Chapter 5

When the smooth female voice announced, “Arriving at destination on right,” Dan felt the deepest swoop of trepidation yet. He stopped his car and stared at the door of the bar.

The Flame was nothing to write home about: just an old building in the style of the early thirties with a plain black door. The building was several stories high and the windows on the upper floors were covered with shades that appeared ancient and dingy.

As he watched, two young men dressed in tight, sleeveless muscle shirts and skinny jeans came down the street. They were laughing and talking. They opened the door of the bar and went in.

Dan took a deep breath. He’d dressed in a green, short sleeve shirt and tan khakis. He swallowed, put the car in drive, and left. He got about two blocks away when he stopped and pulled over again.

No, you’ve come this far. You’re gonna go through with this, he told himself. You’re not going to use how you’re dressed as an excuse for backing out.

When he got back to The Flame, he parked, got out of his car, crossed the street, and walked to the door. He hesitated, squared his shoulders, and went in.

It was dark inside. Dimmed overhead can lights, candles on the tables, and the lights from the illuminated liquor shelves behind the bar provided the only light. Loud rock music played over the speakers. As his eyes adjusted, he saw it was fairly crowded, although it was still early in the evening. Men stood together in groups or in pairs. Here and there Dan saw a man by himself. The bar was crowded with men standing elbow to elbow. Some were engaged in conversation, others were surveying the crowd. A few younger guys were gyrating on a hardwood square in the middle of the room to the heavy beat of the rock music. Dan was relieved to see that there was a wide range of age groups as well as a variety of physical types among the patrons.

Dan was standing near the door. It opened and a man Dan judged to be in his late forties or fifties came in. As he walked by he gave Dan’s butt a squeeze. “Nice ass.”

Dan felt himself begin to panic. This isn’t for me,he thought and turned to leave. As he did, he walked directly into a tall man who was just coming in. The man held Dan by the shoulders as if to steady him. Dan’s arms went around the man’s waist.

“Leaving so soon?” the man asked in a deep, husky voice.

Dan looked up into a handsome face that oozed sexuality. The man had dark hair, a close cropped goatee, and penetrating blue eyes. His full lips seemed to pout and smile at the same time. He had an air of something forbidden about him.

How could one face produce such mayhem in Dan’s mind? His cock plumped.

Before Dan could pull himself together to respond, the man said, “You’re new here, right? I mean, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you at The Flame before. If I did I sure would remember you.”

The man still hadn’t taken his hands off Dan’s shoulders, and Dan’s were still on the guy’s hips.

“This is…” Dan croaked. He cleared his throat. “This is my first time.”

The guy laughed. “That’s good. Because if you’ve been here before and I’ve missed you, I’d think I was losing my touch. A sexy guy like you is hard to overlook.”

Dan was afraid he was going to go to full staff if he stood being held so close to this guy and gazing into that fantastic face. He dropped his hands from the guy’s waist and took a step back

“Come on,” the stranger said, “I’m gonna buy you a drink.” The man laid an arm across Dan’s shoulders and steered him to the bar.

“Hey, Rocky,” one of the bartenders called out as the two found a space at the bar. “How’s it goin’, man?”

“We’ll have to wait and see,” Rocky said, pulling Dan closer and giving him a sensuous smile.

The barman snickered and winked at the men. “What’re you drinkin’?”

“My friend here will have…” Rocky said, looking at Dan and mesmerizing him with his beautiful blue eyes.

“A vodka martini,” Dan managed to say without removing his eyes from Rocky’s.

Rocky broke the spell by looking away. “Good choice. Make that two.”

“Comin’ right up,” the bartender said.

“Now…” Rocky raised his eyebrows and cocked his head.

“Uh—Dan,” Dan said.

“Dan. Tell me, where have you been all my life?”

Dan wanted to say, “Waiting for you.” But instead he just smiled and shrugged.