? No, I’m talking about…remember a couple weeks ago, that guy…”
“Oh my god, CHRIS! Are you talking about the guy who asked you out?! You are!”
Chris blushed furiously and ran a hand over the back of his neck. “I just…you know, I wanted to see if…if he was as good a cocksucker as he looks,” Chris finished defiantly.
Zoe laughed derisively. “Oh please. You want to go out with him! You want to go on a date! You are so gay, Chris!”
“Shut up!”
“Chris.”
“What?”
“Do you want to go on a date with that guy?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. Fuck!”
“Oh my god,” Zoe said, sitting back and taking a sip of her drink. “This is so priceless.”
“What is?”
“You, here, pining over the fag that got away.”
“Fuck you.” Chris rolled his eyes and took a long swig of his beer, then set it down on the bar and ran a hand through his hair.
“I highly doubt he’ll be back, Chris. You kinda shot him down.”
“I know, I know. I’ll just….I’ll stick it out for the week, see what the next schedule looks like. If JJ’s still on my back, I’ll quit, okay?”
“Okay. And in the meantime, Chris?”
“What?”
“You might want to stay out of the fitting rooms? Seeing as that’s not really what you’re looking for anymore…is it?”
Chris tipped his head back and squeezed his eyes shut in resignation. “Fuck.”
***
“Oh god, what is that smell?” Zach sniffed his t-shirt and wrinkled his nose. “What the hell, I just washed this t-shirt!”
“Zach.”
“What?”
“Please stop sniffing your t-shirt in the middle of the restaurant.”
“Sorry, sorry. Just-“ Zach sniffed his t-shirt again “-ew. I have to change or something.”
“Okay, well, we’re meeting Neal at 3:00 and it’s 2:30 right now, so eat your lunch and then you can, like, buy a new t-shirt or something.”
“Fine.” Zach finished the last bites of his spinach salad as Corey paid the check, and they headed out the door.
“Here, come on,” Corey said, urging him toward the doorway of a store. “Go buy a t-shirt, I have to run into Duane Reade to pick up a few things. I’ll meet you here in ten minutes.”
“Uh, Corey. I can’t go in there.”
“What the hell? Zach, go buy a fucking t-shirt!”
“Corey, it’s American Apparel,” Zach said through gritted teeth.
“So? Oh fuck, Zach, this isn’t about your imaginary boyfriend, is it?”
“Shut up!”
“Look, just go in there, buy a t-shirt and leave. He’s probably not even working there today, and if he is, then lucky you, you’ll have new jerk-off material for a week. Go!” Corey gave him an unnecessarily hard shove through the doorway, leaving him standing stupidly in the front of the store as the door closed behind him.
“Can I help you?” Zach startled at the question and it took him a moment to realize that the salesguy had black hair and a lip ring and was decidedly not Christopher.
“Oh, um. Yeah. I mean, no. I just need a t-shirt.”
“Okay, well if you’ll just follow me, I can show you…” Zach ignored him and walked toward the t-shirt display, grabbed one from the top, and headed toward the register. He dropped the t-shirt on the counter, pulled out his wallet, and looked up into a pair of gorgeous blue eyes. Fuck.
“Um, hi,” Chris said, smiling nervously. “You came back.”
“Yeah. I guess. I just needed a t-shirt.” What Zach needed was to get the hell out of this store so he could hyperventilate elsewhere. He stared at the counter, willing Christopher to stop looking at him and just ring up his purchase already.
Chris had no intention of rushing through this transaction. He gripped the edge of the counter and leaned forward. “Last time you were here, you, uh…”
“Yeah, I know. Look, I’m really sorry about that, I’m not here to hit on you or anything. I just…I really needed a shirt.”
“Okay, but look, I just wanted to say, you know, I’ve kind of…re-evaluated…some things, and I was wondering if maybe the offer still stands?” Chris looked at him hopefully.
“Oh. Um. Um,” Zach stammered. What? He was so not prepared for this. “Um. Sure.”
Chris broke into a genuine grin. “Awesome. So, like, when did you want to go out?”
Zach gaped at him for another moment as his mind seemed to go completely blank. “Um. I guess…tonight?” Tonight? Who the fuck says tonight? How desperate did that sound? Zach wished for a moment that he could replay this entire scene as a suave, seductive stranger, instead of an awkward thirteen-year old talking to their crush at the mall.
“Tonight?” Chris asked, the surprise in his voice further convincing Zach that he was, in fact, coming across as a desperate weirdo. “Yeah, okay. Cool. Can I, uh, get your number or something?”
“Yeah. Sure,” Zach said, recovering somewhat, even smiling slightly as he took the pen that Christopher passed to him and wrote his number on the back of the receipt. At the last minute he remembered to add his name, and he slid the paper back across the counter. “I’m Zach, by the way.”
“Hi Zach. Chris.”
Chris? Huh. Not Christopher. Zach wasn’t sure he liked that as much. Sounded a little…fratty. But, okay, he could handle it. “Well, Chris…I guess I’ll see you tonight?”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll call you when I get off work. But, here’s my number, just in case.” He scribbled his number on a scrap of paper and handed it to Zach.
“In case of what?” Zach asked, teasing.
“In case…in case you miss me between now and then,” Chris said with a wink.
Zach laughed. “Right, of course. Well…thanks.”
“See you tonight.”
“Yeah. See you.”
*
Zach exited the store to find Corey rolling his eyes and gesturing to his watch.
“Jesus, Zach, how long does it take to buy a t-shirt?”
“I got his number,” Zach said, pulling his stinky t-shirt off and stuffing it in the bag.
“Whose number?”
“Christopher’s.” Zach pulled on the new t-shirt, sniffed it, and smiled, satisfied. “I mean, Chris’s.”
“Your imaginary boyfriend?”
“He’s not my boyfriend. And he’s not imaginary. We’re going out tonight.”
“Tonight? Are you serious?”
“Yeah.” Realization hit him. “Shit, Corey. He’s so hot. I can’t believe I have a fucking date tonight!” He did a little leap of happiness in the middle of the sidewalk, and Corey had to yank him out of the way of an oncoming stroller.
“That’s great, Zach. Just, try to keep it together while we get through these meetings, okay? You can freak out later.”
“I think I will.”
**
Zach sniffed his t-shirt and groaned in frustration. “Oh my god, how the hell does this t-shirt smell, already? I just bought it!” He pulled at the sleeve to sniff it again, then at the collar. “Fucking t-shirts. Why you gotta be so smelly?”
“Zach, did you ever consider that the problem might not be the t-shirts?”
“No, I did not. Because I smell like roses, thank you very much.”
“Mm-hmm. Well, maybe you can change before your little date.”
“Fuck!”
“Yeah. You can’t be going on a date in a smelly t-shirt, Zach, that is just not cool.”
Zach pulled out his phone.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m calling him.”
“What? You’re going to cancel just because of a t-shirt?”
“No, I’m not going to cancel, are you crazy?! I’m going to tell him to buy me a t-shirt. He works at American Apparel, you know.”
“Oh my god, Zach. This relationship is doomed.”
Zach held up a finger to silence him as the phone rang. “Uh, hi Chris. It’s Zach. Yeah, yeah, I still want to meet up. I was just wondering. Could you maybe bring me a new t-shirt? I, uh…spilled something on the other one. I’ll pay you back. Sweet. You do? Wow. Okay. Yeah, I’ll meet you there. Okay, bye.”
Zach hung up and looked at Corey and Neal with a ridiculous grin. “We’re meeting in Union Square in half an hour.” Zach bit his lip but he couldn’t contain his excitement. “He knows my size!”
“He’s a stalker.”
“No, he’s just good at his job.”
“Oh that’s right. You’re the stalker.”
Zach threw a fry at Neal and looked at his watch. 28 minutes to go.
***
“Bye Zoe.”
“I thought you didn’t get off until 8:00.”
“I don’t.” Chris pulled his nametag off. “I’m quitting.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“I just saw the schedule for next week and it sucks. I got what I wanted, so now it’s time for me to tell JJ to go fuck himself, and get out of here to make way in the world.”
“Uh huh. More like make your way into - what was his name?”
“Zach,” Chris said with a dreamy sigh.
“Into Zach’s pants,” Zoe finished.
“Keep in touch, okay?” Chris asked, giving her a hug.
“Of course. I still need my drinking buddy! And you can talk me into sanity when JJ’s driving me crazy.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Zoe watched Chris walk into the back and couldn’t help but grin as she heard his voice getting louder, peppered with colorful curses and a final assertion that JJ was just “jealous that you didn’t get to suck my dick, asshole!” before Chris stormed out triumphantly. He pecked Zoe on the cheek and picked up his pace as they heard JJ yelling from the back. As he crossed to the front of the store, Chris grabbed a stack of t-shirts from the display, stuck his middle finger in the air without looking back, and burst out the front door at a full run.
**
Chris was sweaty and his heart was racing as he flopped down onto the bench in Union Square next to Zach.
“Hey,” he said, still panting a little from his run. He dropped the stack of t-shirts on Zach’s lap. “Here you go.”
“Thanks,” Zach said, glancing curiously at Chris. “You alright?”
“What? Oh, yeah. Just…kind of ran here.” He gestured to the t-shirts. “I stole those for you. Long story. Don’t worry about it.”
“Um…okay.” Zach shrugged and pulled his t-shirt over his head, blushing when he saw Chris staring appreciatively at his chest. He quickly pulled on a new t-shirt and imagined that Chris looked vaguely disappointed.
Chris grabbed a t-shirt too, and pulled his sweaty one over his head, giving Zach a chance to admire his six-pack, an opportunity that Zach was more than willing to take. He grinned at Zach as he pulled the new t-shirt on and ran a hand through his spiked hair. “So,” he asked, still slightly breathless. “What do you want to do?”
Zach had thought long and hard about that question; unfortunately, none of the answers he’d come up with were appropriate for the first five minutes of a first date. “Um, I was thinking we could, um…”
“Let’s go to Central Park!” Chris suggested enthusiastically.
“Okay,” Zach agreed. It was a beautiful, warm evening, and that way they could walk and talk and yeah, that sounded just about perfect.
They headed into the subway station, running to push their way onto an N train headed uptown. The train was crowded, but Zach managed to get a handhold, and he instinctively slid an arm around Chris’s shoulders to hold him steady.
“Hi,” said Chris as his hands found their way to Zach’s hips.
“Hey,” Zach said, surprised to realize that Chris’s face was only inches from his. He stared for a moment, said “um,” and closed the distance to kiss Chris on the lips. He felt Chris’s hands tighten on his hips as the train jostled them together, and then they were kissing for real, their mouths open just enough for their tongues to slide over and against each other between the seal of their lips. Chris could feel people’s eyes on them as they made out like teenagers in the middle of the crowded train, but the stares only made him kiss Zach harder and slide a hand down to squeeze his ass. Zach was losing himself in the kiss, and he didn’t even care, it was so fucking sexy, Chris eagerly pressing deeper into his mouth, his hands roaming over Zach’s jeans and clutching at the back of his t-shirt. They’d barely paused to take a breath when they heard the name of their stop over the loudspeaker, but they managed to come to their senses in time to disengage and stumble out the doors into the station.
Zach grabbed Chris’s hand as they ran, laughing, up the stairs out of the station and into the park, neither quite yet capable of conversation. Chris didn’t even realize that they were still holding hands until he was pulling Zach into a secluded area behind a pile of boulders, and then he slid his hand out of Zach’s grasp to fumble at his jeans as they found each others’ lips again.
“Fuck,” Chris breathed, as Zach nipped sweetly at his neck and shoulder. “This was supposed to be a date.”
“So?” Zach asked between kisses.
“So…we were supposed to talk and stuff,” Chris said as he slid his hand into the front of Zach’s jeans. He made a whimpering sound as he realized that Zach wasn’t wearing anything under the jeans and wrapped his fist around Zach’s cock.
“Oh god, Chris,” Zach gasped, “god, you are so amazing, fuckin’…I want to fuck you.” He was just babbling now, he had no idea what he was saying, and Chris’s grip faltered for a second but then he twisted his hand a little and stroked him harder.
“Yeah? What else do you want to do to me?” Chris asked, panting.
“Guh, I want to…fuck…I don’t know.”
Chris laughed and looked down to see what he was doing, biting his lip as he watched his pale fingers sliding over Zach’s engorged cock. He was still watching when Zach made a sound in the back of his throat and his body stilled as he came, spurting against Chris’s stomach and over his fist.
“Fuck,” Chris said, in awe, as he tore at his own fly and wrapped his jizz-slicked hand around his own aching erection.
“Let me suck you,” Zach murmured in his ear, but Chris shook his head and thrust desperately into his hand. He tilted his head back as he felt Zach’s fingers wrap around his, and then he was coming, fuck, already, and Zach’s mouth was on his again. He untangled their fingers and slipped his hand under Zach’s t-shirt, palm flat against his lower back as they held each other and breathed.
“Sorry,” Chris whispered, although he wasn’t, really. “I just…that was the fucking hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“S’okay,” Zach mumbled into his hair. “You’re the fucking hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Chris grinned and pulled away, tugging at Zach’s hand as he took a seat on the grass, leaning against a boulder. Zach took a seat next to him, crossing his legs and picking idly at a dandelion stem.
“So…what now?” Chris asked.
“Um…not sure,” Zach said, unfamiliar with the etiquette of first dates that began with frantic handjobs in semi-public locations. “Didn’t you say something about talking?”
“Isn’t that what usually happens on these things?” Chris asked. “Aren’t we supposed to, like, find out if we have anything in common and all that jazz?”
Zach shrugged. “’Kay. So. Tell me about yourself.”
“Well, until 3 hours ago, I used to work at American Apparel.”
“No way! I love American Apparel!” Zach said in mock surprise.
“Awesome! So, I guess we do have something in common. Well, that and an appreciation for frantic handjobs in semi-public locations.”
Zach broke into a full-on grin as Chris repeated the words that he’d just been thinking. “Exactly. You know, I have a feeling that we might get along just fine.”
“Yeah,” Chris said, tipping his head back against the boulder and closing his eyes. He took a deep breath, then opened his eyes and sniffed at the sleeve of his t-shirt. “Hey,” he said, scooting closer to Zach. “Does this t-shirt smell weird to you?”
The End
Author: therumjournals
Fandom: Star Trek RPF
Pairing: Chris/Zach
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 3,900
Description: There’s a reason Zach has so many striped hoodies… (NYC AU)
A/N: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ladyblahblah!!!!!!! Please consider this little fic an apology for not finishing the next chapter of This is Us in time for your birthday. It's in the works, bb, and will be like a second birthday present for you when I do finish it!!!! Anyway, hope you enjoy this and HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!!!
“Hey Zach, I’m running a little late. Is it cool if we push lunch to 1:30?”
Zach pressed the phone closer to his ear as he navigated the crowded sidewalk. “Oh, uh, sure, sure, no problem.”
“You’re not already there, are you?”
“No, no, I’m in the area, but…I can find some way to occupy my time until then, I’m sure.”
“Uh huh. Zach.”
“What?”
“Don’t go to American Apparel.”
“Psh, what? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do. Your visits to your imaginary boyfriend are single-handedly supporting their Washington Square location.”
“Shut up.”
“I’m serious, Zach. You really don’t need the same striped hoodie in seven different color combinations.”
“Maybe I do. Bye, Tyler, I’ll see you at 1:30.” He hung up, slipped the phone into his pocket and glanced up to see that yes, in fact, his feet had led him unconsciously - unconsciously - to the corner of 8th and Broadway, and there was no decision to be made to go the extra half block and push open the door into the air conditioned familiarity of American Apparel.
*
Zach’s heart skipped a beat when he saw him folding t-shirts at a display near the front. Christopher, as his nametag boldly stated, not that Zach had tried consciously to remember his name, but come on, with those blue eyes (made even more noticeable by the blue zip-up hoodie he was currently sporting) and that sexy bleached, spiked hair…
“Hey you,” said Christopher, and Zach wasn’t quite sure how he’d gotten to the t-shirt display, but here he was, and here was Christopher - talking to him!
“Oh, uh. Hi.” Zach said, picking up a t-shirt casually.
“Weren’t you in here a few days ago?”
“Um, yeah, I guess I was,” Zach said with a nervous laugh. “What can I say, I like your stuff. American Apparel stuff. I like it.”
“Yeah. I think you’ve already got that one,” Christopher said with a grin, gesturing to the t-shirt Zach was clutching in both fists.
Zach felt his face grow hot and he set the now-wrinkled t-shirt down, then picked it up to try to fold it, then blushed again as Christopher pulled the t-shirt gently from his hands, folded it perfectly in one smooth motion, and set it down on top of the pile.
“We got some new hoodies in this week,” he said, pointing toward a display rack. “You should check ‘em out.”
“Right,” Zach said, not daring to look Christopher in the eye as he tore himself away.
*
Zach had a hoodie in his hand and was approaching the register when he shook his head, turned around, and walked over to where Christopher was re-organizing the tube sock display. “Um, hey,” he said, and Christopher stopped what he was doing and turned toward Zach with an eyebrow raised.
“Need some help?”
“Um, no, I just …look, I’m going to just come right out and say this. Can I ask you out? Because this-“ he gestured to the hoodie and Christopher and the store in general - “is getting a little expensive.”
Christopher squinted for a second in confusion, then gave Zach a small, apologetic smile. “Um. I’m straight, actually. Yeah,” he said in response to Zach’s look of disbelief. “Sorry.”
“No, no, that’s cool, I mean, I’m sorry. Sorry about that. Uh. Sorry,” Zach stammered as he backed away, hung the hoodie distractedly on the wrong rack, and made a beeline for the door.
**
“And that is why I can never go back to that American Apparel again. Ever.”
“Bummer, man,” Tyler said sympathetically. “I’m sorry to hear that. Guess you’ll have to find somewhere else to shop.”
Zach shook his head and sipped his therapeutic cosmo. “Actually, I think I’m good on clothes for a while.”
***
“Oh my god, Chris, did that guy just ask you out?”
Chris laughed at Zoe’s ability to overhear - or at least, guess at - anything that sounded like potential gossip from across the entire floor. “Yeah.”
“What did you say?!”
“Uh, I told him I was straight. What?”
Zoe was raising an eyebrow at him skeptically. “I wasn’t aware that straight boys made a practice of getting their dicks sucked by other guys in American Apparel fitting rooms.”
“Okay, yeah, fine. If that guy had licked his lips and asked me if his ass looked nice in a pair of jeans, that’s one thing. But a date? Yeah, right.”
“So you think that guy was hot?”
“I don’t know, Zoe, I don’t pay attention to that stuff!”
Zoe did something with her eyebrow that made clear the true depth of her disbelief.
“He had a nice ass,” Chris commented helpfully. “I guess he’s okay looking. What was up with that hat, though?”
“Ugh, Chris, you’re an idiot. Call me when something interesting happens,” Zoe said, and she stormed away in a huff.
Chris shook his head and turned back to the shelves.
**
Chris could feel Zoe shooting daggers at him from the register as he stumbled out of the fitting room, grinning and tugging at his jeans. In a failed attempt at subtlety, the ruggedly attractive guy with the wedding ring followed him out five minutes later, avoiding Chris’s eyes as Zoe rang him up for $500 worth of merchandise.
“What?” Chris said innocently, leaning on the counter after he’d tracked the guy’s movements out of the front door.
“JJ’s onto you, you know.”
“Whatever.”
“Seriously, Chris. He’s not stupid. What is this now, three guys in one week? That’s a little intense, even for you.”
“I know,” Chris said, dropping his head onto his arm where it rested on the counter. “Fuck.”
“What was that guy’s name?”
“Fuck if I know. He was hot though, right? I started calling him Karl in my head. Do you think he looked like a Karl?”
“He was okay. He had a pretty cute accent though.”
“Did he? We didn’t really talk.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet. Just, be careful, okay? You really don’t want to have to find yourself another job in this economy.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Chris said, grabbing a stack of returns. “Back to work.”
**
“This is fucking bullshit,” Chris fumed, looking at the latest schedule. Zoe took a sip of her beer and waited. “Only eighteen hours this week, and two opening shifts? What the fuck?”
“I told you, Chris, JJ is pissed.”
“Does he know how much business I bring in? You think these guys would voluntarily drop 500 bucks on this shit if I wasn’t charming the pants off of them?”
“I thought you were usually the one with your pants off, Christopher.”
“Whatever. I’m right, aren’t I?”
“I don’t know.”
“This is such bullshit. There’s an opening at Diesel, my friend Simon works there. I can’t stay here with this kind of treatment.”
“Fine, so quit then. What are you waiting for?”
Chris bit his lip and gave her a guilty look.
“What?”
“Um…I just…I kinda wanted to see if that guy ever comes back.”
“Who, Karl?”
“Who? No - what? No, I’m talking about…remember a couple weeks ago, that guy…”
“Oh my god, CHRIS! Are you talking about the guy who asked you out?! You are!”
Chris blushed furiously and ran a hand over the back of his neck. “I just…you know, I wanted to see if…if he was as good a cocksucker as he looks,” Chris finished defiantly.
Zoe laughed derisively. “Oh please. You want to go out with him! You want to go on a date! You are so gay, Chris!”
“Shut up!”
“Chris.”
“What?”
“Do you want to go on a date with that guy?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. Fuck!”
“Oh my god,” Zoe said, sitting back and taking a sip of her drink. “This is so priceless.”
“What is?”
“You, here, pining over the fag that got away.”
“Fuck you.” Chris rolled his eyes and took a long swig of his beer, then set it down on the bar and ran a hand through his hair.
“I highly doubt he’ll be back, Chris. You kinda shot him down.”
“I know, I know. I’ll just….I’ll stick it out for the week, see what the next schedule looks like. If JJ’s still on my back, I’ll quit, okay?”
“Okay. And in the meantime, Chris?”
“What?”
“You might want to stay out of the fitting rooms? Seeing as that’s not really what you’re looking for anymore…is it?”
Chris tipped his head back and squeezed his eyes shut in resignation. “Fuck.”
***
“Oh god, what is that smell?” Zach sniffed his t-shirt and wrinkled his nose. “What the hell, I just washed this t-shirt!”
“Zach.”
“What?”
“Please stop sniffing your t-shirt in the middle of the restaurant.”
“Sorry, sorry. Just-“ Zach sniffed his t-shirt again “-ew. I have to change or something.”
“Okay, well, we’re meeting Neal at 3:00 and it’s 2:30 right now, so eat your lunch and then you can, like, buy a new t-shirt or something.”
“Fine.” Zach finished the last bites of his spinach salad as Corey paid the check, and they headed out the door.
“Here, come on,” Corey said, urging him toward the doorway of a store. “Go buy a t-shirt, I have to run into Duane Reade to pick up a few things. I’ll meet you here in ten minutes.”
“Uh, Corey. I can’t go in there.”
“What the hell? Zach, go buy a fucking t-shirt!”
“Corey, it’s American Apparel,” Zach said through gritted teeth.
“So? Oh fuck, Zach, this isn’t about your imaginary boyfriend, is it?”
“Shut up!”
“Look, just go in there, buy a t-shirt and leave. He’s probably not even working there today, and if he is, then lucky you, you’ll have new jerk-off material for a week. Go!” Corey gave him an unnecessarily hard shove through the doorway, leaving him standing stupidly in the front of the store as the door closed behind him.
“Can I help you?” Zach startled at the question and it took him a moment to realize that the salesguy had black hair and a lip ring and was decidedly not Christopher.
“Oh, um. Yeah. I mean, no. I just need a t-shirt.”
“Okay, well if you’ll just follow me, I can show you…” Zach ignored him and walked toward the t-shirt display, grabbed one from the top, and headed toward the register. He dropped the t-shirt on the counter, pulled out his wallet, and looked up into a pair of gorgeous blue eyes. Fuck.
“Um, hi,” Chris said, smiling nervously. “You came back.”
“Yeah. I guess. I just needed a t-shirt.” What Zach needed was to get the hell out of this store so he could hyperventilate elsewhere. He stared at the counter, willing Christopher to stop looking at him and just ring up his purchase already.
Chris had no intention of rushing through this transaction. He gripped the edge of the counter and leaned forward. “Last time you were here, you, uh…”
“Yeah, I know. Look, I’m really sorry about that, I’m not here to hit on you or anything. I just…I really needed a shirt.”
“Okay, but look, I just wanted to say, you know, I’ve kind of…re-evaluated…some things, and I was wondering if maybe the offer still stands?” Chris looked at him hopefully.
“Oh. Um. Um,” Zach stammered. What? He was so not prepared for this. “Um. Sure.”
Chris broke into a genuine grin. “Awesome. So, like, when did you want to go out?”
Zach gaped at him for another moment as his mind seemed to go completely blank. “Um. I guess…tonight?” Tonight? Who the fuck says tonight? How desperate did that sound? Zach wished for a moment that he could replay this entire scene as a suave, seductive stranger, instead of an awkward thirteen-year old talking to their crush at the mall.
“Tonight?” Chris asked, the surprise in his voice further convincing Zach that he was, in fact, coming across as a desperate weirdo. “Yeah, okay. Cool. Can I, uh, get your number or something?”
“Yeah. Sure,” Zach said, recovering somewhat, even smiling slightly as he took the pen that Christopher passed to him and wrote his number on the back of the receipt. At the last minute he remembered to add his name, and he slid the paper back across the counter. “I’m Zach, by the way.”
“Hi Zach. Chris.”
Chris? Huh. Not Christopher. Zach wasn’t sure he liked that as much. Sounded a little…fratty. But, okay, he could handle it. “Well, Chris…I guess I’ll see you tonight?”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll call you when I get off work. But, here’s my number, just in case.” He scribbled his number on a scrap of paper and handed it to Zach.
“In case of what?” Zach asked, teasing.
“In case…in case you miss me between now and then,” Chris said with a wink.
Zach laughed. “Right, of course. Well…thanks.”
“See you tonight.”
“Yeah. See you.”
*
Zach exited the store to find Corey rolling his eyes and gesturing to his watch.
“Jesus, Zach, how long does it take to buy a t-shirt?”
“I got his number,” Zach said, pulling his stinky t-shirt off and stuffing it in the bag.
“Whose number?”
“Christopher’s.” Zach pulled on the new t-shirt, sniffed it, and smiled, satisfied. “I mean, Chris’s.”
“Your imaginary boyfriend?”
“He’s not my boyfriend. And he’s not imaginary. We’re going out tonight.”
“Tonight? Are you serious?”
“Yeah.” Realization hit him. “Shit, Corey. He’s so hot. I can’t believe I have a fucking date tonight!” He did a little leap of happiness in the middle of the sidewalk, and Corey had to yank him out of the way of an oncoming stroller.
“That’s great, Zach. Just, try to keep it together while we get through these meetings, okay? You can freak out later.”
“I think I will.”
**
Zach sniffed his t-shirt and groaned in frustration. “Oh my god, how the hell does this t-shirt smell, already? I just bought it!” He pulled at the sleeve to sniff it again, then at the collar. “Fucking t-shirts. Why you gotta be so smelly?”
“Zach, did you ever consider that the problem might not be the t-shirts?”
“No, I did not. Because I smell like roses, thank you very much.”
“Mm-hmm. Well, maybe you can change before your little date.”
“Fuck!”
“Yeah. You can’t be going on a date in a smelly t-shirt, Zach, that is just not cool.”
Zach pulled out his phone.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m calling him.”
“What? You’re going to cancel just because of a t-shirt?”
“No, I’m not going to cancel, are you crazy?! I’m going to tell him to buy me a t-shirt. He works at American Apparel, you know.”
“Oh my god, Zach. This relationship is doomed.”
Zach held up a finger to silence him as the phone rang. “Uh, hi Chris. It’s Zach. Yeah, yeah, I still want to meet up. I was just wondering. Could you maybe bring me a new t-shirt? I, uh…spilled something on the other one. I’ll pay you back. Sweet. You do? Wow. Okay. Yeah, I’ll meet you there. Okay, bye.”
Zach hung up and looked at Corey and Neal with a ridiculous grin. “We’re meeting in Union Square in half an hour.” Zach bit his lip but he couldn’t contain his excitement. “He knows my size!”
“He’s a stalker.”
“No, he’s just good at his job.”
“Oh that’s right. You’re the stalker.”
Zach threw a fry at Neal and looked at his watch. 28 minutes to go.
***
“Bye Zoe.”
“I thought you didn’t get off until 8:00.”
“I don’t.” Chris pulled his nametag off. “I’m quitting.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“I just saw the schedule for next week and it sucks. I got what I wanted, so now it’s time for me to tell JJ to go fuck himself, and get out of here to make way in the world.”
“Uh huh. More like make your way into - what was his name?”
“Zach,” Chris said with a dreamy sigh.
“Into Zach’s pants,” Zoe finished.
“Keep in touch, okay?” Chris asked, giving her a hug.
“Of course. I still need my drinking buddy! And you can talk me into sanity when JJ’s driving me crazy.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Zoe watched Chris walk into the back and couldn’t help but grin as she heard his voice getting louder, peppered with colorful curses and a final assertion that JJ was just “jealous that you didn’t get to suck my dick, asshole!” before Chris stormed out triumphantly. He pecked Zoe on the cheek and picked up his pace as they heard JJ yelling from the back. As he crossed to the front of the store, Chris grabbed a stack of t-shirts from the display, stuck his middle finger in the air without looking back, and burst out the front door at a full run.
**
Chris was sweaty and his heart was racing as he flopped down onto the bench in Union Square next to Zach.
“Hey,” he said, still panting a little from his run. He dropped the stack of t-shirts on Zach’s lap. “Here you go.”
“Thanks,” Zach said, glancing curiously at Chris. “You alright?”
“What? Oh, yeah. Just…kind of ran here.” He gestured to the t-shirts. “I stole those for you. Long story. Don’t worry about it.”
“Um…okay.” Zach shrugged and pulled his t-shirt over his head, blushing when he saw Chris staring appreciatively at his chest. He quickly pulled on a new t-shirt and imagined that Chris looked vaguely disappointed.
Chris grabbed a t-shirt too, and pulled his sweaty one over his head, giving Zach a chance to admire his six-pack, an opportunity that Zach was more than willing to take. He grinned at Zach as he pulled the new t-shirt on and ran a hand through his spiked hair. “So,” he asked, still slightly breathless. “What do you want to do?”
Zach had thought long and hard about that question; unfortunately, none of the answers he’d come up with were appropriate for the first five minutes of a first date. “Um, I was thinking we could, um…”
“Let’s go to Central Park!” Chris suggested enthusiastically.
“Okay,” Zach agreed. It was a beautiful, warm evening, and that way they could walk and talk and yeah, that sounded just about perfect.
They headed into the subway station, running to push their way onto an N train headed uptown. The train was crowded, but Zach managed to get a handhold, and he instinctively slid an arm around Chris’s shoulders to hold him steady.
“Hi,” said Chris as his hands found their way to Zach’s hips.
“Hey,” Zach said, surprised to realize that Chris’s face was only inches from his. He stared for a moment, said “um,” and closed the distance to kiss Chris on the lips. He felt Chris’s hands tighten on his hips as the train jostled them together, and then they were kissing for real, their mouths open just enough for their tongues to slide over and against each other between the seal of their lips. Chris could feel people’s eyes on them as they made out like teenagers in the middle of the crowded train, but the stares only made him kiss Zach harder and slide a hand down to squeeze his ass. Zach was losing himself in the kiss, and he didn’t even care, it was so fucking sexy, Chris eagerly pressing deeper into his mouth, his hands roaming over Zach’s jeans and clutching at the back of his t-shirt. They’d barely paused to take a breath when they heard the name of their stop over the loudspeaker, but they managed to come to their senses in time to disengage and stumble out the doors into the station.
Zach grabbed Chris’s hand as they ran, laughing, up the stairs out of the station and into the park, neither quite yet capable of conversation. Chris didn’t even realize that they were still holding hands until he was pulling Zach into a secluded area behind a pile of boulders, and then he slid his hand out of Zach’s grasp to fumble at his jeans as they found each others’ lips again.
“Fuck,” Chris breathed, as Zach nipped sweetly at his neck and shoulder. “This was supposed to be a date.”
“So?” Zach asked between kisses.
“So…we were supposed to talk and stuff,” Chris said as he slid his hand into the front of Zach’s jeans. He made a whimpering sound as he realized that Zach wasn’t wearing anything under the jeans and wrapped his fist around Zach’s cock.
“Oh god, Chris,” Zach gasped, “god, you are so amazing, fuckin’…I want to fuck you.” He was just babbling now, he had no idea what he was saying, and Chris’s grip faltered for a second but then he twisted his hand a little and stroked him harder.
“Yeah? What else do you want to do to me?” Chris asked, panting.
“Guh, I want to…fuck…I don’t know.”
Chris laughed and looked down to see what he was doing, biting his lip as he watched his pale fingers sliding over Zach’s engorged cock. He was still watching when Zach made a sound in the back of his throat and his body stilled as he came, spurting against Chris’s stomach and over his fist.
“Fuck,” Chris said, in awe, as he tore at his own fly and wrapped his jizz-slicked hand around his own aching erection.
“Let me suck you,” Zach murmured in his ear, but Chris shook his head and thrust desperately into his hand. He tilted his head back as he felt Zach’s fingers wrap around his, and then he was coming, fuck, already, and Zach’s mouth was on his again. He untangled their fingers and slipped his hand under Zach’s t-shirt, palm flat against his lower back as they held each other and breathed.
“Sorry,” Chris whispered, although he wasn’t, really. “I just…that was the fucking hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“S’okay,” Zach mumbled into his hair. “You’re the fucking hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Chris grinned and pulled away, tugging at Zach’s hand as he took a seat on the grass, leaning against a boulder. Zach took a seat next to him, crossing his legs and picking idly at a dandelion stem.
“So…what now?” Chris asked.
“Um…not sure,” Zach said, unfamiliar with the etiquette of first dates that began with frantic handjobs in semi-public locations. “Didn’t you say something about talking?”
“Isn’t that what usually happens on these things?” Chris asked. “Aren’t we supposed to, like, find out if we have anything in common and all that jazz?”
Zach shrugged. “’Kay. So. Tell me about yourself.”
“Well, until 3 hours ago, I used to work at American Apparel.”
“No way! I love American Apparel!” Zach said in mock surprise.
“Awesome! So, I guess we do have something in common. Well, that and an appreciation for frantic handjobs in semi-public locations.”
Zach broke into a full-on grin as Chris repeated the words that he’d just been thinking. “Exactly. You know, I have a feeling that we might get along just fine.”
“Yeah,” Chris said, tipping his head back against the boulder and closing his eyes. He took a deep breath, then opened his eyes and sniffed at the sleeve of his t-shirt. “Hey,” he said, scooting closer to Zach. “Does this t-shirt smell weird to you?”
The End