Jenny had lasted the longest. She’d been with Tyler for nearly a year now. It wasn’t that Tyler didn’t do the things boyfriends were supposed to do. He bought the flowers. He made the dinner reservations. He even humored the overbearing parents eager for their daughter to settle down. The problem wasn’t that Tyler wasn’t interested in commitment. But when it came down to a choice between a woman and karate, karate always won.
* * * *
It only took an hour of the cold-shoulder treatment for Jaime to start looking around the bar for a distraction. Obsessing over Sempai Tyler was just too easy and did nothing for Jaime’s attitude or his self-esteem. After a couple of beers, he wasn’t feeling any better, and Sempai Tyler seemed perfectly content to ignore him. If that’s the way he was going to be, Jaime could find all the attention he wanted in the arms of someone who would appreciate him, even if it were just for a night.
“I’m going to use the facilities,” Jaime said when he couldn’t sit at the table anymore pretending to pay attention to the conversation when he was really evaluating every man within range for preference—his and theirs.
“Don’t get lost,” Sarah said with a laugh that made Jaime wonder if she knew he wouldn’t be coming back.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got a pretty good idea where I’m going.”
Jaime couldn’t resist exchanging a little banter. Now that he’d decided to relax his no one-night stands rule, he was feeling frisky. Sarah might be interesting to take clubbing. Sempai Randy looked clueless and Sempai Tyler didn’t even look as he stood to leave. It made walking away all that much easier.
A quick scan of the bar and Jaime had a good gauge on who was a likely playmate and who would deck him if he made the proposition. It was a kind of queer-dar Jaime had honed over the years. The super-gay guys were always easy to spot. From the way they dressed to the way they held their drink, everything about them screamed queer. Jaime considered himself just a few shades shy of queer. He was out and proud but wasn’t about to scream it from the rafters. Besides, Jaime was particular about the men he bedded, preferring the strong and aggressive type. Topping a man who looked like he could take down a charging bull just for fun gave Jaime a hard-on like nothing else. The problem was figuring out which way a man like that swung before he could take a swing at Jaime.
A few poor choices in that arena had been enough to convince Jaime the subtle game was far safer than simply walking up to a guy and asking him if he wanted to fuck. That kind of proposition might make an ultra-queer cream his pants, but it would send a closet-queer into a full-blown testosterone-rage.
On his second trip to the bar, Jaime spotted a tall, well-built man in a leather coat sipping a beer while some blonde-haired woman in a dress two sizes too small shamelessly flirted with him. There was a readiness to his stance with one hand on his beer the other lingered near his hip as if searching for a firearm that he was used to relying on. The high and tight haircut meant military or cop. Jaime guessed military because the man looked barely old enough to get into the bar legally, despite his confident attitude. The man’s eyes scanned the room even as he politely nodded at the woman’s chatter. With a puffed out chest and batting eyelashes, she did everything but mount him to get his attention. The military man was too polite to turn the woman down but definitely not interested. Jaime saw his opening.
“Can I buy you a drink?” Jaime shouted as he neared the pair.
“Thanks, but I’ve already got what I need.” The blond waved him away and turned back to her desired prey, who continued to ignore her and Jaime.
“You misunderstood, I wasn’t asking you.”
This got the man’s attention. He glared at Jaime in a way that made him wonder if his queer-dar was a little rusty. With one look, the man-sized Jaime up. From head to toe and back, Jaime could feel his eyes. The rush of excitement that came before a good fuck or a fistfight sent his body into over-drive.
“Unless you’d rather take it outside.” Jaime felt all his shyness and insecurity melt away whenever he was on the prowl. What was the worst that could happen? He’d get threatened or pushed around. Only the real assholes took it beyond that if they weren’t interested. So far he wasn’t getting that vibe from Mr. Military.
“Yeah, outside.”
With a few dollars tossed on the bar, the man brushed by Jaime and headed out of the bar. Relieved that he hadn’t been out of the game for too long, Jaime followed and hoped for the best while preparing for the worst.
Chummy’s was at the far end of a large and poorly lit parking lot that served the downtown businesses. Jaime followed Mr. Military into an alley that led back to Main Street. He definitely cut a fine form in those faded jeans and leather coat. As soon as Jaime turned into the alley he was shoved against the far wall. Mr. Military grabbed Jaime’s shoulders and held him at arm’s length.
“What the big idea? You want to get your ass kicked?”
Despite the threat in his voice, Mr. Military kept his eyes low. Tension seeped from his body like a powerful aphrodisiac. Jaime drank it in with anticipation and wondered how glorious Mr. Military looked naked.
“Just trying to help,” Jaime replied and tried not to sound excited. “It looked like you could use some entertainment.”
“What makes you think I’d find being hit on by a guy like you entertaining?”
This time Mr. Military Man looked
