“Ethan, for fuck’s sake, that’s gross. You’re such a bitch sometimes, you know I hate that. And no, we’re not dating. Your prissy Irish/Latino ass isn’t my type. Sure you’ve got those whiskey eyes, well or blue, if you’re wearing your contacts, and you’ve got lashes for days. You’re too pretty for me. I want my man tall and rough, with tattoos and hard edges.”
He shivered at whatever picture he’d conjured in his mind.
“I’d love a badass biker or just someone who works with his hands all day. Mmmm, maybe a cop or an EMT. He could give me mouth to mouth, and we could ride off into the sunset.” He wasn’t even looking at me anymore, lost in his fantasy man.
When he finally returned from fantasyland, his eyes were dreamy. “Yep, that’s what I want someday, but for now, we’re talking about your man troubles, not mine. You aren’t having any luck here, so we’re branching out.” He snapped his fingers at me and grabbed my phone from the bar top.
“You’re signing up for this app, and I don’t want to hear another thing about it. It’s not a hookup site. It’s the newest place for gay boys to find their true love.”
He fluttered his eyelashes at me, and I hit him on the back of the head.
“Ow, you fucker,” he said while rubbing the spot where I had popped him. “I’m doing this for you, bitch, show some appreciation.”
He showed me the app, now downloaded on my phone, and continued to gush. “Just look at it.” The picture on the screen was a silhouette of two men kissing and the name of the app below. It was simple, but definitely had a different vibe than the hookup apps. This even had a heart outline around the guys. I went back to straightening things up while Jens continued to violate my phone.
“Okay, so let's get you to answer a few questions. Oh, hey, look!” I glanced over at him, and the asshole snapped a picture of me. “That’s perfect. We’ll use this picture because your hair is on point today.”
He continued to input information into the app while I stood there, stunned. He was really doing this shit. I rolled my eyes and went back to cutting the lemons and limes. I had known this little ball of energy for over ten years now. Once he got an idea in his head, it was best to just go with it. I had no hope of this app thing really working, but if it made Jens happy, then I would just roll with it for now.
“Sure, Jens, whatever you want.”
“Bitch, don’t try to placate me. I’m doing this shit for you. If it works, I might try it for myself.” He threw me a grin that was so sweet it would send you to the dentist. I wasn’t fooled for a second.
“Oh, so now we’re getting to the truth. You don’t give a shit about me. I’m just your guinea pig in this little experiment.”
“Don’t act so surprised, honey, scrunching your forehead will give you wrinkles.” He had the audacity to wink at me, then went back to my phone to do God only knew what else in the app. “You’ll always be my work in progress, babe. Who taught you how to do a perfect pouty lip? Me that’s who. And who taught you how to wing your liner out to make your almond eyes look so fierce they almost glow? Me again. Now, I’m just branching out from makeup.”
I chuckled at his craziness. I had to admit he was right. I was his favorite pet project. He loved to do makeovers and help everyone reach theirpotential. He was attending a school for makeup artistry now and was almost finished with his degree. I was very proud of all he’d accomplished. Once I saved enough, I thought I might like to go to school, too. We could have a place together. Maybe, one day.
“All right, I have you all signed up. You have to use your real name on here, so it’s gonna be a little more personal.”
I took my phone and looked at my new profile. I checked out the picture first, and Jens was right, it wasn’t bad, and my hair did look good down today. The dark brown wavy mass rested around my jaw and fell to just above my shoulders with my fringe of bangs falling over my left eye. My lighter highlights even showed since I had been facing the front windows when he snapped the picture. I wasn’t wearing my blue contacts, so my amber-colored eyes caught the light and popped with the black eyeliner I’d used today. I was grateful I’d taken the time to do my makeup just right today for work. This was a damn good picture.
The more I looked at the picture, the more I was reminded of my mom. I didn’t remember much about my parents. As the years rolled on, I remembered impressions more than actual memories. But I would forever be grateful my mom had given me her Latin American coloring and features. Dad was all blond hair, blue-eyed Irish through and through, but Mom had been tan, dark-eyed, and so beautiful. I was built like my mom, too. More petite and my facial features were more delicate. Like Jensen, I was called pretty most of the time. More than one drag queen had told me I could do really well if I did a few shows, but I wasn’t interested. I loved my makeup and more feminine clothes, but dressing fully as a woman wasn’t my thing, I didn’t believe in labels. I was a man who liked pretty things, and I didn’t care what anyone wanted to call that.
I looked at my image objectively and saw a pretty dark-haired man staring back at me. Maybe this wasn’t a bad idea. Maybe it could work. I smiled at that possibility until I saw the profile Jensen had created for me.
“Jesus, fuck, Jens, what the hell! You said my hobbies are cooking, cleaning, and reading poetry?”
He flapped his hands at my objections. “Don’t get your panties in a twist, bitch. Which ones are you wearing today, by the way?” He reached down and flipped up the edge of my black utility kilt. I slapped his hand away, but not before I’d flashed him a view of my ass. “Oh, are those new? I love them! That pink looks great on your skin. And with the black lace edge, it frames your ass perfectly. Maybe a few of the guys on here will be able to appreciate your fabulous taste in lace.” He snickered at his own innuendo.
“We can only hope, Jens. So far, that’s been a no go.” I made no apologies for what I liked, especially my gorgeous lingerie collection. I didn’t like bras, they were too damn uncomfortable, but I lusted after a delicate pair of panties. If it had a matching garter and stockings? I had been known to get a cock twitch just at the thought. When I would slide into a pair of stockings, they felt fucking amazing, especially right after I shaved my legs. The silk would glide over my calves and thighs, the skin still sensitive from the razor. I got a little twitch and a shiver even now at the thought. I needed to shave as soon as I got home tonight. Maybe I could slip into a pair of my favorite thigh highs after and sleep in them, and then I’d be all ready for some alone time fun when I woke up. Mmmm, I loved that idea.
“Ethan!” Jerking back to the present, I shook my head and brought the phone back up from where my hand had gone limp.
“Yeah, okay, this has to change. For hobbies, this should be reading, running, and doing volunteer work.”
Jensen’s mouth pulled into a half frown, and his eyebrows came together. “You’re going to tell the truth? That’s kinda boring, Ethan. Are you sure?”
I gave him a firm nod. “Absolutely. If I want this to work, I’m going to be completely honest. Even if it is boring.”
Jensen looked doubtful but shrugged his shoulders. “Okay, it’s your profile, do it your way?”
When I was finished fixing all of the answers Jensen had answered for me, I came to the last part, which he had left blank. For this part, I had to pick the traits I was looking for in a perfect match. My mind immediately went to James for some reason. He was what I wanted. Someone older, who helped in a crisis, volunteered, had a good job. A man who was gentle, kind, genuine and helpful. So those were the traits that I chose. Volunteer, doctor, looking for a relationship and honest.
After a few deep breaths, I pressed the icon on the app’s post screen, and my profile went live. In less than a minute, I got a message from the app showing me possible matches. I had set the parameters for five hundred miles to give me the best chance of finding someone with my specifications. I didn’t see myself leaving the city I’d lived in all my life, but who knew what the future held.
I looked through a few of the proposed matches but didn’t see any that caught my interest. They all looked just like me, on the older twink side of masculine. That was definitely not what I wanted for myself. As I was flipping through the list of pictures, Nick came in from his office in the back and slipped the lock on the front door to open the bar for the afternoon. I closed the app and slid my phone into one of the pockets on my kilt. I’d check again later and see what else they’d found for me. I wasn’t holding my breath, but I did feel a little spring in my step the rest of the night hustling drinks and dealing with the crowd. It felt almost like hope.
