My eyes drifted over to the pool table and traced over Clark’s body while he took a shot. He was wearing a button-up white shirt with the sleeves rolled back and a pair of tight-fitting jeans, and when he caught my eye, his face lit up in a grin.
Boyfriends,I thought to myself. I should have learned better than to be surprised by those geeky guys by that point, considering all I’d been through Clark. Hell, it took a lot of strength to act like yourself when other people were going to judge you for it, and that was as true for geeks as it was for gay people, and probably doubly so for people like Clark, Ezra, and Valeria.
“You all play pool?” I asked, turning to Ezra and Valeria. “We could do teams, and switch someone out every game.”
“Valeria does,” Ezra answered. “I’m more of a sports voyeur.”
Valeria rose to her feet and pushed up the sleeves of her flowing purple dress. “Clark’s on my team,” she said. “And yes, I do intend to win.”
I laughed, then chalked my cue. Clark racked the balls and Mars broke, and soon enough, we fell into the quick pattern of a pool game, taking turns leaning over the table and then returning to our drinks and the friendly conversation on the side. I watched as Mars flirted with Clark, trying to get him riled when it was his turn, and then laughed to myself when Clark used the same trick, even pretending to drop his wallet and bend over when I was up, wiggling his butt in the air while I tried to concentrate on my shot.
“Hey now,” I laughed, trying to awkwardly hide my stiffening cock as I took my shot.
“I googled it,” Ezra said. “Nothing against flirting in the rules.”
I finished my beer, and as Valeria went to take her shot, I leaned up against the wall with Mars under one arm and Clark under the other. Ezra stared at us with a goofy look on his face, and when I caught his eye, he giggled and looked away.
All at once, I felt a wave of happiness that I hadn’t felt in a while. Sure, I’d had plenty of good times lately, from the steamy nights with Clark and Mars to the relaxing mornings with Aunt Grace. I’d enjoyed my work at the tattoo shop and returning to life in Seattle, too. But there was something new about this, something that made it different than all the years Mars and I had spent together, hanging out in bars, flirting and goofing off.
Which was when it struck me. For once, Mars wasn’t going to run home with someone else, leaving me to drive home alone. And I wasn’t going to be some backup, there and familiar on the nights he came home alone.
If either of us were going to run off, we were going to run off with Clark, and we were going to do it together.
“How’s the tattoo shop?” Ezra asked me when Mars went to take his next turn. I turned to him, trying to ignore how close the game was and promising myself I’d focus a bit more on the next round.
“Good,” I said. “It’s nice. I’m starting to build my clientele, and the shop isn’t that bad.”
“Isn’t that bad?” Valeria asked.
I shrugged. “I had something special back in Detroit, lots of clients I had built up over the years and a little shop with other artists I actually cared about.” I smiled, thinking back to my old friends and reminding myself that I should call them more often. “That’s hard to find, though.”
“You should talk to Lilith, the woman working with Gunner behind the bar,” Ezra said brightly. “She hooked up my boyfriend Brick with all kinds of connections when he was new to town.”
Mars returned, frowning about missing another shot, and the game quickly fell back into its rhythm. Clark offered to get us another round, and I managed to focus on my next turn, sinking a few balls before I scratched and had to turn it back over. When I looked up, I realized that the bar had gotten a bit busier, with a few scattered groups of old biker types and barflies along the backwalls and at the bar. But I had gotten so wrapped up in our little world in the corner, I hadn’t even noticed.
“What do you say?” Mars said, leaning against me and pressing his lips up against my ear. “I know it’s not time yet to ask Clark to be our boyfriend, but no reason not to bring him back tonight, huh?”
I laughed, then swatted at Mars’s ass. “As though you have to ask.”
We played a couple more games of pool. Then Ezra and Valeria called it for the night, both making excuses about work in the morning. When they were gone, Clark lingered, glancing at us behind his glasses while he sipped the soda he had ordered. He had a strange look on his face, with his eyebrows up high and a nervous smile on his lips, like he was equally excited and worried.
Don’t leave him hanging,I thought to myself, but of course, Mars beat me to it, just like he always did.
“What do you say, Clarkle?” he asked, returning his cue to the stand. “You want to come back to our place? Maybe try out a few new positions?”
Crimson shot across Clark’s cheeks, and I felt an urge to push him against the table right there and get things started. When he bit down on his lip and frowned, however, I realized something was wrong.
“No expectations,” I said quickly. “And you’re welcome to just come back and hang a little more.”
“Yeah, Clarkle,” Mars added as he reached out and brushed his thumb across Clark’s cheek. “We’re just happy to spend time with you.”
All at once, Clark’s shoulders fell, and the corners of his mouth turned down. He glanced around the bar, clearly self-conscious about the other people there, and looked like he was trying to stay something.
“Hey,” I said, placing my hand on his shoulder. “What’s up?”
“I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “Tonight was great. I had so much fun, I really did. And I want to go home with you both. It’s just…” He pushed his glasses up, then took another drink from his soda. “I had a phone call with my mom earlier, and we got into an argument, and I guess it’s distracting me.”
“What was the argument about?” I asked.
