Placing the glass back on the bar he said, “Oh, I don’t want to talk about Gaz! I’d much rather talk about your amazing T-shirt.”
Nathan glanced down to remind himself what he was wearing. Oh right, the Must Eat Brains one.
“This?” he grinned like a fool. “That’s just me in the morning.”
“Zombie fan?” Auryn asked.
“Yeah, big time.”
“I liked that Walking Dead. Did you watch that?” Nathan blinked in surprise. “You mean, The Walking Dead? Are you kidding? I love it!” A Bar Tender Tale | Melanie Tushmore 27
“Yes, I thought they did a pretty good job. Lived up to the comics, and you don’t get that often.”
“You read comics?” Nathan asked in disbelief.
“Now and again. I’m a bit of a nerd, I’m afraid.”
“I’m sure I could outnerd you!” Nathan was confident for once he was right.
“Oh really? Well, that depends in what area. Are we talking TV, films, comics, or computer games?” Nathan was surprised. He’d lost already. “You’ve outnerded me! I don’t do computer games.”
“That’s a pity.” Auryn said.
Nathan’s heart skipped a beat. “I, um,” he stammered, looking away and fumbling with a glass, pretending to clean it. “I’m not anti-gaming or anything. I just… haven’t before.”
“So, you are game?”
“For most things, yes.”
Nathan felt heat rising in his cheeks as soon as he’d spoken. Slipping into flirty banter happened all too easily, and usually it didn’t faze him. Today, however, was a different story.
“That’s good to know.” Auryn took another sip of his drink, eyes still on Nathan.
Staring back at him, Nathan’s mind stumbled over what to say. He wanted to say something witty or clever.
There were flirting, right? Or was this all in his head? It was so awkward trying to chat to guys outside of gay clubs.
That, and Nathan’s uncanny ability to always fall for the straight ones anyway….
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Auryn placed his pint on the bar and eagerly suggested,
“Korean horror films!”
“Er, what about them?”
“You said you’re game for most things? So, what about Korean horror films?”
“Well, yeah!” Nathan replied. “Have you seen Dark Water?”
“Yes! We had a water tank like that back home. I tell you I couldn’t go near it again after watching that.” Nathan laughed. “I’m not surprised! They’re the kind of films you think are fine to watch, but the creeps catch up to you when you least suspect.”
“Speaking from experience?”
“Experience hiding behind the sofa? Er, yes! I love it!”
“Some of the computer games I play are like that,” Auryn said. “I have to peek around the sofa with my controller to keep playing!”
“Really?” Nathan thought that sounded silly and automatically made a face. When he remembered he was trying to impress the guy, he instantly wiped the skeptical look away. “I mean, surely they aren’t as good as films?”
“It’s like being inside a film!” Auryn looked excited now.
“We’re going to play on Saturday with Gaz—why don’t you come?”
Nathan almost dropped the glass he was pretending to clean, mind reeling at the invitation. He tried in vain to keep his hopes from rising at the thought of someone actually inviting him out.
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Gaz, he told himself. He’s friends with Gaz and has blokey, video-game nights with other straight guys. Nathan smiled wryly. It would be like his teenage years all over again, crammed into a stale-smelling room with a bunch of boys, watching them absorbed with their video games for hours and desperately wishing someone would pay attention to him. He’d told himself ages ago to stop pining his time away with straight men.
Although the thought of sitting close to Auryn and watching him all night was almost enough to make him waver.
“As tempting as that sounds,” Nathan said as he carefully stacked glasses, “I’m working Saturday.”
“Oh.” Auryn sounded disappointed. “Not here, no?”
“No, I’ll be at my actual job. I think Gaz has a girl in for Saturdays.”
Auryn nodded absently. “Yes, I’ve seen a girl here sometimes.”
“Yeah.” Nathan moved away from Auryn and the bar, walking out onto the pub floor. The fussy, older couple had shambled off, and Nathan went to retrieve their glasses and empty crisp packet.
He also wanted the few moments away from Auryn to think.
There was one thing on his mind…. Well, apart from how gorgeous Auryn was, there was one other thing on his mind. Namely, whether the man was straight. Or bi, Nathan thought, sneaking a glance over his shoulder at him. Bi he could work with.
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Auryn was still at the bar, seemingly deep in thought as Nathan brought the glasses back. Stalling for time, Nathan lined the dirties up in the glass washer, making himself busy.
There was a pretty good gambit for opening conversation up toward sexuality, and he intended to find the right moment to slip it in. He’d done it before, and this time would be relatively simple, seeing as Auryn was originally from Wales. The trick was to casually ask questions about why the other person had moved to Brighton and enquire about how they coped with the uninspired jokes of “Have you turned gay yet?” that were often encountered. Usually, that would work a treat. Depending how they reacted, Nathan could tell if they were poker straight, relaxed straight, possibly ambiguous, or gay.
An ambiguous answer might need further probing.
That’s when he could mention where he worked; the name Rainbow’s kinda spoke for itself even if you hadn’t been inside the infamous gay bar.
Plan set in mind, Nathan was psyching himself up to ask the question. Auryn beat him to it, snapping out of his concentration with an excited look and said, “Did you hear apparently they’re making Crossed into a film.”
“What?” Nathan was drawn in immediately. “No way!
Where’d you hear that?”
“Yeah, they’re talking about it online. I hope they don’t muck it up, I loved that comic.”
“It’s ace,” Nathan agreed, as they quickly descended into a discussion on the ins and outs of zombie comics and everything in between.
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As the time ticked by, they moved onto films, the conversation flowing so steadily that Nathan kept missing his opportunity to get onto the topic of Auryn living in Brighton. I’ll ask in a minute, he kept thinking, easily distracted by Auryn’s beautiful smile and the way his eyes lit up when he was describing a scene in a film, comparing it to one of his computer games.
The rest of the customers in the pub started to file away, leaving their empty glasses. A couple of them said thank you as they exited, but Nathan barely noticed. He did notice however, that Auryn didn’t ask where Gary was again.
In fact, he didn’t mention him at all. They were too busy talking about films now, trying to outdo each other with random factoids and trivia.
“Here’s a question,” Auryn asked in all seriousness.
“Which were more scary, the deranged zombie officers from the dream sequence in An American Werewolf in London or the evil Nazi zombies in Dead Snow?”
“Ooh, tough one.” Nathan frowned in thought. “I’d have to say the dream sequence zombies, 'cause they just came outta nowhere.”
“Good point. But a stampede of zombies are a lot more fun to kill.”
Nathan laughed. “Yeah, in your computer games! I’m talking about reality!”
“Well, yes, but if you’ve ever seen Gaz on a drunken rampage, in reality as you call it, you do get a bit of practice wrestling zombies.”
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“Hah! I wouldn’t even dream
of trying to stop Gaz in full charge. Back at The Hob when we used to work there, we’d send him in to break up the bar fights.”
“That’s why we call him Gazilla. Have you known him long?”
“Yeah, kinda.” Nathan leaned into the bar without thinking, bringing himself closer to Auryn. “We worked together, and I liked the band he used to play in.” Auryn nodded. “Yeah, Gaz has been in a lot of bands.
You like all that punk rock then? I suppose you’re mates with Tazz and the others?”
Nathan smiled, but it was a nervous one. Auryn was describing one of Gary’s friends, a very colorful and loud staple on the punk scene in Brighton. But like Gary, also very straight.
This seemed like as good a time as any, Nathan thought.
“Um, a bit, yes,” he ventured. “You could say I’m with a different crowd.”
“Oh right?” Auryn looked at him, glancing again at Nathan’s tee shirt. “I wasn’t sure. I mean you dress like them.”
“Yeah, that’s not quite what I meant,” Nathan tried to explain. “I spend time in places they wouldn’t go. Like the bar I work at….”
“Hm.” Auryn glanced at his watch, then jumped up in surprise. “Oh shit, that’s not the time? I’ve got to get back to the office. I told my boss I’d only be half an hour.” A Bar Tender Tale | Melanie Tushmore 33
“Oh,” Nathan said, disappointed. “But it’s only—” He glanced up at the clock behind the bar, seeing it was well after one. “Ah.”
“Where is Gaz, then?” Auryn asked. “Tell that lazy git that I was by, would you?”
“Yes, sure,” Nathan said, trying to sound upbeat. “He’ll be down later.”
“Okay, thanks. Tell him I’ll be back for another when I’ve finished work. Oh, and thank you for the unexpected chat, Nathan. It was nice to pretend I was one of the cool kids.”
Nathan tried to answer but found himself tongue-tied.
Instead he smiled, fighting the urge to blush.
“You gonna be here later?” Auryn asked. “I’ll be back around six. I’d like to talk with you some more.” Surprised by the direct statement, Nathan felt his hopes soaring to the skies again.
“Oh, yeah probably,” he answered, as calmly as he could. Yes! Anything you want!
“Great. See you later.”
“Bye,” Nathan said, almost to himself as he watched Auryn disappear.
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Chapter 2
THE old sot who had been asleep at the bar woke up suddenly with a snort and almost fell off his stool. Nathan was leaning in the doorway of the pub, smoking a cigarette as he gazed back into the darkened room. He would have refused to serve the man again, but luckily after a stumble into the gent’s to relieve himself, the old man reappeared, trousers undone, to say his goodbyes.
“Yeah, take it easy.” Nathan waved him off with the blasé attitude of an experienced barman.
The old man wobbled down the steps, turning back to slur something, possibly asking a question.
Nathan pinched the cigarette between his fingers and gestured at his own crotch area with his free hand. After taking a drag he said, “You’re flying low, mate.” The old man barely noticed, still babbling away as he staggered down to the newsagent’s two doors along. Oh well.
Nathan shook his head. He hadn’t worked in a normal pub for well over a year now; he’d forgotten how bad the daytime drinking brigade could get. At least The Jury’s was reasonably quiet. He was alone now; the lunchtime customers had gone. Probably no one else would show up until evening. Nathan’s heart gave a little flutter when he thought about Auryn.
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It had been a long time since someone he really liked had said they wanted to see him again. Nathan had to remind himself he was the king of unrequited lust, and there was a good chance his bad luck would rain on this parade too. At first he thought Auryn had been flirting with him, but now after thinking about it too much he wasn’t sure.
He would definitely ask Gary when he eventually woke up. At least the day had vastly improved thanks to Auryn’s visit. Although Nathan had been horrified afterward when he’d caught sight of his reflection in the bar mirrors. He’d had to come outside for a cigarette to calm down.
Why did you always meet gorgeous people when you looked a mess? It had to be the one day he’d done nothing with his hair and was covered in grease, sweat and God knows what else from cleaning Gary’s bar.
Bloody typical, Nathan thought. He stubbed out his cigarette and stalked back inside the pub, pushing open the door to the gent’s to wash up. Upon smelling the inside of the toilets, he quickly reversed out and used the sink under the bar instead, washing his hands and splashing water over his face. Thankfully there was some clean paper towel next to the bowl of lemons and limes. Nathan wiped his face dry and leaned into the mirror at the bar, trying to make his hair look more presentable. Today he looked like he was channeling the ghost of Lux Interior and his hair would not be tamed.
Giving up, he turned to his curry, now stone cold. He picked at the naan and pondered. He hadn’t made it into town for his retail therapy yet, but he didn’t mind. A A Bar Tender Tale | Melanie Tushmore 36
gorgeous man had spent the best part of an hour talking to him, and that was so much better.
Maybe he should ask Gary if he could cover at The Jury’s more often. This one day alone had already proved more promising than countless nights working in two different gay bars. Nathan had thought being a barman would send lots of action his way, but he was fed up with meaningless hookups and guys he had little in common with. Danny being a prime example.
Was it too much to ask to actually go on a date these days? Enjoy interesting conversation over a bottle of wine, perhaps? Danny hadn’t been interested in that. For him it was more get blind drunk and roll from party to party.
Danny never wanted to do anything “normal” like stay in and watch a film, which was Nathan’s favorite thing to do.
Watching films on your own wasn’t quite the same.
Shame all his film buddies were either coupled up or just plain busy. It had been so good talking to Auryn….
Maybe he could suggest a film night? Nathan continued to ponder as he sat at the bar in the empty pub, watching the outside world go by. He was snapped out of his thoughts as he caught sight of two figures walking down the street in the far window. He recognized those guys!
He ran to the window they would be walking toward and pressed himself against it, hands sliding down the glass as he did his best forlorn puppy expression. The two young men across the street spotted him and crossed over. They were Gary’s mates, but Nathan knew them from the band scene and various pubs. One was tall and quiet, and he looked up at Nathan almost warily. The shorter of the pair, the colorful A Bar Tender Tale | Melanie Tushmore 37
one with the multicolored hair and tattoos, leaped under the window and stuck his pierced tongue out suggestively.
Nathan grinned in response and waggled his own tongue back, making kissy faces at them both. The taller man, Jimmy, pushed his friend Tazz away, round the corner.
Knowing they were now headed for the front door, Nathan left the window and ran across the pub.
Tazz met him at the door. “Nath! Where you been, bro?”
“Stuck in here, that’s where! I need entertainment, like now!”
“Where’s Gaz?” Jimmy asked, pushing his head past Tazz to peek in the pub.
“The fool didn’t get any sleep 'cause he was getting jiggy with some girl,” Nathan explained. “And me being a bigger fool said I’d cover, on my day off, so he could get a nap.” Tazz perked up. “So Gaz is asleep right now?
Unguarded?”
Nathan caught the twinkle in his eye. “Yeah, I’d say he’s out cold.”
“Opportunity to mess!” Tazz ran around the bar, throwing off his rucksack with the skateboard attached to it.
“Tazz, we don’t have time—”
Jimmy tried to rein him in.
“There’s always time for Gaz fun!” Tazz insisted, yanking his T-shirt off. “Nath, do you have a camera phone?” Nathan was way ahead of him, pulling out his phone and scrambling for the right setting. “Mate, if you’re jumping on Gaz then I’m filming it! Jimmy, watch the bar.” A Bar Tender Tale | Melanie Tushmore 38
Jimmy rolled his eyes as he sat down on a stool. “Make sure you film Gaz beating the crap out of you both for waking him up.”
“Yeah!”
“Will do!”
Nathan and Tazz disappeared through the staff door and ran upstairs. Tazz unbuckled his baggy shorts and slid them down to his knees along the way, trying not to trip over.
Behind him, Nathan admired the view. “Nice boxers.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Tazz waved at him, unconcerned. “You can put it in the wank bank for later, mate.”
“Why thank you.” Nathan smiled. “I’ll do that.” Who needed dates when his straight friends stripped down to their underwear on a regular basis?
On the threshold of Gary’s bedroom, Tazz kicked off his shorts, and they crept inside. The rumbling snore from the large man on the bed reverberated off the walls. Gary was shirtless, while the rest of him was under the duvet. Nathan set his camera to film, doing a close up of Gary’s face snoring before Tazz leapt on him, wearing only his boxers and shoes.
Gary woke up with a surprised grunt as Tazz thrashed around with the duvet, trying to burrow underneath. “No, Gaz! You can’t have me! Stop it, Gaz!”
“What the…?”
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Nathan was in stitches and tried to keep the camera still, filming the reaction on Gary’s face as he realized who had invaded his bed.
“How did you get in here?” Gary threw his body weight onto Tazz, smothering him with the duvet. Nathan could only see Tazz’s tattooed arms and legs wriggling in the air as he tried to get free.
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