“Look at that fucker–looks like he showed up at the wrong bar tonight, don’t you think?”
Joey eyed someone behind Mark’s shoulder, and he had to sneak a quick look behind him from the table where they were sitting. He assumed that the guy Joey was talking about was the one who stood out like a sore thumb in the club, mostly because of what he was wearing–a complete leather uniform, from the boots to the hat, all impeccably shined. It was a bit of an anomaly among the more conventionally dressed men, and while a look like that isn’t that strange to see in some bars, this one prefered a…more normal atmosphere, usually. That said, Mark thought the guy looked good in it, even if he was a bit older than the twinkish guys he usually preferred, like Joey. He turned back to his date, “I don’t know, it’s not that weird.”
“What, are you into that shit?” Joey asked–this is our third date, you’d better come out with it if it is.”
Mark laughed, “Oh no way. But to each their own, you know?”
Joey’s mouth turned up a bit, and he looked a bit disappointed that Mark wasn’t ready to pile on the guy as readily as he was. “I assume that’s not your thing either, then?”
“Hell no!” Joey said, almost a bit angry Mark had asked, “I…hate that uniform shit. I spend enough time terrified of the cops to wanna fuck any of them.”
Mark couldn’t blame him for that, but he wasn’t quite sure where to take the conversation from there. Joey was cute, and the sex had been good, but they…lacked a bit of chemistry when they weren’t fucking or on the dance floor. “Look, let’s get another drink, and then dance for a bit, alright?” Mark said, “I’ll buy.”
Joey nodded, but his mood had soured somewhat. Mark didn’t really know why he was making such a big deal out of it anyway. The path to the bar ended up skirting close to the stranger in the uniform, and while Mark would have given him no real mind before this, Joey’s comment had him looking at him a bit closer out of curiosity more than anything else. The guy didn’t seem very interested in the bar around him, and was just sipping a beer slowly at a corner of the bar jutting out into the room, where most people had to pass him on the way to getting drinks, including Mark. As he slipped past, however, he caught a whiff of some…smell. Something he’d never quite smelled before, but his vision spun for a moment and he nearly tripped into another table by the dance floor. He recovered, feeling a bit embarrassed, and kept going, talked with the bartender and got a couple more drinks for Joey and him.
As he waited for the bartender to mix them, he looked back over in the direction of the uniformed man, and was surprised to find that the man was staring hard at him too, with a cocky grin across his face. Mark quickly looked away, not at all wanting to give the guy the wrong idea. He found the look curious, but like he’d told Joey, he really wasn’t into the leather scene–he liked his sex nice and vanilla. Still, the man had taken an interest in him for some reason, and Mark decided to take the longer route around the bar back to the table where Joey was waiting, so he could avoid the man.
“You alright?” Joey asked, “I saw you trip.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just got a little light headed for a second.”
“Well maybe I should take both drinks then, if you’re such a lightweight.”
Mark rolled his eyes and took a sip of his, looked back over his shoulder, and saw that the man wasn’t standing by the bar anymore. Had he left? He scanned the room again, and saw that he hadn’t. Hhe was slowly maneuvering through around the room over towards their table. He blushed and looked down, Joey noticed, looked over to see the man coming towards them and scowled. “You didn’t talk to him, did you?”
“No! He was looking at me while I was getting drinks though.”
“Creep,” Joey said, and then shouted at the man, “Hey! We’re not fucking interested. Why don’t you go find a freaky fetish night or something?”
The man didn’t say anything, he just kept coming closer, and when he was a couple yards away Mark felt the same lightheaded feeling wash over him from before, along with that odd smell. He slumped in his chair, though he tried to remain upright and push through whatever this strange feeling was. “Your friend doesn’t look like he’s doing too well. I just wanted to make sure he was doing alright, after I saw him trip,” the man said.
Joey scowled at him, “He’s fine, why don’t you go hit on someone who’s interested?”
“He doesn’t look so good to me.”
“I’m good, I’m…good…” Mark said, pushing himself back upright as best he could. While he was lying to himself at first, he was actually feeling a bit better, though he still felt…a little off. Not woozy, exactly, but like he was a bit high. “I just…feel a bit weird is all, I think.”
“Do you want to go home?” Joey asked.
“No, I think he wants to stick around, don’t you?” The man said, coming around to stand at the edge of the table between Joey and Matt.
Matt was worried, and he didn’t feel good. He wanted to go home, or at least go outside for a bit of fresh air, but instead of saying so, he said, “I…yeah, I want to stick around, I think.”
Mark could see Joey was annoyed that he’d sided with the stranger over him, but that hadn’t been what he’d wanted at all. He tried to say so, but everything was still drifting a bit sideways. “I really think we should go,” Joey said, and he stood up, “Thanks for your concern, whoever you are, but I think I know what my boyfriend needs more than you do.”
He came around the table, the man watching as he helped Mark up from the table. It was a bit difficult keeping his feet under him, so Joey had put an arm under him to help keep him steady. “Did you fucking take something?” he muttered to him as they walked away.
“No! No, I didn’t take anything, I just…I’ve never felt like this before. I think I just need some fresh air.”
Bracken's Corner 