Rob smiled and clopped back into the bar. “Get his number, I mean it.” He closed the door behind him.
Cody hesitated, fumblin’ with the pen and pad and gritting his teeth. After pushing open the door, he grabbed a tray of drinks from the counter and headed past a few people walking by, slower this time. Never seen the guy so pale as he grabbed the order before taking it to the table next to the man eyeing him.
“Hey,” he said, grabbing Cody’s attention. “When you’re done, you mind if I buy you a drink?”
It looked like the poor guy was gonna fall over, and he let out a nervous, high-pitched giggle. It was kinda cute seein’ Cody like this.
“Sure!” His excitement soon faded as he caught himself. “I mean, no. I can’t. I’m not old enough.”
The man’s expression took on a creepier vibe.
“How old are you?”
“Twenty.”
His eyes widened. “What’s your name?”
“Cody, yours?”
“Michael.” He reached out his hand to shake, but Cody immediately caught sight of the gold band around his finger.
“Oh…” He stopped and pulled his hand back. “I didn’t know you were—”
“It’s an open marriage,” he interrupted. “We’ve been looking for a younger third.”
“A third?”
“You know. Nothing serious, just some fun in the bedroom.” He grabbed his phone. “I have a picture of my husband if you’re interested.”
Cody forced a smile and shook his head. “Sorry. I’m looking for something more serious.”
“You shouldn’t be settling down. You should be hooking up.” He grabbed Cody’s arm. He was pretty well-built, about a half a foot taller, and probably in his early thirties. “I know how guys like you are.”
“Guys like me?”
He looked down at Cody’s outfit. “You’re the hot guy that loves attention from the right kinds of guys.” He pulled a wallet from his jacket pocket. “Good dick also comes with benefits.”
That shouldn’t have been the first interaction with an interested guy after that last breakup; I wasn’t sure how I would have reacted, either. Eh, fuck it. I knew exactly what I’d do. I had been a huge, desperate slut back in my half-turn days. Cody didn’t look so good, and I could tell by his rosy cheeks he was mortified.
“Excuse me.” Cody turned away and walked by the bar, waving at Rob. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Cody—” Rob called out, but he was already out the back door, running to the bus stop with me followin’ close behind.
“I hate being gay,” Cody said, sitting on the bench just as the bus rounded the corner. The poor guy looked like he was about to throw up. “Guess I’m just an easy faggot to everyone, huh?”
The vision shifted to him sitting at home on his air mattress, scrolling through a dating app on his phone. Each time he’d go to swipe right on someone he found attractive, he’d freeze and give the picture more scrutiny. Then he’d click on the profile and read every word.
“What is FWB?” He opened his browser and typed in the acronym before letting out a heavy sigh. He swiped left and started reading another guy’s profile. “What the hell is a service top? Into bears and chubs? Like teddy bears?” He typed that in and squinted. “These shit apps should just come with a dictionary.”
He swiped left again. “Ooo, he looks promising.” Cody read through the profile. “A lawyer, loves dogs, twenty-five, monogamous…” His eyes narrowed as he continued reading. “Too perfect. Vers—at least I know what that means.” His shoulders slumped forward as he got to the last part. “He hasa kid. Well…” He swiped left and turned off the screen before laying back onto his pillow.
“I’m going to die alone.” Cody stared up at the ceiling as the air conditioning kicked on. “I guess that’s the way it is.”
His phone chirped, but he ignored it.
“Maybe there’s something wrong with me.”
The studio apartment changed to something a lot more familiar, and instead of an air mattress, he had a real mattress on a wooden frame. The dining room table was the same, but now he had a flat screen TV and a beanbag chair in front of it. Cody sat at the table shuffling through a stack of papers, pushing some to the side and throwing others into a small garbage bin.
