The Lost Coast Read Free

hadn’t noticed him initially. He always keyed first on potential problems.
    He looked a little closer. The kid had beautifully smooth skin, full lips, a healthy bloom of red in his cheeks. More clean-cut than the others of similar age Larison had seen in the area, but still probably just another Humboldt State college student. He noticed Larison looking at him, looked away, then looked back. It was hard to tell from across the room, but Larison could have sworn the kid had blushed.
    This wasn’t a good idea. He’d taken enough chances already tonight, coming to the bar, pinging the local tough guys, conversing with the bartender. Picking up some college kid on top of it seemed like really pushing his luck.
    Still, the kid was so his type. The hair, the complexion, the soft features. He imagined the kid on his knees in front of him and felt himself becoming aroused.
    The kid looked away again, then back. What the hell, it couldn’t hurt to just say hello. Maybe the kid wasn’t even gay. But what felt more likely, somehow, was that he was and just didn’t know it, and the thought of that aroused Larison even more.
    He got up and walked over. The kid watched him approach, looking both pleased and nervous. God, Larison hadn’t run into anyone like this in forever. Fuck it. This was worth taking some chances.
    He stopped in front of the table and said, “You’re from Humboldt State, am I right?”
    The kid smiled uncertainly, and Larison was knocked out. It was such an innocent smile, so unspoiled and unsullied. Larison might have had a smile like that himself, a million years earlier, before all the things he’d encountered that gave him his scary rictus instead.
    “Yeah, how’d you know?” the kid said. The voice soft, pleasing.
    “I saw the signs when I came in from the highway. I didn’t know there was a state school this far north.”
    “Yeah, we’re the furthest north in the system. You thinking about applying?”
    Larison was about twenty years older than the kid, and if the tone had been different, the question could have come across as mocking. Instead, it felt… flirtatious. He liked that the kid seemed not to be scared of him. “I’m not sure. You think I’d like it?”
    This time the kid blushed for sure. “I… I don’t know. I mean, it’s a good college. The people are cool. Who are you, anyway? What are you doing in Arcata?”
    “Just a stop on a long trip down the coast, dealing with customer complaints.”
    “What kind of customers?”
    Larison had a whole backstopped story he could have unspooled, but he didn’t feel like it. If this wasn’t going to end the way he hoped, he didn’t want to waste any more time. He took a sip of beer and said, “The kind who’ve bought expensive data mining software and are disappointed to find out the applications don’t do what they’re supposed to.”
    “Sounds like you spend a lot of time with unhappy people.”
    “Yeah, but I try not to let it get me down.” He took another sip of beer and said, “You alone here?”
    “Got some friends probably swinging by later.” For whatever reason, he didn’t sound happy about it.
    “Can I ask you a question?”
    The kid nodded. “Sure.”
    “If I wanted to pick up a little local Humboldt County produce—you know, just something to help me kick back and relax after a day of dealing with unhappy customers—do you know of anywhere I could do that?”
    The kid looked suddenly uneasy. “How do I know you’re not a cop?”
    For the second time that night, Larison had to resist the urge to laugh. “I look like a cop to you?”
    The kid nodded. “There’s something serious about you. And I can tell you’re in shape.”
    Larison was glad he’d noticed. “You must not know too many cops.”
    “What do you do? Weights? Seriously, you’re pretty… big.”
    Christ, was the kid flirting, or just incredibly innocent? Either way, it was a turn-on.
    “I do a little something different every day.