Page 48 of Common Goal
So maybe they both needed a little practice.
“It’s busy up there,” Eric said when he returned. He set two identical glasses of soda on the table and sat down. “I think the bartender was flirting with me.”
“We do that,” Kyle said. “But sometimes we mean it. Was he cute?”
Eric shrugged. “I’ve seen cuter.”
Oh, Eric. You are not helping.“Did you flirt back?”
“I honestly have no idea. I guess I tried. I have absolutely no game when it comes to that sort of thing.”
“I think you’re selling yourself short. But”—Kyle gave an exaggerated sigh—“I suppose Iamhere to coach you.”
Eric’s dark eyes twinkled. “What would you be doing right now, in this bar, if you weren’t here with yourboyfriend?”
“Well, I’d probably be rounding third base with our friend Alex right now.”
Eric nearly spat out his drink. “Third base?How old are you?”
“Twenty-five.” Eric had been teasing, but Kyle realized he’d never told Eric how old he was before. The laughter left Eric’s eyes as soon as he heard the number.
“Oh.”
“Is that older or younger than you were expecting?”
“I guess it’s what I’d assumed. You look like you could be younger.” Eric cringed. “I mean...we have some young guys on the team—around twenty—who look about your age.”
“Oh yeah? Are they hot?”
Eric’s cheeks flushed. “I would never look at a teammate that way. Especially not one of the kids. Jesus.”
Kids. “Right,” Kyle said stiffly. “Thirty and over. I forgot.”
They were silent a moment, and it felt oddly tense. Kyle was annoyed and he wasn’t sure why. He sucked it up and said, “So, if I were here to pick up, instead of celebrating my one month anniversary with my lovely boyfriend, I would probably be standing by the bar. If I saw someone I liked, I’d send them some obvious signals, and wait for them to come to me. Once mutual interest is established, the rest is easy.”
“Easy?”
“Yeah. Decide where you’re going to go, maybe what you’re going to do when you get there, and then...go do it.” Kyle shrugged. “Like I said, almost everyone in here is hoping to have sex tonight. There’s no guessing about that. The trick is finding the right person.”
“And if someone is looking to maybe just talk to someone? Maybe exchange numbers?”
Kyle considered it. He imagined being that man, the one who Eric approached in a bar because he thought he might be nice to talk to. Would Eric be shy when he initiated conversation, or calm and confident with that quiet amusement in his eyes that made Kyle want to kiss him?
“I think it would be a refreshing change,” Kyle said. “I haven’t been on a real first date in a long time.”
“Probably not as long as me. Twenty years, give or take.”
Twenty years ago, Kyle was five years old. But that didn’t seem like the right thing to mention.
Eric held up his wrist to check his expensive-looking watch, and that’s when Kyle noticed something.
“You took your wedding ring off.”
Eric glanced at his fingers as if he had no idea what Kyle was talking about. “Yeah. I thought it might be time.” He said it like it wasn’t a big deal, but Kyle guessed it hadn’t been an easy thing to do.
“My first tip for getting lucky was going to be: always remove your wedding ring before trying to pick up.”
Eric laughed. “I probably should have figured that one out sooner. I said I was wearing it for superstitious reasons, but maybe I was wearing it like a shield.”
