“I have a horchata stout from Sunnyside Sips Brewery.”
One of his eyebrows quirked up. “A horchata stout?”
“The stout is infused with coffee, cinnamon, Madagascar vanilla, milk sugar, and rice, which gives it a sweeter taste than anything else I have on tap right now.”
“You’ve piqued my curiosity. I’ll try it.”
As I poured him a pint, I noticed Mr. Maudlin staring at Chance. It was hardly surprising, given that the young musician was as handsome as his famous father. What I didn’t expect was for him to call down the bar, “Hey, aren’t you that guy?”
Chance tugged his hat a little lower as he hunched his shoulders forward. “Nope.”
The man squinted, trying to get a better look. “I’m pretty sure you’re that guy who did the thing, right?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Chance denied, an edge in his voice. “Please leave me alone.”
“No, you’redefinitelythat guy in that group.” It irked me when the customer stood up to inspectChance. He staggered as if he had knocked back six beers instead of only one. “Yeah, you’re totally that guy.”
Chance kept staring straight ahead. “Sorry, but you’re mistaken.”
I set the stout in front of Chance on a coaster, then gave Mr. One Beer a menacing look. “Leave him alone.”
“But he’s that guy. You know, theooh ooh ahh ahhdevil dude. My girlfriend loves him.” Tears welled up in his eyes as he corrected himself. “Ex-girlfriend.”
I pointed at his seat. Using my authoritative bouncer voice, I ordered, “Sit.”
“But if I got his autograph, maybe she’ll be mine again.”
“Either sit quietly, or I’m throwing you out.”
“I want her back,” he whispered, staring down at the bar.
It was so pathetic I almost felt bad for the guy. But his pushiness and refusal to listen painted a clear picture of why she dumped his ass. “I won’t tell you again.Sit.”
He swayed on his feet but stubbornly stayed put. My patience was already at its limits with his bullshit. I went over to the machine to print out his receipt. “Pay, then have someone come get you. You’re obviously too drunk to drive yourself home.” How he managed to act this wasted after one beer was beyond me.
“I bet if I looked like you, she’d take me back. But she thinks I’m not manly enough because I don’t like sports, or cars, or flannel, or steak, or beer, or working out, and I’m short, and I’ve got these stupid little bird arms.” I bit back a laugh when he flapped them uselessly at his sides to illustrate his point. “I mean, your forearm is bigger than my biceps, so I’m sure she’d love to suck your huge monster cock that probably makes mine look like a toothpick in comparison. With your big, burly muscles, you’d have no problem holding her up to fuck her against a wall.”
Chance snorted and did a shitty job of covering it up with a fake cough.
Even though I told myself to stay out of it, I couldn't help feeling for the poor bastard. “If she makes you feel this bad about who you are, why do you want her back?”
He looked up with wide, watery eyes. “What do you mean?”
“You just listed a shitload of reasons she hates you for not measuring up to her ridiculous ideas of what makes a man. Why would you want to be with someone who negatively judges you for not being a stereotype?”
“Because she’s so nice.”
I scoffed. “She’s nothing close to nice if she makes you hate yourself this much because of all the mean things she said to you because you aren’t the poster child for toxic masculinity.”
A tear rolled down his cheek. “I was never good enough.”
“No, you’retoogood for her. She did you a favor by leaving you. Once you get over your heartache, find someone who likes you for who you are instead of hating you for all the things you’re not. Don’t waste your time pining for somebody who doesn’t appreciate you.”
Before he could react, another man appeared with a concerned look on his face. I recognized him as a regular who usually sat in Red’s section with his grumpy-looking boyfriend. He glanced from the miserable fool to me. “Shit, is Tobias causing you problems?”
“He needs to pay and go.” I might have had some sympathy for the guy, but I still didn’t want him weeping in my bar and causing more of a scene.
“How did you know I’d be here, Everson?” Tobias asked with a sniffle.
