A gay bar. A fucking gay bar. All four of us were eighteen, but it felt over the top. Surely you had to move out of your parents house before you could do something like this. It felt like the bouncer should have asked for more than just ID - maybe an electricity bill, or a rental agreement.
My mom had made me give her Louis' number too, which was a bit weird, but I'd told her I was just going to a restaurant and that Ellie would be there as well. I'd asked Ellie to cover for me, because my mom would probably phone her first. Ellie had been very annoyed at not being invited along, but when we'd explained to her that it was Nick's plan, and he'd be there, she got a bit more forgiving. Relieved, even.
"This was a bad idea," I said to Louis.
"Of course. It was Nick's." He winced, and I laughed. "Sorry. Melissa's a bad influence."
We were waiting for Eric and Nick to get our drinks. Eric had told the three of us to sit, and that someone should just help him carry them back once he'd ordered. We were sitting right across the room from the bar, and he was in full view. But Nick had, blessedly, gotten up to follow him around like a puppy. Which Louis and I didn't really mind.
"I can't believe we're here." I said.
"I know. We should be studying."
"Or literally anything else." I smirked. "You major nerd."
He just laughed.
"At least we can talk here." The music wasn't too bad in this particular section, and we might have been forced to speak slightly louder, but we could still hear each other. Not that hearing Nick more was universally a good thing, but I could talk to Louis.
"Yeah, it's nice that the dancefloor's a few rooms away." Louis nodded.
The place was called Hello, Sailor - which I thought was kind of hilarious - and it was a pretty cool, if slightly cramped, place just off the waterfront. It seemed like it had been a house once, or a small hotel, just at the edge of the city. The space was split up by multiple tiny doorways. You'd have to rub against strangers a lot of the time to move through the place - an intentional feature, I assumed.
"I really don't want to hook up with anyone." I frowned.
Things had definitely fizzled out with Jamie, and I'd been pretty much the horniest I'd ever been in my life. The thing with him had started relatively soon after my breakup with Eric, and after that had ended, I was suddenly staring down the longest period of celibacy I'd gone through this year. Nick had been hinting that Louis and I should find guys while we chatted in my car on our drive into the city, so it was at the front of my mind.
But there was no way I was going to try and make out with a stranger in a bar. Least of all in front of Eric and his new boyfriend. That didn't feel like winning. Unless the guy I found was an absolute god, I suppose. Even then, I'd half-heartedly volunteered to be the designated driver, so I wouldn't be drinking. That was hardly the recipe for me having the confidence to talk to and kiss attractive strangers.
"Yeah, me neither." Of course Louis would say that.
He could easily have found someone though, if he'd wanted to. He looked amazing - he'd been at my house before we left, so we'd both been styled by Ellie, who'd made the two of us promise we'd take her to a gay bar one day. So long as Nick wasn't there. Louis had also worn his contact lenses for the occasion, and between the lack of glasses and Ellie's expertise, he almost looked like a different person.
I was reminded of Marc, who I'd had a crush on, and used to hang out with a lot. Louis kind of had the same colouring - brown hair, brown eyes - and a light sort of tan that seemed to stay the same, year round. It was why I'd avoided talking too much to Louis before stuff with Eric had happened. He and Marc could have been brothers. But Louis would have been the smarter one. And probably the better looking one, too.
His features were sharper, his lips a bit fuller, his eyes a bit more lively and intelligent. I'd never explained a joke to Louis, the way I had to sometimes with Marc. I could make a Lord of the Rings reference, or a philosophy-based pun, and I could always tell Louis had gotten it. A corner of his mouth would turn up, a dimple would appear, and his eyes would glint with amusement. You could tell he wasn't just pretending to understand.
He nodded over at Eric and Nick. "They seem to want to."
I blinked. I'd mildly zoned out for a second. "Want to what?"
Eric was chatting to the bartender, and Nick was reaching over the counter to play with the guy's necklace. The bartenders here wore only tiny pairs of navy shorts with white stripes at the hems. Sailor theme, but as gratuitously sexy as possible. No one seemed to be complaining, though.
The one that Eric and Nick had been talking to was pretty much the archetype of what most of them looked like. Buff, smooth chested and lightly tattooed. Derek - I knew the guy, and I'd finally remembered his name - had a bit of barbed wire inked around his upper arm, and if I was remembering properly, a tribal pattern on his left shoulder blade. Edgy.
"Hook up with someone. Together. Eric's told you they're open, right?"
"Right." I shifted. "Yeah. It came up. I didn't have Eric pegged as the poly type."
Louis grimaced. "He's not. It's a Nick thing. We had a whole... discussion about it."
"Does it get tiring, being everyone's life coach?" I grinned.
"Nah." He shoved me gently with his shoulder. "Eric's more exhausting than you. Being your life coach is easy."
"Thank you." I beamed. "They're wasting their time with that bartender though."
"You think?"
"Yeah, he's straight."
He laughed and narrowed his eyes. "And how would you know?"
"I suppose I can't be one hundred percent sure." I laughed. "But he's married to a woman, and they seem happy. I used to do karate with him. He says he flirts with any gay guy that looks rich because then he gets good tips."
"Wow. Aren't you worried about him recognising you?"
"Not really. It's been a year since I quit, and he's pretty self-centred, so he might not even remember me. Anyway, there's got to be zero overlap in our social circles. He's like thirty."
"Yikes. Is this his full-time job?"
"He calls himself a DJ." I smirked. "So yes, probably."
Louis laughed, and Nick and Eric came back with our drinks - non-alcoholic for me, sadly. I was going to have to tolerate Nick while completely sober. It wasn't so bad at first. Nick seemed to need to drink to open up, so he only started getting talkative once the first drinks were done. Maybe I was distracted, but he wasn't being as annoying as the first night we'd met him - but that was possibly a low bar.
Besides, it was my first time at a gay bar, which meant something. While it had the unfortunate affliction of being a bar, I was all on board for the gay part. Even if I didn't really want to pick up a stranger, it was nice to see guys kissing and flirting. Not worrying about what people around them thought. And the bartenders, in their little outfits, were pretty damn cute.
And for company I had Louis. For good company, anyway. Eric seemed a bit sullen, and Nick was getting chattier with each drink, but at least Louis and I could have an entertaining conversation on our own, and give each other knowing glances when Nick said something cringeworthy. There was an annoying moment when Louis insisted on buying the next round, after Eric had bought three already, and he'd left me alone with the others while he went to the bar.
"Look at Louis, being a playa." Nick drew out the last word.
I shifted my gaze to Louis, feeling a vague pang of annoyance at Nick. Louis was at the bar waiting for our drinks, but the guy next to him had struck up a conversation, and the two of them were smiling and calmly talking. Derek put the drinks down on the counter, so I got up to help Louis carry them back.
"I have to go." Louis stammered to the guy at the bar as I walked up.
I smiled and nodded at him as Louis passed me drinks, but neither of us said anything. The guy was cute. Dark hair, pretty face, nice body. He didn't look that smart, and he gave me a fairly grumpy look, so who knew if he'd be a good match for Louis. But I suppose that wasn't always the point if you were picking up someone in a bar. He was attractive, which I suppose is what mattered.
"See you around later then." He smirked at Louis.
