Page 2 of Except You

“Oh, nice name, Max. I’m Beau.”

I snort softly, the name fitting him so well. A pretty guy wrapped up in a bow.

Or at least that’s what a gay guy would say, I think.

“Nice to meet you,” I say and then divert my eyes when his stare grows too intense.

“So, what do you want? On me,” he says a moment later.

“Um, a beer is cool. Whatever they suggest is fine.”

In this moment, I realize I’m a bit out of place in my worn jeans and white t-shirt. My backwards ball cap doesn’t help matters. If there was a walking advertisement for being straight, that would be me. A dude-bro in a gay bar. I stand out like a sore thumb.

“Oh, I figured,” the guy says with a laugh. “You scream beer and baseball…or is it basketball? Hockey?”

My lips turn up slightly. “Yeah, all three actually.”

“Of course, of course,” he says with a roll of his eyes and a smile.

The bartender saunters up and winks at me before turning his gaze toward Beau. “What can I get you, love?”

“Oh, an IPA for this guy and a dirty martini for me.”

Beau smiles widely, those straight white teeth making me wonder how much he spent on those babies. Probably a whole hell of a lot.

“What makes a martini dirty?” I ask him, and Beau leans his elbow on the bar, facing me entirely. His belly button is on full display, and of course, it’s pierced. When I glance down, I see that there’s not a speck of hair on him.

A man with no body hair.

That’s not natural.

No, nope. That’s not the sort of shit we’re thinking these days. I’m here to change my mindset, to step out of my comfort zone. To grow.

I’m gonna fucking grow, goddamnit.

“Dunno. Just like how it sounds and how it tastes.”

Beau wets his lips, his mouth pink and glistening. I stare at it a little too long before diverting my gaze.

“So what are you doing here, Max? You don’t seem gay to me, unless my gaydar is broken, which is entirely possible. I’ve never been very good at discerning people’s sexuality.”

I shake my head just as a beer is set before me. Thank god for small mercies, I think as I take it and glug it down. It’s half gone before I realize what I’m doing, or saying.

“Just here for some research.”

Beau chuckles, his eyes twinkling. “That so? What kind of research? Are you some kind of doctoral student?”

“No, definitely not. Just a guy doing some gay research.”

He snorts a laugh as he picks up his glass from the bar and takes a small sip. I watch his Adam’s apple bob as his eyes close with that slow swallow.

His lips smack together and his eyes meet mine once more. “Gay research, hm? And what kind of research is that? The sex kind? Are you questioning?”

I nearly choke and shake my head, my eyes watering.

“No, no I’m straight. Just trying to…” I let my words fade out, my sentence dissipating into the loud booming music around us. “Just trying to find a way back to my brother.”

Beau’s eyes soften, and he nods. “Ah, I see. So you really are straight then?”

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