Walking down the street, I took in the vibe of the downtown area and all the lights the restaurants with bars had put up to draw in customers for tonight. I loved the aesthetic of the refurbished buildings. Giving old buildings a new purpose was my passion and why I was getting my masters in architecture and design.
When I finally made it to work, a small crowd had already started to form inside, either waiting for the Crawl to begin or for the baseball playoffs to start.
This time of year, the Portland Pirates were the hottest ticket in town. While it wasn’t uncommon to see star players out and about in town, one group of players frequented our bar. They were regular guys who also happened to be married to men. As a bisexual man myself, I appreciated how open they were about their sexuality.
After clocking in, I stopped by the boss’s office to check in with him.
“Hey, boss. Anything we need to know for tonight?”
Alejandro smiled up at me from his laptop. “Hey, Nick. Keep an eye on the Portland IPA in the coolers in the bar. I had another beverage chiller brought in to stock more if we need them. It’s in the storeroom.”
I nodded. “Good. That one always sells out fast.”
“Yeah, it does. But we’re prepared this time.”
I tapped the door frame with my hand. “Okay, I’m heading out to get started.”
He smiled. “Thanks, Nick. Let me know if you need anything. I’m going to check in with the kitchen staff, then I’ll be out there.”
I returned his smile and gave him a nod. “Okay, sounds good.”
Turning from the doorway, I met Ben as he finished clocking in.
“Hey,” he called, giving me a big grin and our standard high five greeting. “Have you heard the latest?”
I furrowed my brow. “About what?”
“The latest Pirate to get married.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me.
“No, don’t think so?”
Ben wrapped his arm around my right shoulder to share his gossip as we walked toward the bar. “Rumor has it the kicker married Coop’s older brother.”
My eyes widened in surprise. “Dominick Rossi got married?”
“Yeah,” he chuckled. “And Coop’s big brother is a former SEAL.”
I’d seen Jesse Evans in here several times with Cooper and Callum, but I had no idea he swung my way. Seems every one I knew was getting married. And for the first time in my life, I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Especially since what I thought was developing with Preston blew up in my face. He was the first person to catch my attention since I’d had a little crush on Coop a couple of years ago. But I knew that wasn’t going anywhere as long as Greg Foster was in Portland.
“Daaammn,” I replied, drawing out the word. “Jesse’s smokin’ hot.”
Ben shook his head, dropping his arm so we could get behind the bar. “Yeah, I know.”
I was happy Dominick and Jesse had found love with one another. I’d almost given up on that pipe dream for myself. Seems like everyone I was attracted to after Evan ended up with someone else. It was probably better for me to focus on finishing my graduate degree, anyway.
Business picked up and didn’t let up until almost midnight. Alejandro came out to help for a while and even jumped in to serve customers who ordered food. Our servers were great, but when we were slammed like tonight, any extra help was greatly appreciated. People loved this place and hung out for a long time once they were here. The regulars were used to seeing Alex Hayes and his teammates come in, but they left them alone to enjoy their evening.
I was wiping down the bar a little after midnight when the man I’d been avoiding for the last month came walking in the door. I tried not to look his way, but sometimes I failed spectacularly.
Tonight, Preston was dressed in snug, dark denim jeans and an untucked royal blue dress shirt under his leather jacket. The top three buttons were unbuttoned to reveal a hint of the dark chest hair I still dreamed about.
My heart refused to accept that he was not interested in me. Every time he came by, my cheeks still heated at the physical reminder of how willingly I’d drop to my knees for him in most of my dreams.
Preston was a gorgeous man, and we used to talk if Alejandro was busy. It was always small talk about whatever game was on TV, except for the night last spring when he’d worn that Met’s t-shirt and we’d flirted with one another.
Even now, my eyes never failed to find him when he walked in, or to imagine what it could have been like to be with him. The way he looked at me sometimes made me think he might still be interested.
But the reality of the situation was I had a job to do, and a degree to finish. So I tore my gaze away and put my hand on Ben’s shoulder.
