The Bad Idea

✨ Chapter Eight | Little Shop of Horrors

— Eli —

"Something's up with Eli," Ben announced to the entire car repair shop, looking over at me from under the hood of a busted up minivan he'd been working on. "He's smiling all the time for no reason... It's straight up creeping me the fuck out."

I silently rolled my eyes while I continued to wrench, but...I still couldn't stop smiling.

Ricky laughed, along with a few of the other guys. Ricky passed through the open garage with a stack of papers and bills he had been consolidating over in the office for a week.

"I think Eli's in loooove," he playfully sang as he passed by me and the car I was working on, teasing as his grin spread from ear to ear.

Ricky was the only other guy who was out around here, and to be honest the fact that I wasn't the only openly gay man in this place was a bit of a relief.

Before that kid came on board, it was just me for the longest time.

I never wanted to make the rest of the guys uncomfortable, so I didn't bring it up much. I didn't talk much about Jacob, but sometimes he'd come pick me up from work or drop me off. Not a lot of PDA happened around here on my end, to put it plainly.

Ricky, on the other hand, started having his boy-toys visit him in the office enough times to almost get him written up by Mike for it. He didn't care. He was super fucking open about his boyfriends.

I had him to thank for seemingly desensitizing the rest of the guys, because they didn't seem to care either. It made being myself feel okay, and I don't know why I had doubted these guys accepting me in the first place... They were my family.

"You finally dating again, dude?!" Gabe slapped me on the shoulder hard enough to bruise when he walked by. "Good for you, big shot!" He cackled, throwing himself down on one of the creeper mats and rolled himself under the last car in our daily lineup.

"I'm not dating anyone." I corrected, still smiling but focusing on the tire I was replacing. I got the old one off with a firm tug, bouncing it over to lean against the scuffed up wall behind me.

"Wait a fucking minute... Is it that pretty-boy whose vintage truck you're working on after-hours, Eli? The one you keep arguing with, like an old married couple?" Ben asked.

I clenched my jaw, willing my face not to flush as I grabbed the new tire in my hands and mounted it onto the bolts, ignoring him.

I heard Mike cough, sitting in a folding chair next to a fan in the corner. He always smoked back there when he wasn't wrenching, but that wasn't his smoker cough... It was his 'I'm not saying anything, but you're definitely onto something' cough.

Everyone knew it.

"Oh shit!" Ben exclaimed excitedly, looking back at Mike. The old man was looking everywhere but at any of the guys as he inhaled his next puff.

Everyone laughed. Fuck.

"It is, isn't it?!" Ben turned back to ask me. "It's your friend with the old Ford!"

"The guy who keeps bringing you lunches, with the homemade muffins?" Gabe rolled back out from the car to look over at, me but I ignored him and continued my work. "It's all making sense, bro..."

Ben threw his gross towel over at me, "What does he make you for dinner? Hmm?"

"A different kind of muffin," Ricky yelled playfully from the open door of the office.

All the guys howled in laughter.

I failed to keep the blood rushing to my head, my ears on fire, continuing to keep moving on with my work while everyone kept moving between laughter. I knew they were just happy for me, but God they were brutal.