“Glad you could make it,” Rory greeted me. “We have about a half an hour until our reservation here. Would you like a drink?”
“Sure,” I answered as he gestured to the bar across the street. “Maybe I’ll even make it a double.”
Franklin laughed abruptly.
Of course he would appreciate that joke.
We shot the shit about our days as we stepped into the quiet bar. Dim track lighting gave the space a sophisticated air, and a long, sleek bar filled one wall. Rory ordered us all a round of beers as Franklin and I took our seats at a booth, soft piano music playing through the speakers.
It was surprisingly romantic. It must just have happened to be the bar across the street, I figured. The guys were inviting me out for a good time, not to sweep me off my feet or some bullshit.
“Tell me,” I asked once Rory returned with the drinks. “This is what? A ride?”
Franklin nodded. “It’s like a virtual reality thing. They’re increasingly popular, actually. The exhibit tours around the country, so different cities get a chance to try out the technology.” He took a sip from his beer, which left foam on his mustache. “Have you ever heard of a comic book convention? A con?”
“Of course,” I answered.
Franklin licked the foam off his mustache, and my balls heated up in response. “The shop sometimes sends a booth to cons in the region. I’ve gotten to know some people in that circuit over the years. They bring through touring exhibits for new movies, video games, all kinds of things.”
“So what’s the ride?” I asked.
“Oh!” Franklin answered brightly. “Right. It’s a car racing simulator, except the cars are on other planets, and the gravity is weird.”
“Franklin remembered you talking about racing,” Rory added helpfully. “Thought you might enjoy it. It makes use of some new gaming technology, although I couldn’t tell you what that is.”
I grinned to myself, then took a big drink of my beer. Not only had the guys been paying attention when they asked about me, they’d really put thought into picking something that I would enjoy. I had halfway expected them to take me to an opera or some shit—which I was sure they would have found a way to make actually fun, anyway. But this?
“Hot shit,” I answered. “Let’s see how fast I can go on the moon.”
The guys chuckled, and we dipped back into the conversation. I got Franklin to tell me some more about the comic book conventions he went to with his shop, which actually sounded pretty cool. When I quizzed Rory about being a professor, I realized he was actually studying something pretty cool.
“I had no idea you could be a professor of gay film.”
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “They don’t call it that exactly, but yes.”
“I’ve never seen any of those old movies,” I said, cocking my eyebrow. “Want to show me sometime?”
Franklin laughed. “You have no idea what you just signed up for.”
I thought we were going to just keep killing time, but when I was getting toward the bottom of my glass, Rory cleared his throat. “While we’re here,” he said, “Franklin and I wanted to check in about expectations for dating.”
My heart skipped. He said it so matter of fact, like he was just taking care of business. Granted, all my relationships had been pretty damn casual. People my age were never interested in anything serious, and the older men I chased were usually too embarrassed to be seen in public with someone so young. No fucking way they’d just talk about dating me, even in a near-empty bar like this one.
“What kind of expectations?” I asked carefully.
Do they think I’m going to fuck something up? Or go and fall in love with them?
I might not have been the smartest guy, but I wasn’t going to get confused and ask them to marry me.
I sucked on my teeth and glanced between them, my muscles tensing defensively.
“Nothing serious,” Rory reassured me. He caught my eye, and a little of the tension faded away. “We just wanted to make a few things clear.”
“Okay,” I answered, then took another drink from my beer.
“First,” Franklin said, “we don’t want this to interfere with your work at all. However things go and whatever you decide for yourself, I’ll be happy to pay you for the rest of the work we have planned. You understand that?”
I nodded. “Yeah, of course.” The idea that I could feel pressured by a sweetheart like Franklin was kind of cute, actually, and I felt weirdly touched that he wanted to clarify that.
