Stories Beneath Our Skin Read Online Free PDF

been on his resume. Why bother when it had nothing to do with the work?
    " He's got good people sense. Hard to believe, I know." Ace frowned. "English? What're you going to do with that?"
    " Teach English." Maybe he didn't need a fork. He tested the top layer with a tentative fingertip. The cheese had cooled off enough to touch. Carefully, he peeled it up and ate the first messy strand. "They sort of want you to know your stuff before you get up in front of a group of kids and try to shove it into their heads."
    " He knew what that dot dot dot thing was." Goose nodded sagely. "English type, totally."
    " Seems like a waste." Ace broke his crust in half. "You're good at this. Decent artist, steady hand."
    " I'm good at teaching, too." He hunched his shoulders and concentrated on getting the rest of the cheese up in one piece.
    " Kid has dreams of a pension plan and summers off. Sounds like a better deal than this to me." Deb tossed a balled up paper towel at Ace.
    " So what, you like him now?" Ace caught the projectile easily.
    " Sure, why not? You do."
    " Shut up, Deb."
    " You guys," Goose said slowly. "There's a wicked huge spider in the corner of the ceiling by Deb's desk."
    There was a mild cacophony after that. Deb ran off to get a broom, brandishing it like a sword.
    "Spiders are sacred in a ton of religions," Goose told Liam. "In some places, he's a trickster god and sometimes, she's a seductress."
    " Yeah, well here they're fucking creepy." Deb started swiping at the ceiling.
    " Stop that." Ace got between her and the wall. "Give me a second, I got it."
    In one athletic hop, Ace stood on the desk , which wobbled ominously beneath him. He waited for a few seconds, head cocked, then reached out and gently tumbled the spider into his cupped hand.
    " Ugh." Deb took a step backwards. "Seriously?"
    " I can't believe a spider freaks you out, after everything else you've seen." Ace laughed, holding his hand steady as he leaped neatly off the desk. "Get the door?"
    Liam propped open the front door with thinly veiled amusement. He watched as Ace walked to the edges of the parking lot to a little strip of grass. Kneeling down, he set his hand into the greenery. He didn 't get back up right away. In the neon midnight lights, he looked out of place. Too serene and almost... prayerful.
    " Could've just left it on the pavement." Liam said quietly under Goose and Deb's bickering when Ace came back in.
    " Could've. Didn't." Ace picked up a second piece of pizza and handed it over to Liam. "How about you eat your next one instead of dissecting it?"
    " Tastes better this way." Liam started in on the pineapple. He didn't really need a second slice, one usually did him, but it gave him something to do with his hands. "What else do you rescue besides kittens and spiders?"
    " Apparently, smartass wannabe English professors."
    " Hey--"
    " I like it!" Goose snapped his fingers at Liam. "That's it! You're the Professor. Totally fits."
    " Classier than Goose," Deb agreed.
    " There is nothing classier than the Goose." Goose waggled his eyebrows. "Anyway, you've been renamed, kid. From here on out, you're the Professor to me."
    " Uh, do I get a say in this?" Liam hadn't ever been the nickname type, but this was a very temporary situation. Let them call him what they wanted. It was better than "kid" at least.
    " Nope. That is not how the power of nicknames work," Goose said sagely. "They get attached to you, and then you carry them around until the sun dies out."
    Liam left not long after , and he had to suppress a smile when Deb and Goose sing-songed together, "Good night, Professor."
    " Night." He waved over his shoulder.
    Ace said nothing at all, but Liam could feel those light blue eyes on this back all the way out the door.

Chapter Three
     
    Liam filled the grey empty space between leaving St. Francis and arriving at Great Sin with gossipy afternoon DJs and indie rock. It was dangerous, that in-between time, a transition that gave Liam too