Page 16 of Controlled Burn
He chuckled. “Guess it was the deer-in-the-headlights look.”
I should have been embarrassed, but I didn’t get the feeling he was making fun of me so much as sympathizing.
“I didn’t expect it to be so busy. I guess I picked a bad night to be curious.”
“It’s always packed on Daddy Night. So much so that we’ve been thinking about replacing one of the other theme nights with a second one. Anyway, you’ll be fine. If anyone gives you any trouble, just let me or that big guy by the door over there know.” He motioned with his head at a mountain of a man who was standing by the doorway with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.
“Okay, thanks. But for now, can I just get a drink?”
“Sure thing. What’s your poison?”
I really wasn’t a very big drinker, so I wasn’t sure what to order, and I chose the only thing I could think of at that moment. “I’ll have a Long Island Iced Tea?”
He tilted his head to one side and looked at me appraisingly, then nodded. “Coming right up.”
He barely had ice in my glass before the first guy slid into the seat next to me. “Hey there, cutie. I haven’t seen you here before.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at him calling me cutie. I knew I wasn’t a bad-looking guy, but I wasn’t cute. Cute was short and sweet and… I don’t know, cute. I was too tall and lanky to be what anyone would call cute.
This guy hadn’t done anything wrong, but something about him didn’t do it for me, so I just shrugged, hoping he would get the hint. Another guy, this one much taller and a little more intimidating looking, took the seat on the other side of me.
“Where’s your Daddy at, boy? Please tell me you’re here all alone.”
I gulped and tried to figure out the best thing to say. I didn’t have time to strategize, so I went with my instinct… I lied.
“He’s meeting me here. Should be here any minute, actually.”
“Beat it, Tully. The guy ain’t interested,” the bartender, also known as my new best friend, said as he set my drink down in front of me. The guy, Tully, I guess, gave the bartender a dirty look and moved on.
I took a big drink and then gave him a weak smile. “Thanks. I probably shouldn’t have come alone, huh?”
“The buddy system is usually best,” he agreed. Someone from down the bar motioned for him, and he tapped his fingers on the bar and then pointed at me. “You be good now. If you need anything, I’m right here.”
He wasn’t even all the way to the other end of the bar when two men took the seats the other guys had vacated. I looked up, checking my face in the mirror over the bar. You know, just to make sure I didn’t have easy mark written across it somehow, because that’s the way it felt.
“Hey, sweet thing. My friend and I couldn’t help but notice you sitting all alone over here.” The guy on my right said that with a leer I was sure was supposed to be a grin.
“That’s right,” the one on the left said. “And we were wondering if you were in the mood to play.”
“To play?” I asked despite my better judgment.
“Yeah, see, Cal and I like to share, and if you’re into that, we would love to take you home with us.”
Oh. Wow. Okay, that was so not something I was interested in. I mean, I was all for sexual expression, and obviously polyamory was a legit thing, just not my thing.
“Umm, no, thank you?” It came out as more of a question than a statement, but I didn’t want to be rude.
“Are you sure? With the both of us, you’re guaranteed a good time.”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
The one who’d spoken first, you know, the one who didn’t even bother to give me his name before inviting me to come fuck both him and his friend, shrugged, and they both got up and walked away.
I’d just decided that I should call it quits and head home when a tall, good-looking man slid into the seat next to me. He turned to face me.
“Hi, I’m Sebastian. What’s your name, sweetie?”
“Umm, Caleb.”