Chapter 60

“Leather and denim?” Jimmy asked, getting dressed. “Sounds kinky.”

“It can be.” Barry smiled, wondering what he should wear. His choices were limited to what was clean in his suitcase. But then with Jake and Jimmy on his arms, no one would be looking at him. “Wear your lined-denim jacket and your best jeans. It isn’t a dress up kind of place.” He turned to his red cowboy. “And you’ve got your leather jacket, you could wear that.”

Barry went on to tell his men about the dos and don’ts of gay bars. “Never leave your drink unattended. It could get spiked. And don’t get upset if someone touches you. Just step back.”

“Touches me?” Jake asked. “Why would they?”

“Because you’re hot.”

“I thought I was the hot one?” Jimmy protested.

Barry touched Jimmy’s cheeks briefly before pulling his hands away and blowing on his fingers. “You’re positively scorching.”

Jimmy grinned.

“You’re my hot, handsome cowboy, and Jake’s my handsome, hot cowboy.” The distinction was subtle, but Barry hoped it showed his men that he loved them equally but differently.

“Getting back to what you said about folks touching us,” Jake said. “No one, ‘cept Jimmy or me, better touch you!” Jake was working himself into full-on caveman cowboy mode.

Barry raised an eyebrow. “So it’s okay if folks touch you?”

“Didn’t say that,” Jake said.

Barry ran his hands down Jake’s arms and felt the man’s biceps. “With you and Jimmy standing guard over me, I don’t think anyone will get the chance. But should they do, remember, I came with you and I’ll be going home with you. Even though I might look at other guys, heck, there’ll be a lot of hot and handsome men there. But know this, no one—” he tapped Jake on the nose, “—is as handsome or as hot as my cowboys.”

Jake kissed Barry, who automatically turned his head to accept Jimmy’s kiss.

* * * *

Was Barry getting old? The volume of the music in the Eagle seemed louder than he remembered. And the close-packed crowd of men somehow felt more oppressive.

Jake pushed his way to the bar to get their drinks while Jimmy stayed on Barry-guard duty. And for once Barry was glad of the protection his big blue cowboy offered.

“Hey, handsome, not seen you here before,” a twink, dressed from head to toe in shiny black leather, told Jimmy. “You fresh off the ranch?” He ran his gloved hands up Jimmy’s chest.

“Uh, yeah.” Jimmy tried to smile, but he was clearly uncomfortable.

“We’re both fresh off the ranch,” Barry said, lifting the guy’s hands off his man.

“Two cowboys together. God, that’d make for one hell of a great threesome.”

“They’re already in one with me,” Jake said, coming up behind the twink, whose eyes opened wider when he spotted Jake.

“Three cowboys! What a roundup.” the twink exclaimed, licking his lips.

“No thanks,” Barry said.

Jimmy’s and Jake’s replies were less polite and more direct.

The twink’s attention was immediately caught by someone else and he moved off.

“Wonder where Sammy and the others are at?” Jake asked, settling himself against the wall at Barry’s other side.

Barry shrugged and took a sip of his gin and tonic. There were some things he’d kept from his English roots, and the occasional gin and Indian tonic water was one of them.

All types of gay life seemed to be present with a definite leaning toward leather bears. In his slutty past, if there were no cowboys to be had, Barry would settle for a leatherman. And there were several fine examples of such on show at the Eagle that night. One or two held leashes, the other ends of which were connected to smaller, leather-clad men wearing hoods. Barry didn’t think he could get into that.

He worried about his men and began to regret taking them to such an out and proud place. Precious innocents that they were, they had probably never been inside a gay bar before, or at least none as cruisy as the Eagle.

“You doing okay?” Barry asked Jake, practically having to shout into the man’s ear.

The cowboy nodded then tipped his hat to an admirer, who glided a hand across Jake’s chest. The admirer then blew Jake a kiss before moving on.

Maybe his men were doing better than Barry thought. Barry judged the amount of attention each of his men received was about equal. So at least they wouldn’t be arguing about that.

A handful of guys had tried to get close to Barry but one or the other of his cowboy guards had soon seen them off. Barry smiled and caressed whichever protector had saved him.