Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Riley

I hated Fridays. For starters, every Friday was school spirit day, and no matter what the season, there was always a pep rally or a game, and catching up on the end of the week reports and tests while trying to balance curriculum planning for the following week was exhausting.

But today, I felt worse than normal because I’d fucked up entirely and forgot about the blind date Julie—my brother’s fiancée’s bridesmaid and a long-time friend of mine—had tried to set me up on.

To be fair, I’d fully intended on showing up, but when my principal showed up five minutes before I was ready to head out with a stack of paperwork for me regarding my annual school art trip to DC in a few months, I knew I was done for.

My job always came first because my job, my students were my life.

Because I had no life of my own, not really. Sure, I hung out with my brother and his friends, my coworkers sometimes, but I wasn’t anyone’s first choice.

Because all my friends are either married or engaged.

I’d never had time for romance, and now, here I was an eternally single art teacher in his late thirties who couldn’t even tell his boss no when I had a fucking date.

But I wasn’t fast enough, because my blind date—who was supposed to be wearing a purple blazer—was nowhere to be found in the otherwise dead cafe, when I’d arrived. I needed a drink, and in this town there really was only one watering hole to go to that was openly queer friendly and actually had decent drinks.

M’s Place was packed, as always. Normally, I despised crowds in tiny spaces, and M’s Place was definitely a small space. Maxine somehow managed to squeeze a postage stamp size stage in between the bar and an alcove that was some hodge-podge mashup of pool, arcade games, and one of those weird antique Love Magnet Meter games from the fifties in between the thirty high top tables and ten booths, while making the place open and friendly and not claustrophobic. Which was a damn miracle.

It was probably fate that I’d run into my brother and his wedding party at the bar. Though knowing Giselle, she was fixing to make this a weekly shindig.

I sipped my beer as Julie nudged me.

“What happened with your blind date earlier?” she asked.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “I got held up at work, actually. Principal Weatherly dropped off a shit ton of papers regarding the trip and?—”

“Shit, you missed it?” she asked, biting her lip.

“I mean, I went, but... he was gone. Can’t say I blame him, you know. I was like, forty minutes late.”

Julie pursed her lips. I shrugged in defeat.

Just as I opened my mouth, I saw Grayson—my future in-law—and his new boyfriend, Henry—Giselle’s friend and bridesmaid Mia’s brother—strolling into the bar arm in arm like they owned the damn place.

We’d all spent last weekend together in the mountains, but both Grayson and Henry didn’t seem too keen on socializing with me. Well, I guess technically, looking back on the weekend, it made sense now, but at the time it felt like I just wasn’t cool enough to join their little club.

To be honest, I’d always been like that. An outsider. My brother was always the popular one, and I was just the social outcast who preferred history books to keggers in the woods.

That’s why I’d brought Cadence, my TA, with me to the weekend trip.

My brother, Aaron, and I got along just fine as long as the topic was sports related, or involved some sort of competition. Which wasn’t hard when I worked for our alma matter, Jasper Springs High. Our football team, the Jasper Springs Otters had gone undefeated last year.

But I needed more than just someone to casually grunt and chime in.

Not to mention Aaron was the star quarterback when we were in high school, which was what?

Damn near twenty years ago now?

I smiled as Grayson and Henry arrived at our table and everyone made introductions. Julie excused herself to go to the ladies room, Giselle and Mia hot on her heels.

Henry’s grin was enviable, and Grayson’s natural air exuded a confidence that was also quite admirable.

I was genuinely happy they seemed to be happy, just like everyone else in Giselle and Aaron’s party, but I still felt a sting of jealousy being the only single guy in the party.

“Where’s Cadence?” Aaron asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Probably having a better night than me,” I said, wanting to avoid the question I knew was coming.

“She your plus one?”

“No,” I said flatly, then taking a long drink.

“Why not? She seems nice. Not to mention she’s got a killer rack,” Aaron teased, nudging me. “Mom and Dad would love her...” he said with a laugh.

I rolled my eyes. He wasn’t wrong, but he also knew pussy didn’t do it for me.

My family always assumed I’d settle down, especially being in the line of work I was. Of course, I wanted to settle down too, but I didn’t have the heart to tell my parents it wasn’t with a woman. My brother understood the fact that I was as gay as a hot pink toaster, and he always told me I was being dramatic. That it wouldn’t matter who I was with, that they wouldn’t care as long as I was happy. But that was easy for someone like my brother to say. He was getting married to the daughter of one of the most well known families in Jasper Springs. Giselle was practically Miss Americana.

Aaron was more than supportive though. Hell, he even tried to hook me up with a gay or bi friend once or twice. But those guys, they didn’t want relationships. They wanted to fuck around, and while that had been fun in my college years, as a thirty-eight year old high school art teacher, I needed something more than just a guy with good deep-throating skills.

Who am I kidding?

Hell, I probably need that too, since my sex life is about as dry as the Sahara these days.

“Mom and Dad would love any woman I brought to the wedding, even if she was a lesbian.”

Aaron laughed, shaking his head. “True. You have a point. But at this rate, you’re going to have to hire a date for the wedding,” he said with a laugh.

I rolled my eyes again. “You sound like my coworkers,” I grumbled.

While my parents had not yet given up on the dream I’d meet the right woman, my coworkers were practically sending me singles profiles for men within a thirty mile radius or trying to set me up on blind dates every chance they got.

Just earlier in the school day I’d gotten into a debate with my classroom neighbor, Chris, about literally hiring an escort like my life was a LGBTQ version of the Wedding Date or something.

“I’m just saying, the deadline fast approaches... and no one wants to be alone at a wedding,” he said.

“I’m not alone. I’m the best man.”

“You don’t technically have a partner.”

“And even if I did find a date in time for your wedding, it’s not like they’ll be up there with me,” I reminded him. “For God’s sake, I’m a glorified ring bearer.”

My brother sighed, obviously deciding this conversation was a lost cause, switching gears, instead challenging Grayson and Henry to a pool match.

I sighed, my shoulders sinking. Perhaps I just needed a distraction. Something to take my mind off my impending singleness. Something to relieve some stress.

So I agreed to play with the boys, if only for a little while. It was a school night, after all.

“You guys wanna play?” Aaron asked the group of guys who were sitting all over the pool tables lazily enjoying their beers.

They were a small group of three, two of them some twenty-somethings who looked more ‘bro’ than man, with their hats on backward, their perfectly trim beards, and their flannels too tight fitting.

“Sure,” the one in the front said, setting down his beer. The only one without a hat who looked older than twenty-one, brushed his hand through his dark hair, pushing up off the table with ease. While his friends sported the same buffalo plaid flannel, their unphased sexy leader sported a black fitted tee shirt that showed off his rather toned arms. His striking blue eyes glittered underneath the low light of the bar, and I couldn’t help but think he was hot.

The kind of hot you dream about because you know you’ll never have a chance of landing someone that sexy.

“Eric, you’re on my team,” bro number one nipped at Mr. Blue Eyes.

“Name’s Aaron, this here is my brother, Riley, and that’s my future brother in law, Grayson, and his boyfriend, Henry.”

Mr. Blue Eyes smirked, grabbing his beer.

“Pleasure to meet you, boys,” he said with a grin. “I’m Eric, these here assholes are my associates, Jordan and Sticky.”

I furrowed my eyebrows. “What kind of a name is Sticky?” I asked in disgust. The man known as Sticky came forward, laughing darkly.

“My name is actually Stanley, handsome, but my subs call me Sticky,” he said with a gaze that was more predatory than anything I’d ever seen. It made me uncomfortable.

“Yeah, cause you don’t know how to keep your fucking hands to yourself,” Eric snapped, and Sticky scoffed.

“You ain’t never complained,” Sticky retorted.

Eric passed me a pool cue and some chalk. “Don’t mind him, he was dropped on his head as a small child. It’s the brain damage,” he said.

I took the polished stick from his hands, my fingers grazing his. “Noted,” I said, relishing in the warmth, the smoothness of his touch.

“You suckers ready to lose?” Jordan taunted.

Eric smiled wickedly.

“How about we make this a little more interesting?” my brother said, as Jordan, Sticky, and Eric took their places.

“How so?” Jordan asked, nodding at us.

“Loser buys the winner a round of drinks,” Aaron suggested.

Grayson squared his shoulders as he set the balls.

Eric smirked, his gaze roving over me.

“Famous last words, boys. Let’s play.”