Chapter 6
Tim looked at himself in the mirror. His fingers fiddled with the shirt he was wearing, smoothing the fabric. "Oh, shut up," he muttered to the cats, who were once again crouched in the doorway of the bathroom watching his ablutions. "Sure, I want to look good tonight. That's because I'm going to try to meet somebody new. It has nothing to do with Adrian."
Cos blinked, and Abbott yawned elaborately. Tim sighed. "Okay, maybe it has a little to do with him," he admitted. "But it doesn't matter. We're friends, that's all. I'm going to help him learn how to date. Anything else...well, I blew it. I was stupid." he said sadly to the two watching cats. "Now Adrian thinks that I just want to be friends. What am I supposed to do? Jump on him and tell him I changed my mind? God, I wish I could. But I guess I'm just not courageous enough to do that."
He sighed again, squatting down to gently scritch his pets behind their ears. "Daddy's a bigger pussy than you guys," he said glumly. "Even you, Abbott. It's sad."
The cats received the scratching as their just dues, and Abbott butted his head against Tim's hand lovingly. "I'll be back later, guys," Tim told them as he rose to his feet. "I just hope that it's with somebody good. If I come home alone...well, you guys can keep me company and make me feel better. All right?"
They stared up at him. Abbott mewped as though to agree that they'd comfort Tim if he came home alone tonight, which helped to make him feel a little better. But just a little...
"This is the place," Tim called over the techno-pop music playing in the background. Adrian glanced around the dance club, taking it in. Men were gyrating together on the dance floor, but the groping and rubbing were being kept to a minimum. And there were no almost naked guys in thongs dancing on the long bar against one wall, either. The small tables positioned around the dance floor were almost full of men talking and laughing with each other. it didn't look that much different than the clubs and bars he normally frequented, except for a few vital things...one, men weren't practically hooking up on the dance floor itself, or heading into the bathroom to have anonymous sex in the stalls. And two...he didn't see any drugs except alcohol in sight. Gay hook-up places were usually rife with various recreational drugs, usually being used in plain sight of everybody.
"So how does this work?" he asked.
Tim smiled slightly. "It's not that difficult. If you see somebody you like the look of, you go up and start a conversation with him. If you really like what you see, ask for his phone number. If he gives it to you, you can call him and set up a date. I'm sure you know how to flirt," he added with a rueful lifting of his lips.
"I do, yes," Adrian agreed. "Can we get a drink?"
"Yeah. Come on," Tim towed him up to the bar, and greeted the bartender. "Hey, Jack."
"Tim! Haven't seen you in here in forever!' the bartender called over the music.
Tim nodded. "I was in a relationship for awhile," he called back, "But we broke up recently so I decided to try again. This is Adrian. I'm showing him the ropes of the place."
"Hey, Adrian," the bartender said, looking him over appreciatively. "What'll you...have?"
"A sex on the beach would be great," Adrian purred, leaning on the bar and smiling like a shark at the bartender.
"Coming right up," Jack the bartender replied. He departed to get the ingredients for the drink with a last flirtatious glance over his shoulder.
Tim shook his head. "I can see that you'll do fine here," he remarked dryly.
Adrian leaned his side against the bar and looked over at Tim. "Hey, can I help it if I'm a Sex God?" he remarked with an evil grin.
Tim snorted. "How DOES your ego fit through the door?" he asked.
"I don't know. Because it's the second biggest thing I've got," Adrian replied, his eyes gleaming.
Tim rolled his eyes heaven-ward. "Oh, brother," he said. "I'm sure with cheesy pick-up lines like that AND your super-sized ego, guys will be swarming over you. I'll just go and get a stick so you can beat them off."
Adrian chuckled. "The thing I like about you," he said as Jack returned with the drink and another flirtatious smile for Adrian, "Is that you don't succumb to my bullshit. I can't remember the last guy who was immune. You're unique, Tim."
"I feel so special now," Tim replied dryly. "Jack, give me a screwdriver, would you? Heavy on the OJ and light on the vodka."
Seeing the look on Adrian's face, he shrugged. "I don't handle lots of alcohol too well," he remarked. "I have to be careful. If I have more than two drinks I'll be snockered. If that happens, you have to make sure that nobody takes advantage of me."
Adrian gave him a faux-salute. "You can count on me, Captain," he said in amusement.
Tim rolled his eyes. "I'll bet," he muttered as Jack the bartender handed him his drink.
They chose an empty table near the dance floor and sat down together. "Do you see anybody you like the look of?" Tim asked him.
Adrian glanced around casually. "Hmm," he said thoughtfully. "Maybe...that guy?" he pointed at a man standing near the edge of the dance floor, talking to another guy.
Tim looked where he pointed, and felt his stomach muscles tighten sharply. The guy Adrian was pointing at could have been his cousin. Same hair color, general size, and similar facial features. Oh, man, somebody just shoot him now! "Great," he forced himself to say aloud. "Why don't you go over and talk to him? Chat, find out if you like talking to him. Try to get his telephone number. That kind of thing."
"Okay. I'll be back," Adrian got up and sauntered away toward his chosen target, leaving Tim alone at the table.
Glumly he sipped at his drink, his eyes roving over the club. He saw few men who were as good-looking as Adrian, but he reminded himself sharply that looks weren’t everything. Personality counted for a lot too, and Adrian could be super-annoying with his huge ego and his vanity...but there was the opposite side of the coin, too. Look at how he'd saved Cos, and had shown a more human, down-to-Earth person to Tim of late. And here he was, trying to change his life, to find somebody to have a real relationship with. That counted for a lot. Adrian seemed like someone who could become a really great guy, given the chance and the right person...
Tim pulled himself up, reminding himself sternly that he wasn’t going to be that 'right person', because he'd blown his chance. Determinedly he looked around, trying to find somebody he liked the look of. He saw a few possibilities, and decided on a man with a pleasant-looking face and a ready smile, laughing at something that his companion at the table was saying. Tim watched him for a moment to see if he was with his companion, but after a moment the other man got up and went out onto the dance floor with someone else. Tim decided that this was his time to make a move, and got to his feet.
He walked over to the table. "Hi," he called over the music. "Can I sit down here?" he pointed to the empty chair that the man's companion had just been sitting in.
A nod. "Sure. have a seat. My friend will be awhile," he added, nodding at the dance floor where his companion was gyrating on the floor with abandon.
"Thanks," he sat down, and held out his hand. "I'm Tim."
"Derek. Nice to meet you, Tim," the man said with that same ready smile.
"Do you come here often?" Tim asked, then could have kicked himself for this cheesy question.
A laugh. "Not very often. My friend comes here more. He dragged me here tonight. He said I should get out of the house and meet somebody."
"That's the same reason I'm here," Tim replied with a rueful smile. "I brought a friend, too," he nodded at Adrian, who was still talking to the man he'd singled out as 'someone he liked the look of'.
Derek glanced over. His eyebrows flew up when he saw Adrian, and he pursed his lips and whistled appreciatively. "What a gorgeous guy! You say he’s just a friend of yours?"
Tim bristled. "Yeah, that's right," he snapped.
Seeing his face, Derek looked sheepish. "Sorry. You have to admit, he's really good-looking," he said, lifting his shoulders.
Tim sighed. "I know," he admitted. "It can’t be helped."
"True," Derek agreed. "But looks aren’t everything, right?"
"I sure hope not," Tim muttered.
Derek grinned. "Hey, you're pretty good-looking, too," he assured Tim.
"Just not up to his standards," Tim said with wry smile. "It's okay. I can live with that. You want to hear something sad? When I first met him, he asked me out. I turned him down."
Derek's brows shot up. "You did?!" he said incredulously. "Why?"
Tim sighed. "Because he asked me like he expected me to not only say yes, but to fall on his feet slavering," he told Derek. "It was super-annoying. I wanted to puncture his ego."
"I guess I can see that," Derek commented. "I'm sure a guy who looks like that has men falling all over him all the time. How did he take you turning him down?"
"He looked like he was sucking lemons," Tim said with a laugh.
"But after that, you became friends?"
"Yeah, that's right. I brought him here because he says he wanted to find somebody to be in a serious relationship with. He wants to change his life, because he's tired of just hooking up with guys for sex and nothing more. And since I broke up with my last boyfriend three months ago, I figured I should get back in the game, too..."
Derek leaned back in his chair. "Let me get this straight," he began. "You turned him down at first because he was so egotistical, but then you two became friends. And you brought him here to find somebody, but you're also here to find somebody...I have to ask...why the hell aren’t you getting together with HIM?! Obviously you like him enough to become friends with him; why wouldn't you go for something more?"
Tim hunched his shoulders defensively. "Because I blew it," he explained unhappily. "I told him that I just wanted to be friends and nothing more. I CAN'T just change my mind now..."
"Hell, yes, you can!" Derek replied tartly. He leaned forward a little. "Listen, Tim, you seem like a nice guy. Let me give you some advice here. Get up, march over there, and tell Mr. Hunky that you've changed your mind. That you want to date him after all. Don't be a coward, because if you do you'll regret it. Do you really want to watch him date other guys? Honestly? Could you stand it?"
Tim swallowed heavily, a visions of him having to watch Adrian date other men marched through his head. "No," he half-whispered. "I couldn't."
"Then get over there, pronto. And good luck," Derek said, making shooing motions with his hands.
Tim rose to his feet. he felt like a man in a dream. What was he doing? Nervousness coiled in his stomach and made him feel rather sick as he looked at Adrian. He could do this...couldn't he? COULDN'T he?!
A/N: So, does this count as a cliffhanger? What do you guys think?>>
Go to Next Chapter
Tim looked at himself in the mirror. His fingers fiddled with the shirt he was wearing, smoothing the fabric. "Oh, shut up," he muttered to the cats, who were once again crouched in the doorway of the bathroom watching his ablutions. "Sure, I want to look good tonight. That's because I'm going to try to meet somebody new. It has nothing to do with Adrian."
Cos blinked, and Abbott yawned elaborately. Tim sighed. "Okay, maybe it has a little to do with him," he admitted. "But it doesn't matter. We're friends, that's all. I'm going to help him learn how to date. Anything else...well, I blew it. I was stupid." he said sadly to the two watching cats. "Now Adrian thinks that I just want to be friends. What am I supposed to do? Jump on him and tell him I changed my mind? God, I wish I could. But I guess I'm just not courageous enough to do that."
He sighed again, squatting down to gently scritch his pets behind their ears. "Daddy's a bigger pussy than you guys," he said glumly. "Even you, Abbott. It's sad."
The cats received the scratching as their just dues, and Abbott butted his head against Tim's hand lovingly. "I'll be back later, guys," Tim told them as he rose to his feet. "I just hope that it's with somebody good. If I come home alone...well, you guys can keep me company and make me feel better. All right?"
They stared up at him. Abbott mewped as though to agree that they'd comfort Tim if he came home alone tonight, which helped to make him feel a little better. But just a little...
"This is the place," Tim called over the techno-pop music playing in the background. Adrian glanced around the dance club, taking it in. Men were gyrating together on the dance floor, but the groping and rubbing were being kept to a minimum. And there were no almost naked guys in thongs dancing on the long bar against one wall, either. The small tables positioned around the dance floor were almost full of men talking and laughing with each other. it didn't look that much different than the clubs and bars he normally frequented, except for a few vital things...one, men weren't practically hooking up on the dance floor itself, or heading into the bathroom to have anonymous sex in the stalls. And two...he didn't see any drugs except alcohol in sight. Gay hook-up places were usually rife with various recreational drugs, usually being used in plain sight of everybody.
"So how does this work?" he asked.
Tim smiled slightly. "It's not that difficult. If you see somebody you like the look of, you go up and start a conversation with him. If you really like what you see, ask for his phone number. If he gives it to you, you can call him and set up a date. I'm sure you know how to flirt," he added with a rueful lifting of his lips.
"I do, yes," Adrian agreed. "Can we get a drink?"
"Yeah. Come on," Tim towed him up to the bar, and greeted the bartender. "Hey, Jack."
"Tim! Haven't seen you in here in forever!' the bartender called over the music.
Tim nodded. "I was in a relationship for awhile," he called back, "But we broke up recently so I decided to try again. This is Adrian. I'm showing him the ropes of the place."
"Hey, Adrian," the bartender said, looking him over appreciatively. "What'll you...have?"
"A sex on the beach would be great," Adrian purred, leaning on the bar and smiling like a shark at the bartender.
"Coming right up," Jack the bartender replied. He departed to get the ingredients for the drink with a last flirtatious glance over his shoulder.
Tim shook his head. "I can see that you'll do fine here," he remarked dryly.
Adrian leaned his side against the bar and looked over at Tim. "Hey, can I help it if I'm a Sex God?" he remarked with an evil grin.
Tim snorted. "How DOES your ego fit through the door?" he asked.
"I don't know. Because it's the second biggest thing I've got," Adrian replied, his eyes gleaming.
Tim rolled his eyes heaven-ward. "Oh, brother," he said. "I'm sure with cheesy pick-up lines like that AND your super-sized ego, guys will be swarming over you. I'll just go and get a stick so you can beat them off."
Adrian chuckled. "The thing I like about you," he said as Jack returned with the drink and another flirtatious smile for Adrian, "Is that you don't succumb to my bullshit. I can't remember the last guy who was immune. You're unique, Tim."
"I feel so special now," Tim replied dryly. "Jack, give me a screwdriver, would you? Heavy on the OJ and light on the vodka."
Seeing the look on Adrian's face, he shrugged. "I don't handle lots of alcohol too well," he remarked. "I have to be careful. If I have more than two drinks I'll be snockered. If that happens, you have to make sure that nobody takes advantage of me."
Adrian gave him a faux-salute. "You can count on me, Captain," he said in amusement.
Tim rolled his eyes. "I'll bet," he muttered as Jack the bartender handed him his drink.
They chose an empty table near the dance floor and sat down together. "Do you see anybody you like the look of?" Tim asked him.
Adrian glanced around casually. "Hmm," he said thoughtfully. "Maybe...that guy?" he pointed at a man standing near the edge of the dance floor, talking to another guy.
Tim looked where he pointed, and felt his stomach muscles tighten sharply. The guy Adrian was pointing at could have been his cousin. Same hair color, general size, and similar facial features. Oh, man, somebody just shoot him now! "Great," he forced himself to say aloud. "Why don't you go over and talk to him? Chat, find out if you like talking to him. Try to get his telephone number. That kind of thing."
"Okay. I'll be back," Adrian got up and sauntered away toward his chosen target, leaving Tim alone at the table.
Glumly he sipped at his drink, his eyes roving over the club. He saw few men who were as good-looking as Adrian, but he reminded himself sharply that looks weren’t everything. Personality counted for a lot too, and Adrian could be super-annoying with his huge ego and his vanity...but there was the opposite side of the coin, too. Look at how he'd saved Cos, and had shown a more human, down-to-Earth person to Tim of late. And here he was, trying to change his life, to find somebody to have a real relationship with. That counted for a lot. Adrian seemed like someone who could become a really great guy, given the chance and the right person...
Tim pulled himself up, reminding himself sternly that he wasn’t going to be that 'right person', because he'd blown his chance. Determinedly he looked around, trying to find somebody he liked the look of. He saw a few possibilities, and decided on a man with a pleasant-looking face and a ready smile, laughing at something that his companion at the table was saying. Tim watched him for a moment to see if he was with his companion, but after a moment the other man got up and went out onto the dance floor with someone else. Tim decided that this was his time to make a move, and got to his feet.
He walked over to the table. "Hi," he called over the music. "Can I sit down here?" he pointed to the empty chair that the man's companion had just been sitting in.
A nod. "Sure. have a seat. My friend will be awhile," he added, nodding at the dance floor where his companion was gyrating on the floor with abandon.
"Thanks," he sat down, and held out his hand. "I'm Tim."
"Derek. Nice to meet you, Tim," the man said with that same ready smile.
"Do you come here often?" Tim asked, then could have kicked himself for this cheesy question.
A laugh. "Not very often. My friend comes here more. He dragged me here tonight. He said I should get out of the house and meet somebody."
"That's the same reason I'm here," Tim replied with a rueful smile. "I brought a friend, too," he nodded at Adrian, who was still talking to the man he'd singled out as 'someone he liked the look of'.
Derek glanced over. His eyebrows flew up when he saw Adrian, and he pursed his lips and whistled appreciatively. "What a gorgeous guy! You say he’s just a friend of yours?"
Tim bristled. "Yeah, that's right," he snapped.
Seeing his face, Derek looked sheepish. "Sorry. You have to admit, he's really good-looking," he said, lifting his shoulders.
Tim sighed. "I know," he admitted. "It can’t be helped."
"True," Derek agreed. "But looks aren’t everything, right?"
"I sure hope not," Tim muttered.
Derek grinned. "Hey, you're pretty good-looking, too," he assured Tim.
"Just not up to his standards," Tim said with wry smile. "It's okay. I can live with that. You want to hear something sad? When I first met him, he asked me out. I turned him down."
Derek's brows shot up. "You did?!" he said incredulously. "Why?"
Tim sighed. "Because he asked me like he expected me to not only say yes, but to fall on his feet slavering," he told Derek. "It was super-annoying. I wanted to puncture his ego."
"I guess I can see that," Derek commented. "I'm sure a guy who looks like that has men falling all over him all the time. How did he take you turning him down?"
"He looked like he was sucking lemons," Tim said with a laugh.
"But after that, you became friends?"
"Yeah, that's right. I brought him here because he says he wanted to find somebody to be in a serious relationship with. He wants to change his life, because he's tired of just hooking up with guys for sex and nothing more. And since I broke up with my last boyfriend three months ago, I figured I should get back in the game, too..."
Derek leaned back in his chair. "Let me get this straight," he began. "You turned him down at first because he was so egotistical, but then you two became friends. And you brought him here to find somebody, but you're also here to find somebody...I have to ask...why the hell aren’t you getting together with HIM?! Obviously you like him enough to become friends with him; why wouldn't you go for something more?"
Tim hunched his shoulders defensively. "Because I blew it," he explained unhappily. "I told him that I just wanted to be friends and nothing more. I CAN'T just change my mind now..."
"Hell, yes, you can!" Derek replied tartly. He leaned forward a little. "Listen, Tim, you seem like a nice guy. Let me give you some advice here. Get up, march over there, and tell Mr. Hunky that you've changed your mind. That you want to date him after all. Don't be a coward, because if you do you'll regret it. Do you really want to watch him date other guys? Honestly? Could you stand it?"
Tim swallowed heavily, a visions of him having to watch Adrian date other men marched through his head. "No," he half-whispered. "I couldn't."
"Then get over there, pronto. And good luck," Derek said, making shooing motions with his hands.
Tim rose to his feet. he felt like a man in a dream. What was he doing? Nervousness coiled in his stomach and made him feel rather sick as he looked at Adrian. He could do this...couldn't he? COULDN'T he?!
A/N: So, does this count as a cliffhanger? What do you guys think?>>
Go to Next Chapter