Page 11 of Country Road Romance

CHAPTER 4

The Stonewall, like so many other gay bars of its time, was situated in a little alley. There was a certain irony about the fact that it wasalsolocated right next to a Baptist church, and this made Charlie smile.

I bet the little old ladies just love that their church is right next to a gay bar,he thought, and then frowned.But maybe I’m not being generous enough,he thought.Maybe they are more okay with it than they’re willing to admit.

Even though it was still early they could already hear (and feel) the thumping of the bass from where they were standing on the sidewalk.

“You know, I’ve been coming to this place for years, and no matter how many times I do, I can’t help but think it’s a bit of a miracle that it still manages to stay open.” There was something earnest about the way that Jared said those words that made Charlie look at him and made him wonder whether, beneath that cynical and jaded surface, there was really a softer side to him.

“I know what you mean,” Charlie said. “The minute I turned eighteen I started to go to the gay bar in Morgantown, and it was like…a whole new world. For the first time I was around gaypeople, and I guess quite a few straight people, too. I didn’t really know what to do with myself, but I had a lot of fun.”

“I came here my first week of undergrad, still a shy little kid from the middle of nowhere, and it was life-changing. I finally felt like I was among my own kind, even as I also sometimes felt a little out of place.”

The bar was largely deserted at this time of night, except for a few older guys at the bar and scattered at a few tables here and there. Charlie sighed inwardly, because he’d been afraid that the place would be crowded if anyone got even an inkling that he was going to be there. The Stonewall wasn’t exactly the type of place that his fans would frequent, of course, but he’d been in the business long enough to know that there would still be people who would want to come and gawk at the celebrity just for the chance of being close to fame.

Even so, he was glad that Jared had recommended this, even if Sheri would frown at him for taking a risk. He hadn’t bothered checking his phone for the past several hours, because he knew that she was probably frantically texting him to make sure he hadn’t managed to get himself into any trouble.

They sidled up to the bar and ordered a couple of drinks–a gin and tonic for Jared and a Long Island iced tea for Charlie–and then turned to survey the rest of the place.

“When was the last time that you were here?” he asked. He had to lean in and almost shout in order to be heard above the music.

“I gotta be honest,” Jared said, shouting in his turn. “I don’t really like coming to the bars anymore. I’d rather just spend the evening at home.”

I’d like to spend an evening at home with you,Charlie thought but didn’t say.

“It’s okay,” he said, draping an arm around Jared’s shoulders, once again relishing the chance to touch the otherman, “I don’t really like to go to bars very much, either. They’re always so crowded and full of vapid people, at least they are out in California. Not sure how it is around here, though.”

“It’s okay,” Jared said noncommittally. “Though sometimes you end up running into people that you’d rather avoid.”

He was looking at something else in the bar, and Charlie looked in the same direction. A tall guy in his thirties was standing there, sipping on some sort of purple confection and looking in their direction.

“Who is he?” Charlie asked.

“He’s my ex.”

Charlie knew rationally that he had no right or reason to feel jealous of Jared’s ex-boyfriend, but for some reason the idea of someone else being close to him in a romantic way made him feel all nauseous and fluttery. More than that, he was also confused about how someone could let Jared slip through their grasp.

“Do you want me to bump into him so he drops his drink?”

“I…don’t think that would be a very good idea. He’s one of those people who’s chronically plugged into social media, so unless you want everyone thinking that you’re some kind of rude asshole, I wouldn’t recommend getting on his bad side.”

“Oh.” Charlie shrugged.

So that’s how it was, was it? He felt even more tempted to go bump into the guy.

For a few more minutes they just stood there drinking in private, but it wasn’t long before the ex started wending his way over. Charlie felt his stomach starting to clench, because he knew this was probably going to get really ugly really fast.

“Well, well, well, who do we have here?”

When someone like Leslie Jordan said, “Well, well, well,” in that southern drawl it was charming. When this guy did it, it was like nails on a chalkboard.

“Hello, Paul,” Jared said without looking up from his drink.

“It’s good to see you too, Jared,” Paul said without missing a beat. “And who is this?” He took a very noticeable sip of his drink, and gave Charlie a look up and down. “Unless I’m very much mistaken, it’s Charlie Garrett, Romance Network star.”

Charlie took a deep breath through his nose and let it out through his mouth.

Stay calm, Charlie. You’ve dealt with assholes like this a dozen times before. This isn’t any different.

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