“Looks like there is a hot dog place called The Wiener Spot, but it’s in Colorado Springs,” Sam says, holding up his phone for all of us to look at.
“Oh. Well, shit.” Xander chuckles. “Sorry about that, guys.”
We all burst out laughing. Even Del and Ryker crack a few chuckles.
Del shakes his head. “This team is fucking hopeless. First, Connors mistakenly hires a party princess instead of a stripper for our bachelor party. Now Williams takes us to a gay club when he meant to take us to get hot dogs for dinner.”
Everyone laughs harder. When we get ourselves together, Blomdahl walks over to look at the menu posted outside thefront entrance. “They’ve got a pretty decent menu. Wings and burgers and nachos.”
“Sounds good to me,” I say. “Let’s go in. I’m starving.”
Dance music booms around us the second we walk in. We make our way through the crowded dance floor to a table near the bar and sit down. We order food and drinks from the server. When our glasses are empty, Del and I head to the bar for more.
We order two pitchers of beer, shots, and a glass of Scotch from the bartender, who’s an insanely ripped shirtless guy that looks like he’s in his forties.
“Haven’t seen you fellas in here before,” he says as he gets started on our drink order.
“It’s our first time. We came here by mistake, actually. My friend thought it was a hot dog place,” I say.
The bartender bursts out laughing. “Damn, really?”
“Yup. We’re very stupid.”
He laughs harder. Del, who’s standing next to me, just rolls his eyes.
“Hey, you guys look familiar.” An older guy sitting on a stool near the bar squints at me. “Wait, you’re Camden Connors. And you’re Del Richards. You guys play for the Bashers.”
Del nods. I grin. “That’s us,” I say.
He introduces himself as Kirk, and we shake his hand.
“A bunch of guys from the team are here too,” I say, nodding to our table.
“This is so cool. We don’t get many professional athletes here,” Kirk says.
“We didn’t plan to come, but I’m glad we ended up here. The food’s great,” I say. “We’re really digging the vibe. And the music is awesome.” I bop my head along to the dance beat in the background.
Del thanks the bartender when he drops off a tray of shots.
I turn to the bartender. “I gotta ask, what’s your workout routine, dude? I look like a slob standing next to you.”
The bartender chuckles. “You’re very kind. I do mostly weightlifting and running. And I’m pretty strict with my diet.”
I hold up my shot of tequila. “And there’s my problem.” I down it. The bartender and the patron next to me laugh.
“You’re young, and you’re an athlete. Enjoy the fact that you can drink alcohol without it showing up on your body,” the bartender says.
Kirk turns to me. “Hey, I just gotta say, I think it’s really cool that the Bashers started hosting Pride Night last year. I didn’t care much for sports until I saw that. Now I try to go to a home game a couple of times a month. I love that you wear the rainbow jerseys for Pride Night too.”
“Yeah, man. We want everyone to feel welcome,” I say. “And Pride Night was his fiancée’s idea.” I nod at Del, whose serious face cracks a small smile.
“She’s head of our social media. She’s all about thinking of cool stuff like that,” Del says.
“Would it be okay if I got a photo with you guys?” Kirk asks.
“Yeah, absolutely,” I say. Del and I pose for a pick with Kirk, then take one with the bartender.
Just then, “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan blasts on the speaker. I look over and see Xander leading the guys onto the dance floor. He points at us to join. I laugh. Del rolls his eyes, but we both know we’re going to be tearing it up on the dance floor in a second.
