Barely eleven, and I already glistened with sweat. Music pumped out of the speakers on the stage while we crowded the small dance floor. Amanda bumped her butt against my hip. Jon had taken off his cowboy hat, waving it in the air as we danced our hearts out.
The club wasn’t large. It didn’t take many people to make it appear packed. Spectrum gave us a chance to be ourselves. I knew half the people dancing. The rest had come from nearby towns. Chances are at least one or two were tourists that heard about the club on the internet. Billed as Gay Night, it was impossible to tell who played for what team. Mrs. Hawthorne, straight as an arrow, claimed ‘the gays’ knew how to have a good time.
The DJ on stage bobbed back and forth. There was a lull in the music, the beat building while we all prepared. When her arms rose in the air and dropped with the beat, werenewed our jumping about. It could be the electricity in the air or the four bottles of beer, but I was feeling no pain. I’d deal with sore thighs and a cranky back tomorrow. After the cardio workout, I’d have an extra cupcake when I got home.
Jon put his arms around my neck, getting close while we danced. Technically a cub, he was the only other girthy man in the club. Yet, somehow, I was the only one drenched in enough sweat I soaked my undies. Jon and I had dated until we discovered two bottoms didn’t make a top. Now, he and Amanda were my weekly dance buddies.
He put his cowboy hat on my head as he swayed to the techno music. Amanda danced with a woman I hadn’t seen before. I was jealous that Spectrum had a steady influx of women, but never new men. If she played her cards right, she’d be walking into the comic shop with a hangover and smelling of her new friend’s perfume.
Leaning in, Jon pulled my head close. “Looks like a straight man got lost.” We spun about so I could have a clear view of the door. I choked when I spotted Simon.
My overactive imagination imagined a record screech as the flashing lights all focused on this beautiful bear. It had been a busy day for a comic book store in the middle of nowhere, Maine. Between the beer and the music, my hormones were in overdrive, and my cock knew what it wanted.
I stopped dancing, despite Jon grinding against my side. Simon wore a button-down shirt tucked into his jeans. If he threw open that shirt, he’d look like every other man here.It was almost comical as he bobbed his head to the music. It continued the debate. How straight was this straight man?
I gave Jon a pat on the cheek before heading toward the door. I could hear him shouting, “Go get ‘em, cowboy,” over the thumping bass. As I shuffled through the crowd, I closed my shirt, fastening one of the buttons. When Simon spotted me, I gave him a slight nod toward the bar.
Simon had entered my world. There was no holding back as I wrapped my arms around the burly man. I kept it civil with a few pats on the back before letting go. I would have given him a slap on the ass, but I didn’t want to scare him away. Not yet.
“I didn’t think you were going to show.”
“I wasn’t sure I could. But it seems Mrs. Hawthorne’s daughter babysits.”
Oh. I had thought his apprehension was about coming to Gay Night at the bar. It’d take me a while to recalibrate to the needs of a dad. “Just warning you, Julie is a chocolate fiend. Most likely, she’s cleaning out your pantry as we speak.”
“Who don’t you know?” He laughed before an abrupt stop. “Lucas is going to be wired when I get home, isn’t he?”
I nodded. “If you’re lucky, Julie will wear him out.”
I gestured to the bar. He scanned the alcohol along the back wall. I could see the mistake before it happened. Taking inventory of Spectrum’s hard liquor was a wasted effort. Filled with water, the pretty bottles were there for show.
He waved down Patrick. Usually, he was the only straight man in the bar. It didn’t stop him from putting on a leather harness and wearing chaps. I appreciated he knew how to get tips from the gays.
“A Moscow mule?”
Patrick pointed at Simon and then at me. We laughed at the inside joke. Patrick hadn’t mixed a cocktail in the three years Spectrum hosted Gay Night. Everybody in the bar knew better.
“Welcome to the middle of nowhere.” Screw it. I slapped Simon on the ass. “We’ll both have a beer. Make his fancy.”
Patrick reached into the cooler and pulled out two beers. He popped the caps and put Simon’s beer on a napkin. See? Fancy. I slid money across the counter as Simon caught up with the reality of small-town living. I picked up my beer, clanking it against his.
“Welcome to Firefly,” I said with a laugh.
He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face as he picked up the bottle. With another clank, we both took swigs. It could be the alcohol, the music, or the fact Simon had entered the world of flexible sexual boundaries. I grew bolder than I had at the farmers’ market.
“Did you see yourself coming to the country and hanging out at a gay bar?”
He turned around, leaning against the counter. The music hadn’t stopped. Amanda had taken her fling to the side of the room. As she made out with her mystery woman, I made a note that she would be coming in late tomorrow.
“I haven’t been to a club since Lucas.” I noted he didn’t comment on the fact he was in a gay bar. “I used to show up at all the new clubs when I first moved to Boston. I wasthatkid.”
“Think you’ve still got it in you?”
He raised an eyebrow. When I pointed to the dance floor, his hands came up in protest. “There’s a good chance I’d break a hip.”
“Stop it. You’re only what…”
He evaded the statement with another swig from his beer. Simon must be a few years older than me. Maybe ten? I wanted confirmation that this straight dad was old enough to be a daddy. I’d find out one way or another.
