An Indian and His Tide (ManxMan)

3: He's Got the Golden Ticket!

Warning: The "n" word is said in this chapter. 

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Ranil couldn't believe how relaxed he was. Josie had came over and they gorged themselves on junk food the night before. He went to sleep with a full belly for once. Since becoming an adult and taking hold of the responsibilities that come with it, Ranil has found himself on the lanky side. The boys at the clubs he went to didn't complain, but personally, he’d like to be a bit more thicker. Honestly, he felt sickly at the weight he was at. He was there because he didn't have money to buy food all the time so groceries were coming into his apartment at a once-every-two-weeks frequency. Ranil has gotten so creative with the things he can do with just eggs and rice alone.

Today though, he thought he looked great in his khaki blazer and white V-neck T-shirt. His dark jeans hugged his legs tightly and Josie slapped his butt earlier in the morning when they had gotten ready together. She went off to school while he found himself at the front doors of the salon he worked at. His hair was pissing him off though. He couldn't get his pompadour right at all so he just wet the long section of hair and decided it could lay down for the day.

As soon as he walked through the door though, he quickly reevaluated his decision.

There stood Mr. Roman Bousaid.

Ranil’s legs wobbled and he must have looked like a penguin. He gulped. In front of him, talking to Ms. Yolanda, was the man he’s seen in magazines and on TV. Ranil’s bottom lip was instantly being chewed on and his hands flew up to his hair, touching and shaping with an unknown goal. He came to work looking like a complete idiot.

Roman Bousaid had neck length black hair that was lightly slicked back. His hair didn't look greasy at all, in fact, it looked like he had gotten out of the shower a mere thirty minutes ago and it took Ranil’s breath away to even think of Roman and shower in the same sentence. A coal grey, knit sweater hugged perfectly onto Mr. Bousaid’s body. Ranil could tell it was cashmere and he immediately wanted to rub his face on it, up and down on his soft sweater. Wouldn't mind going up and down on something else too, he thought, honing in on how tightly the dark slacks were hugging Roman’s hard thighs.

Ranil was getting way too self conscious at this point, nervously fiddling with the hem of his blazer, cheap by comparison to anything Roman was wearing. Hell, Ranil thought fifteen bucks at TJ Maxx was expensive!

“-But he ain't usually this airheaded.” He heard Ms. Yolanda finish saying.

He looked back up to where he was supposed to be looking, at Yolanda and Roman’s faces. That turned out to be even worse. Roman’s dark hair and even darker finely cut beard stood out on his olive skin. He looked like a handsome Arabian warrior, come to save Ranil from poverty and stress.

Yolanda’s hand waved before him and he blinked rapidly while shaking his head. “Pardon?” He mumbled shyly. Shit, I already look stupid, he berated himself.

“You really ain't in it today are you boy?” Yolanda asked with a confused, yet amused expression.

Roman smirked down at Ranil, at least a head taller than said boy. “Well I hope he shapes up before he becomes my apprentice.”

Fuck, he already thinks I’m an airhead! Ranil wanted to crawl into a hole and starve to death. Wait, no. He was already doing that. Something more painful… Hanged, drawn and quartered. Yep. That’s what needed to happen to him right then and there, he needed to be hanged, drawn and quartered.

He gave out a forced laugh, “I’m sorry. I just can’t believe this opportunity is happening to me!” Ranil explained. Actually, Roman’s physical perfection was more overpowering than the apprenticeship at the moment.