Read Online Patrick's Plight by Stephani Hecht, Amber Kell - Free Book Online

Ronnie.
    Ronnie crossed his arms over his chest. “Well I’m not becoming a stripper. I’d take a header off

the stage and get a concussion or something.”
    Patrick had to agree Ronnie’s lack of coordination was almost legendary in their hometown. He tripped over a fire hydrant and broke a toe, tripped over a step and bruised his face, and once he tumbled off his bicycle and snapped his arm in two. It had been a minor miracle that Ronnie hadn’t broken anything since they’d moved in together.
    With Oliver’s medical bills, they didn’t need another one for the stack.
    “Yeah maybe you’re right. Maybe stripping isn’t your thing.”
    “I’ll think of something,” Ronnie promised.
    “Even with your new snazzy job, we’ll never pay the bills on time.”
    “We’ll think of something together,” Oliver said. “As always, together.”
    “Together,” Ronnie and Patrick agreed.

Chapter Seven
    atrick watched as one of the camera
    P men/editors put together all the takes to make one smooth film. It had taken him two months to convince Vance to let him look at films of naked men and only because the others teased him mercilessly about it.
    “I never realized it took so many takes to make a single scene,” Patrick confessed, his eyes locked on the screen.”
    The cameraman man was an older guy who was nice yet not in skeevy way like Ross often came across as. He turned around, a smile on his slightly rounded face. “Yeah, most people don’t know how hard these guys work. They think that all they do is have sex then get paid.”
    At one time, Patrick had been one of those people, too. Now he was ashamed of the way he’d just made assumptions before taking the time to educate himself. For the most part, they all treated Patrick great. Sure, he still had to deal with Ross, but Patrick just made a point of avoiding the jerk.
    “What do you think?” Mark asked as walked in and took a seat beside Patrick.
    After becoming friendly while waiting for their

interviews, they continued to hang out at work.
    Patrick liked that Mark didn’t tower over him like some of the other guys. The way that Mark always had a joke at the ready was a nice thing, too. It was probably Mark’s caretaking skills from raising his siblings, but he always watched out for Patrick and helped when he had questions.
    Tilting his head to the side as he examined a particularly inventive scene, Patrick replied, “You’re very flexible.”
    Mark gave a devilish grin. “I’m the only one here who can suck his own dick.”
    Patrick laughed. “It’s good to have talent.”
    They all glanced back at the screen just in time to see Mark being bent in a position that would have made Gumby cringe.
    “Damn, do you have a side job as a gymnast or something?”
    “No,” Mark replied, his face perfectly serious.
    “I’m actually a ninja. We have to be flexible in order to get into those all-black pajamas.”
    Even though the joke made no sense, Patrick cracked up. Their laughter cut off abruptly when the door opened and Ross walked in. It was as if all the good humor evaporated from the room.
    Even Mark grew tense, a small whimper slipping past his lips.
    As usual, Ross had a sneer on his face and he directed the expression directly at Patrick. “What

are you doing in here? Trying to pick up some tips, so you don’t keep disappointing Vance?”
    Patrick would have replied, but he couldn’t look away from Mark. The guy’s entire body shook, and droplets of sweat formed on his brow.
    Patrick patted Mark’s hand sending him soothing vibes through his grip. Obviously, Ross didn’t save his asshole attitude exclusively for Patrick.
    “Hey Mark, you need to go sign those forms I left out for you,” Patrick reminded him with a pointed look.
    It was a lie, but Ross didn’t know that.
    “Sorry, I’ll go take care of that right now,” Mark replied.
    Shooting Patrick a grateful look, Mark shot to his feet and practically ran from the