by Sue Brown
Dan took a minute to look for Gideon, but he couldn’t see any sign of him. Strange, Dan thought Gideon would be there to give moral support, but he guessed a room full of gay men wasn’t his idea of a good time. Dan was disappointed, but he told himself that Gideon had spent the whole day getting Dan scrubbed up for the evening. He’d done his babysitting duties.
Dan caught Ariel’s eye and pretended he was drinking from a bottle. She nodded, and a minute later, a bottle of his favorite beer was in front of him.
Next on the list was Mr. Eight, who was taking his time to appear. Dan felt a bit awkward sitting at the table by himself, but after he had drunk about half the bottle, a man slid into the seat opposite him. Dan stared. It looked like a lion had escaped from Central Park Zoo and walked into Cowboys and Angels.
Chapter 12
THE MAN had a mane of red hair that framed his face at crazy angles. His eyebrows and stubble matched. If Dan had been into redheaded men, he would have pulled the guy out of his seat and rushed out the door before someone else could claim him.
“Hi,” the man said shyly. I’m Cris…. Mr. Eight.”
“Hey, Cris…. Mr. Eight. You are….” What did one say to a lion god?
“Ginger?” The man grimaced as though he’d heard it a lot.
“I was going to say something like a lion god, but ginger will do.”
Cris blushed almost the color of his hair. “It’s the first time anyone has called me a god.”
Dan blushed too. “I guess that was a bit over-the-top.”
“God or ginger? You are, without doubt, the best one I have seen tonight.” Cris pulled a face. “In order—boring, closeted, and tight. You, my friend, are a breath of fresh air.”
That was the first time Dan had been called a breath of fresh air. Still, Cris’s remarks didn’t hold out much hope for Dan’s dating prospects. He got the feeling Cris wasn’t going to be on his list either. Cris’s expectations were probably too high for the Cowboys and Angels crowd.
“Tell me what you do, Cris?”
“I’m a stripper.”
Dan choked on a mouthful of beer and had to work hard not to spray beer all over Cris as he tried to get himself under control. When he finally wiped his eyes and looked up, Cris gave him a resigned look.
“Yeah, that’s the reaction I usually get.”
“I don’t have a problem with you being a stripper. Hell, I work in a bar. I’m the last person to judge what a man does.”
“And yet you just did.”
Dan shook his head fiercely. “No. I don’t care what you or anyone else in this room does to pay your bills. You seem like a good man, Cris. That’s all I care about.”
Cris still looked wary, but he nodded. “Are you the guy who works here?”
“Does everybody know?”
“It was all anyone could talk about before the evening started. Your girl there, the one in the red dress, wasn’t exactly subtle.”
“I’m going to kill her,” Dan muttered.
“Don’t do that. She’s fiercely protective of you. We all but got told to treat you with kid gloves.”
Dan groaned and banged his forehead on the table. “No one’s going to date me with her hanging over me.”
Cris laughed. “You’re probably right there, but it’s been good talking to you.” He pulled a card out of his pocket. “If you can cope with screaming women, come and see the show when you get a night off.”
Dan looked at the card and furrowed his brow. Forbidden Nightz sounded vaguely familiar. “I’m sure I know this place.”
“It used to be Bones.”
Dan snapped his fingers. “That’s where I remember it from. I worked there when I left school.”
“As a stripper?”
“No.” Dan had been going to say “Hell no,” but he remembered who he was talking to. “I worked the bar. That’s all I’ve ever done. It wasn’t a strip club then. It closed down because there were fewer customers than bar staff.”
Cris grinned. “It’s certainly changed now. Give me a call and let me know when you’re free to come over. My number’s on the back.”
Dan turned the card over. A cell number was scrawled messily from one corner to the other. “You’re not looking for a date, are you?”
“I don’t think I’m your type, Mr. One. It’s a shame, because you’re definitely mine. But I’ll take what I can get. Friendship is good enough… for now.”
Dan was almost sad when the whistle went. He liked Cris, and he would have been happy to talk to him for the rest of the evening.
The evening went on and on. Dan pasted on a smile, listened to the small talk, and tried not to look at his watch too much. Finally he was down to the last five. He didn’t understand Ariel’s numbering system, but he had Fifteen to Twenty left.
Mr. Fifteen was about half Dan’s height, twice as loud, and strangely entertaining. Dan let him talk for the entire time, because Mr. Fifteen wasn’t short on things to say, and Dan didn’t feel like interrupting him. Physically he did nothing for Dan, but then, he’d never been one to base relationships on looks alone. When Mr. Fifteen got up at the whistle, he winked at Dan. “You are a good listener. Next time, try talking a little about yourself.”
“I didn’t get a chance,” Dan pointed out. “You talked enough for both of us.”
“Maybe we can go out for a beer, and I can get to know something about you.”
Dan nodded. He wasn’t someone Dan would want to take to the wedding, but for another date, Dan was willing.
Mr. Sixteen disappeared somewhere. Dan had no idea where he’d gone, so he took the opportunity to use the bathroom and get another drink. Ariel sidled up to him as Bradley handed him a bottle.
“So? Have you met anyone interesting?”
“I’m not sure about a date, but I’ve seen a couple of people who looked like they could be friends.”
“We’re looking for a date for the wedding,” Ariel said.
“I think that ship has sailed.” Dan tugged Ariel into a hug at her crestfallen face. “This was fun, and I might have made some friends from it. Thank you, Ariel.”
She hugged him tightly around the waist and then pushed him off in the direction of his chair. “You’re a lousy liar, but I love you. Hurry up, the whistle is about to go again.”
Dan was going to ask her where Gideon was, but she blew the whistle and the moment was lost. So was Dan’s hearing. He really hated that whistle.
Mr. Seventeen—tall, dark, and handsome—slipped into the chair and gave Dan a sheepish smile. Dan smiled automatically, and then he blinked.
“Mikey?”
“I guess you’re surprised to see me,” Mikey said.
He was a customer of Cowboys and Angels, one of the guys always in the middle of any altercation. Dan had never realized he was gay.
“I had no idea,” Dan said honestly.
“Nor me, about you. I thought I was the only one. I can’t tell anyone I work with.” There was a warning note at the end, and Dan nodded. Message received.
“You were brave to come here.”
Mikey sighed and rubbed his temples. “I’m so damn tired of hiding.”
It occurred to Dan as he listened to Mikey talk that no one had asked about Dan. It was like they knew he was a barman and that he was looking for a date, but anything else was irrelevant. They didn’t view him as a date. He was a commodity. All of a sudden Dan was tired, and he really wanted the evening to be over and done with.
As though Mr. Eighteen had read his thoughts, he sat down, smiled at Dan, and asked him how his day had been. Dan stared at him for a moment as though it were a trick question, and then he threw caution to the wind and told him about his day. Mr. Eighteen laughed as Dan talked about Aunty Vera and admitted he was scared to death of her. He also studied Dan quite carefully as he talked about his shave and Baz’s skill with the razor.
“You’re right. It’s a very close shave. I imagine your chin would be quite smooth.�
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The implication was that he would like to feel Dan’s chin on his skin, and they both knew it. Dan thought about it for a moment, and then he nodded. “It’s very smooth.”
“I’ll remember that,” Mr. Eighteen said, and he was gone.
Dan took a deep breath and looked at the piece of paper Ariel had given him for the first time. He ticked Mr. Eighteen.
Chapter 13
“HELLO, DAN.”
Dan stared in horror as Mr. Nineteen slid into the seat opposite him. Oh fuck no. What the hell was he doing there? Dan hadn’t spent the last three weeks avoiding Disastrous Date for him to turn up now. “What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded.
“I heard about this on the grapevine. I knew you’d be here.”
Dan wanted to punch the smug expression off the man’s face. “I’m not interested.”
Disastrous Date looked genuinely confused. “Who wouldn’t want Parker Smith?”
“You talk about yourself in the third person?”
Parker shrugged. “Why’re you playing hard to get? I’m gay. You’re gay and not bad-looking.” Dan ground his teeth at the backhanded compliment. “Why don’t we just skip number twenty and go fuck?”
“I don’t like you,” Dan said through gritted teeth. “And even if I did like you, there is no way in hell I would be another lunchtime conversation piece about my dick.”
“Is that what your problem is?”
“I don’t have a problem. You have the problem. You’re the one who thinks good first-date conversation is about all the other men you’ve fucked.”
Parker looked at him as though he were mad. “Is that why you’ve been ignoring me?”
“I’ve been ignoring you because I don’t want to go out with you, I don’t want to go to bed with you, and I’d be very happy never to see your face again.”
“I do like my men feisty,” Parker said as though Dan hadn’t spoken. He certainly wasn’t listening to what Dan was telling him. “It makes it so much more fun in bed when I tie them down.”
Dan tensed. He was ready to crawl over the table and smack the dude in the face. Wouldn’t that be ironic? The newly appointed manager starting a fight. But then someone laid a hand on Dan’s shoulder, preventing him from rearranging the dude’s face.
“You lay one finger on my man,” Gideon said, “and I’ll tear you limb from limb.”
His words were slow and deadly, and Dan had no doubt he meant every word, but Parker’s lip curled as he took in Gideon’s full frame dressed in jeans and a figure-hugging black sweater. “Who’re you?”
Neither of them noticed Dan’s quiet meltdown as he stared at Gideon. What was he doing?
“I’m Mr. Twenty, and you’re in my seat. Move.”
“My time isn’t up yet,” Parker protested.
“Your time was up weeks ago,” Dan spat. “You just won’t take the hint.”
Gideon put his hand on Parker’s chair and made it very obvious by the way he loomed over Parker that if he didn’t move voluntarily, Gideon would make him move. For one moment Dan thought Parker was going to create a scene, but then he seemed to think better of it and got to his feet. Dan was almost disappointed. After weeks of hassle, the thought of Parker’s face being rearranged was very satisfying. Then he scolded himself for turning into a savage. Gideon took Parker’s place and grinned across at Dan.
“Well, hello there, my name is Gideon, and I’m your Mr. Twenty.”
Dan shook his head. “There’s going to be a very disappointed Mr. Twenty in a minute if you’re sitting in his seat.”
Gideon gave him an enigmatic smile. “No, not really. I am Mr. Twenty.”
“You are?” Dan blinked at him. “But… you’re not…. Why are—?”
“Are you going to manage to get a whole sentence out at some point?”
Dan leaned forward over the table. “The whole point of this evening is to find me a date.”
“And have you found one yet?”
Dan looked over the list of people to find one he could say would be the date. “Well, I suppose numbers fifteen or eighteen. Fourteen was okay.”
Gideon gave a low rolling chuckle. “Do you even remember who they are?” When Dan just stared at him, the chuckle turned smug. “I thought not.”
“You’re not gay,” Dan hissed.
“No, I’m not,” Gideon agreed, and Dan’s heart sank. “I’m bisexual, and before you ask, this isn’t a midlife crisis. I had boyfriends and girlfriends before I met my wife. I don’t think bi is on the way to gay, or men are to play with and women are for relationships, or anything else you might think of.”
Dan’s brain hadn’t gotten that far. He stuttered and faltered on the idea that Gideon was sitting opposite him. Until Gideon had ended their telephone conversation with a casual comment about not being straight, he’d never had a clue Gideon was anything except heterosexual. For five years he’d been completely oblivious. “You never told me.”
“You never asked.” Gideon shrugged. “I loved Sarah, and I wasn’t ready to go out with anyone else for a very long time—man or woman. Now I think I’m ready, and I thought this was one way to take the plunge.”
“By speed dating,” Dan said flatly.
“I knew who I wanted to go out with before the whole thing started, but this was fun. I would do it again.”
Dan frowned and looked down the list. “You’ve met one of these men before? Which one?”
Gideon rolled his eyes. “I swear flirting never used to be this hard.” He leaned forward and fixed Dan with his intense gaze. “There’s only one man I’ve been interested in for a long time, Mr. One.”
It took Dan a minute—a very long minute. But then his jaw dropped open. Finally he managed to splutter “Me?”
“Yes, Dan. You’re the one I am interested in. You’re the reason I’m here, dressed up like a Christmas turkey and talking to all these men.”
“You couldn’t have just told me this beforehand?”
Gideon looked shocked, as though the idea hadn’t occurred to him. “It wouldn’t have been as much fun,” he finally managed.
“You and I have a very different idea of fun. I would rather pull my eyelashes out than go through this again.” A thought occurred to Dan. “Oh my God. Ariel set this all up. Did you tell her about me? Did she know you’re bi?”
Gideon grinned wickedly. “Where do you think she got the idea from? Yes, she knows I’m bisexual. No, she doesn’t care. And you were always going to be my Mr. Twenty.”
“I’m going to kill her,” Dan muttered. “And I should have been your Mr. One, not your Mr. Twenty.”
“I said that to her, but she said that being the end person would be better. You’d end up with the man you wanted.”
“What makes you think I want you? What if I found someone else?”
Dammit, Gideon’s confidence was absolute. He didn’t bat an eyelash. “Do you want me?”
“That’s not the point,” Dan muttered.
“You can get up and walk away now if you want. I won’t stop you, and it won’t affect your job. Whatever happens tonight won’t affect your job.”
Dan looked at him uncertainly. “You still want me as your manager, even if I turn you down.”
Gideon nodded. “I’m big enough and ugly enough and secure enough not to force a man. But if you like me as much as I like you, then why not take the plunge? It’s for one day, that’s all.”
One day? Dan wasn’t sure what he meant for a minute, and then he suddenly realized. Marty’s wedding. That’s what Gideon was talking about. He wasn’t looking for a relationship. He was looking for one day of fun. The disappointment rested bitterly in the back of Dan’s throat.
“Sure. Why not. One day of fun at the wedding. You can be my date. You have to deal with two sets of religious parents. But what the hell?”
Gideon narrowed his eyes at Dan’s staccato tone. “What just happened there?”
“Nothing. I’ve got myself a
date for the wedding. I’m going home now. Bradley can close up.”
Dan got to his feet and smiled bleakly down at Gideon. “Thanks for hosting the evening. Hope it gave you a good laugh. You won the bet. Here’s $100. I’ll have to work off the rest.”
“Dan, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It all worked out. I’m going home now. I’ve got the early shift tomorrow.” Dan walked away, holding his head up high, because no way was he going to let Gideon see how upset he was. Mr. Eighteen grinned hopefully at him, but Dan shook his head and headed for the door.
Ariel rushed toward him, a concerned look on her face. “Dan, where’re you going? It’s not over yet.”
“It is for me. I got my date for the wedding, you had a laugh at my expense. G’night.”
Dan grabbed his jacket, shrugged it on, and pulled out his gloves and hat. The cool, clear air was a relief after the stuffiness of the bar. He walked away quickly, half-afraid someone—Gideon—would try to stop him and half-disappointed no one did. But he made it back to his apartment and closed the door. He rested against it with his eyes shut and tried to process what just happened.
He should have realized it was a setup. Gideon and Ariel played him well. He would get through tomorrow with his head held high and his dignity intact, and then he would find another job and get as far away from Gideon as he could. It was one thing to have an unrequited crush on his boss, it was another to find out the boss knew and was laughing at him.
Wearily Dan shucked his clothes, set his alarm for an early start, and collapsed into bed. SmokeyJo settled against his chest and purred as he stroked her.
“I’m a fool, SmokeyJo.”
She purred in agreement.
Dan huffed. “You weren’t supposed to agree with me. I should push you off the bed, you worthless hunk of fur.”
But the cat stayed where she was, a slightly vibrating comfort to Dan’s troubled soul.
