Diary of a Teenage Taxidermist by K. A. Merikan

it a rest, it’s on medium heat anyway,” said Robert, who was measuring small amounts of each of the spices he took and putting them on a plate.
    Ethan instantly stopped, feeling like an idiot. His head still had that weird tingle after the lapse. “Oh. I thought… it would stick to the bottom if it’s not stirred?” He looked up into Rob’s eyes.
    “Only if there’s not enough water.” Robert added a bit of oil to the pot, put the mixture of spices away, and collected the small jars. “Stir only from time to time.”
    “Okay.” Ethan sucked in his lips with heat building up in his body, and it was not from standing too close to the soup. Everyone had to be watching them, but he was too anxious to look around.
    “It would have been even better if we made stock ourselves, but that would take too much time,” uttered Rob.
    “How can you make stock? Do you dry out broth?” In a parallel universe, Ethan put an arm under Rob’s letter jacket and stroked his hot skin.
    Robert bit back a laugh. “Come on... no... you cook meat with certain vegetables and herbs and then you filter it.”
    “Do you have a favorite dish?” Maybe Ethan could try and order it for Rob’s next visit.
    Robert bit his lip. “I’d have to think about that. I like new stuff, but good beef is always nice.”
    Ethan bit back a smile. He loved good ‘beef’ as well.
     
    *
     
    Ethan sat on the bleachers, enjoying the nice weather. And watching the football practice. The soup Robert had made was so amazing Ethan could hardly comprehend it. It might have been so good because Rob didn’t really follow the teacher’s instructions and chose his own ingredients. Ethan could have Rob over every day with cooking skills like that.
    Technically, Ethan was here to sketch his new rat position ideas, but he was mostly ogling Robert. He didn’t even care about the abuse he was getting from Pat every now and then, too happy about drawing a rat in Rob’s letter jacket. Maybe he could make one like that and give it to Rob as a graduation present so Rob would have something to remember him by. Not that he would, but maybe he could glance at it every now and then and think of the fun times they’d had.
    Ethan enjoyed watching the football players tumble, even with all the armor on their bodies. He wondered how it would feel to be to be tackled by Robert. Into bed. The players were running through large tires, and Ethan almost broke his pen as he stared at Robert’s amazing thighs in motion. He couldn’t wait to feel them again, one time was enough for him to remember how toned they were. The memory could only be better if Rob would have taken off his shirt and showed off his chest and arms instead of always hiding them in long-sleeved shirts.
    Ethan could hardly believe how lucky he was to get a taste of such a first-class hunk. It was totally worth an eye. Maybe not brain damage, but an eye. He looked to the cheerleader team practicing just a few meters to the left. Chris pointed at them, saying something to Robert as they were both finished with the tires, but Ethan couldn’t hear what it was. He could guess it was something about their asses, or boobs, or whatever.
    “Hi, you,” said a pleasant male voice from the side.
    Ethan turned his head that way. He thought he was alone, but he must have paid too much attention to Robert because a guy from the cheerleading team managed to sneak up on him. He had a smile so white that in the sun it seemed like one bright line between his lips and a handsome, roundish face. “Ethan, right?”
    “Y-yeah. How do you know my name?” He had no idea why this guy would want to talk to him. Wasn’t he in the celibacy club, anyway? Hardcore Christians never seemed to like Ethan much.
    “Everyone knows you. I’m Derek by the way,” said the guy, sitting down next to him and offering his hand. The scent of fresh male sweat got Ethan’s senses alert in no time. “Hope you’re feeling better.”
    Ethan