Heartsville 03 - Another Shot (J.H. Knight) (3 page)

“Please. I may as well live on the corner of
Flamboyant
and
Queer
. Do you really think there’s only
one
gay guy in there?”

“Fair point.” Aaron parked in front of her building and turned to look at her. “I’ve been out for twenty years. Why are you suddenly setting me up with some guy?”

“Because he’s perfect for you. He just moved into the neighborhood. He’s single. He’s gorgeous. He’s sweet…. Listen, you’ll love him, okay?”

“Single, hot, and sweet makes him perfect for me? What kind of shows does he like? What music is he into? Religious beliefs? Does he want children? Is he a dog person? Has he ever voted Republican?” Aaron paused and let out a sigh. “I trip over sweet, gorgeous guys all day. That doesn’t mean they’re perfect for me.”

Mandy actually growled. “You’re too picky for your own good. Or too commitment-phobic or… I don’t know what your problem is, but it’s not natural for your longest relationship to be less than a year.”

“Hello, Kettle, this is Pot. You’re black.”

“We’re not talking about me. It’s weird for you to be single and… I don’t know, not all….”

“Coupled?”

“Yes. That.”

“How is it okay for you and not me?”

“Because I
like
living alone. I don’t
want
to share the remote or deal with someone else being there when I get home. You hate it. Whether you admit it or not.”

The problem with being unreasonably close to his family was that they all knew him too well. His sister most of all. “Fine. But this is it. You get one blind date card ever, for our whole lives. Make sure you wanna use it on this guy.”

“I do. If he were straight, I’d give up my remote for him.”

“So he’s perfect for
you
? You’re not exactly making a strong case here.”

Mandy groaned and dropped her head back against her seat. “Just meet him, okay? Then I’ll leave you alone about it.”

“Here’s another question… if he’s so perfect, why is he single?”

“Why are you?”

“Apparently, I’m too picky. You just said so yourself.”

“Maybe he’s picky too.”

“Great.” Aaron laughed and asked, “Do you at least have a picture of this guy?”

Mandy shook her head. “No, but he’s seen a picture of you, so he’ll know who he’s looking for. You’re meeting him tomorrow night at Jubilee.”

Why fight it? “What time?”

“I told him you probably had to close, so around eight.”

“Tell him nine so I have time to clean up before I go over there.”

Mandy actually clapped and squealed. She wasn’t a squealer normally, so she must have been excited.

Chapter Three

Aaron was four minutes early for his blind date. Mandy had said the guy would be wearing a blue button-down, sitting at a table near the bar. He scanned the room, but the only guys wearing blue were already paired off or sitting in groups, as if they’d all come in after work for a few rounds and decided to stay until closing.

Jubilee wasn’t
technically
a gay bar, more like an upscale lounge in the middle of a gay neighborhood. Its location meant the regulars were usually gay or gay-friendly, though, and Aaron liked it better than the louder, younger, and, well,
hornier
scene at the dance club or the quieter scene at the local theater. He thought of it as his Goldilocks lounge. Not too young, not too old, not too cruisey. Jubilee was just right. He took a seat at the bar and waited.

After five minutes—one minute late—Aaron texted Mandy.

No-show. I’m off the hook. You still spent your card, though. Love you.

He could practically feel Mandy’s irritation through her response.

I texted you an hour ago and said he’d be late. Don’t be a dick. LU2.

Right. He’d seen the little text banner pop up earlier, but Aaron had been trying to read an article on his phone (see: look at hot guys on a new porn site) and he’d dismissed it without reading it.

He ordered a vodka and cranberry, but before the bartender finished pouring it, the door opened and an alarmingly hot guy—six feet tall if he was an inch, broad shoulders, scruffy five-o’clock shadow, wavy dark hair—walked in. A blue collar was barely visible under his heavy wool coat.

Okay, it was too early to tell how perfect he was for Aaron, but he
looked
pretty perfect.

Dear Mandy and God of Gay Men, if this guy isn’t a serial killer who wants to eat my toes for breakfast, I totally owe ya one.

The guy paused for a moment and slipped off his coat. He glanced around expectantly, and then his gaze landed on Aaron. He grinned and crossed the floor. “Aaron Forester?”

Aaron stood up, nodding—feeling like an idiot for being so eager. But seriously, this guy? Mandy knew his physical type, if nothing else. “Yeah, hi,” he said as he extended his hand. “I don’t think Mandy even told me your name, so you’re one up on me.”

“Brad Collins,” he said with a genuine laugh as he shook Aaron’s hand. “She didn’t actually give me yours either, but she talks about you a lot.
Aaron
could’ve been a different brother for all I knew, but you matched the picture.”

“Nope, I’m the only brother. Can I get you a drink?” Aaron was grinning too much, but he couldn’t really stop himself.

It only took a few minutes for Brad to get his drink and find a free table with Aaron. They moved through an awkward pause and a few nervous laughs before settling into the getting-to-know-you segment of the evening.

Brad started with the easy stuff, thankfully. “Mandy tells me you run a coffee shop.”

“Yeah,” Aaron said with a nod. “Strada del Mercato Caffé, down on Market Street.”

“Okay, Italian? What’s it mean?”

Aaron hated the name of his shop. He had to answer this question all too often. “Market Street Café, but it sounds better in Italian.” Or so he’d thought in the middle of the night when he’d been trying to think of a name for the damn place for weeks. “I mean, I hope that’s what it means. Google Translate might’ve been lying to me.”

Brad laughed when Aaron did and then said, “Sounds fancier, if nothing else.”

“Fancy is better than boring, I guess? Most of the locals don’t bother with the whole name. And I can’t count how often I get ‘Why didn’t you just call it Market Street Café?’ My only excuse is too much wine after a Fellini film festival.” Aaron paused to take a sip of his drink. Brad seemed amused, which was a good sign, right? “What about you? All I got from Mandy was a time and a place to meet you.”

“I own a green construction firm,” Brad said, leaning in slightly, a subtle smile on his full lips. “We only use environmentally friendly material, won’t build places where it might have an unwanted impact on the land, that kind of thing. Most of my business comes from new projects, houses and whatnot, but we do a lot of restoration work too, go in and revamp older buildings with updated material, but keep the look and feel of the original or revert to an older look.”

Aaron thought for a moment and then asked, “Did you guys redo Jackson Junior High down on Harper? The one they turned into the community center?”

With a broad grin, looking delighted, Brad nodded. “Yeah, that was my first job in the area. Kind of a nightmare,” he said with a sigh. “But I think the end result was worth it.”

Aaron agreed. The school had been falling down in places, not to mention it had been the only building in town that didn’t fit in with the quaint feel of the area. Sometime back in the midseventies—long before Aaron’s family had moved there—someone had gotten the bright idea to “modernize” the town and they’d started with Jackson. Everyone had hated it and called it an eyesore, and the modernization of Heartsville began and ended there. “I take yoga classes there now.” Aaron lifted his glass and smiled, adding, “So, thank you.”

Brad laughed at that. “Glad I could be of service.” There was a dangerously flirtatious look in his eyes. He glanced around the bar and smiled again. “I’ve never been in here before.”

“It’s usually pretty quiet,” Aaron said, unable to stop his smile again. “But they put on a hell of a New Year’s party. Not to mention Pride.”

“I bet Pride is pretty impressive all over Heartsville.”

True enough. They had pub crawls all weekend, Drag Queen Bingo—hosted by none other than DaVita—and every Friday and Saturday for the entire month of June, Upbeat would host an all-ages outdoor dance floor for those who were too young to get into the club. Big cities might have the bigger parades, the celebrities, and the media attention, but Heartsville Pride had, well,
heart
. “We do, yeah. I hope you’re still planning on being here come June because you’ll be in for a treat.”

Brad took a sip from his drink and caught Aaron with his dark eyes. “I’m not planning on going anywhere. Heartsville is my home now.”

“Good,” Aaron said, smiling brightly.

****

Too many drinks and not enough appetizers later, Aaron walked Brad out of the bar. They stood on the sidewalk in the crisp fall night. The moment could have been awkward, but Brad draped his arm around Aaron’s shoulder and leaned him against the brick wall. “I had a really nice time tonight,” he said softly, stepping farther into Aaron’s space.

“I did too.” No lie. Brad was the nicest guy he’d met in… maybe ever. More than that, though, they just seemed to
click
. His only regret was that he’d have to admit to Mandy that she was right.

Brad’s eyes crinkled at the corner when he smiled. “Can I kiss you good night, then?”

Aaron barely had a chance to nod in response before Brad leaned in and covered Aaron’s mouth with his own. He pressed closer, fitting his strong thigh between Aaron’s as he slid his whiskey-flavored tongue between Aaron’s lips.

Naked heat crackled between them as Aaron opened to the advance. He slid his arm around Brad’s waist under his coat and curled his fingers into the soft fabric of Brad’s shirt. Aaron was already getting hard in his jeans, but he was pretty sure the pressure against his hip was Brad’s cock growing rigid as well.

Brad scraped his teeth over Aaron’s lip as he pulled back, breaking the kiss with a breathless pant against Aaron’s skin.

“I only live a few blocks away,” Aaron whispered, winded. “In case you were wondering.”

Looking like he might laugh, Brad said, “Actually, I was just wondering when I could see you again.”

“I’m free now…,” Aaron said lightly, half-teasing, mostly hopeful.

Brad seemed to consider the offer and looked regretful as he said, “Unfortunately, I have an early morning with my niece.” He paused to kiss Aaron again. “My sister’s dropping her off at six.”

Aaron knew it was already after midnight. He wanted to shake his fist at the world. “Maybe another time, then.”

“Definitely,” Brad whispered before brushing their lips together again. “Lemme get your number,” he said softly. “Are you free next weekend?”

“Friday night?” Aaron asked as Brad pulled out his phone. “Brookside is having their Fall Carnival. If you’d be interested in that?”

Brad’s lips quirked into an amused smile. “I don’t really care what we do, to be honest.”

Neither did Aaron, not really.

“But that sounds fun,” Brad said after a beat. “If you promise to kiss me at the top of the Ferris wheel.”

“Deal.” Aaron let Brad pull up his contact list and then rattled off his number for Brad. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket a second later.

“That’s from me. Now you’ve got my number too.” Brad looked regretful but determined as he stepped back. “Talk to you soon,” he said as he smiled and turned away.

Well. Score one for Mandy. And—despite being a little early in the game, Aaron felt sure—score one for him too.

Chapter Four

Aaron had thought about texting Brad Sunday morning, but he knew Brad would be busy with his niece. Instead he strolled to work ten minutes early in the gray drizzly morning with a bounce in his step.

Business was slow, so he let Clara take off for her break and had Simon whip them up a couple of pumpkin spice white mochas. Aaron’s was sweet enough to give him a cavity, so basically perfect. He added it to the specials menu for the day.

Before he was even halfway through his drink, the bells over the door chimed. Aaron couldn’t help but grin when he looked up to see Brad with a little girl hanging on to him. She had his dark curly hair and big brown eyes and wore a purple rain hat covered in pink flowers, with a matching coat and boots. He didn’t say anything at first, simply watched as Brad hung his coat and his niece’s rain gear on the wood-and-brass coatrack in the corner.