I couldn't believe that I was actually going to go through with this. "This is stupid."
"Yeah," Rob said, smiling his best shit-eating grin. "But a bet is a bet."
I sighed. "Whatever. Let's get this over with." We were standing outside the Man Cave, the local gay bar. Usually, I wouldn't be caught dead even walking past the place, but I'd foolishly bet my best friend that my team, the Bay City Pirates, would beat his team, the Delaware Destroyers. Of course, my team lost. Badly.
"So you know what you have to do, right?" Rob knew I knew exactly what he wanted.
"Yep, at least half an hour and I have to sign my name and date on the bathroom wall," I replied, brandishing the Sharpie I was carrying like a sword.
"And take a pic," Rob added. "If I don't see a picture, it didn't happen."
"You could always go in and look for yourself," I said, smiling sarcastically.
Rob laughed. "Yeah, no. Now, go in there, stud." He set his phone to count down thirty minutes, then headed across the street to the coffee shop, laughing all the way.
Nervously, I approached the entrance, where I had to prove that, yes, I was twenty-one. The guy sitting at the door very obviously gave me the once-over, taking my hand in his and stamping it, letting the bartender know that I was clear.
I looked at the purple umbrella that now adorned the back of my left hand. Images of being burned at the stake for bearing the devil's mark flitted through my brain as I made my way inside.
Heads turned my way as soon as I crossed the threshold. Making my way to the bar, I sat down and ordered a beer, doing my best to avoid any eye contact.
After a while, I did look around a bit. The Man Cave reminded me of any other bar I'd been in, except for no women. Well, a few men were dressed up as women, but that didn't count, in my mind. "Thank God Rob didn't make that part of the bet," I thought.