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Matt glanced uneasily at the sea of men packed tightly into the bar. He couldn’t really get a good look at any one of them, with the lights dim and pulsing.
Running a hand over his khakis, a painful awareness reared its head, reminding him he had no idea what he was supposed to be wearing to a place like this. Though from what he could see, the attire ran the gamut from dressy to casual to shorts so short they should be illegal to wear in public.
Ignoring his nerves, he stepped up to the bar and motioned for the bartender’s attention. The bearded man didn’t even ask for his order; he just pushed two shots in his direction and walked away.
Jell-O shots. How bad could they be?
He squeezed the contents of one paper wrapper into his mouth and followed with the other.
Pretty good, actually. He could barely taste the alcohol at all. Just cherry flavoring. He raised his hand and ordered more, this time placing a twenty-dollar bill on the bar.
After he swallowed two more, a handsome blond man sidled up next to him. “Willing to share one of those with a new friend?”
“Help yourself.” He handed one over, hoping his bravado didn’t come off as forced as it was.
The blond took his time, sweeping his tongue over the shot and curling the Jell-O into his mouth. “First time here, darlin’?”
He nodded, watching with fascination as the man’s tongue slid another shot into his mouth.
The guy chuckled. “Take the last one and come dance.” He slid his hand over Matt’s arm. “Don’t look so scared. I won’t bite. Not on the first date.”
He came for this, right?
He downed the last shot and followed his new friend to the dance floor. It only took a few seconds to remember he didn’t know how to dance.
But, it seemed, he didn’t have to.
The blond took hold of him by the hip and the opposite shoulder and moved his body to the pulsing beat of the music. Soon, Matt could pick up the rhythm on his own, and his partner moved even closer.
Having a stranger’s body crushed against him was awkward, but it got a little easier when he closed his eyes. He tried to parcel out the sensations and couldn’t deny the physical pleasure of moving with the music and the closeness of another person.
He let himself imagine for a moment he was dancing with Robby, which worked almost too well. Because when he opened his eyes and saw a stranger, it was worse than feeling nothing. It was kind of gross.
No more pretending. From that moment on, he concentrated wholly on his partner, who, by the way, looked a bit like an actor on one of his mom’s soap operas. The fit man filled out his skinny jeans in all the right places. He had high and well-defined cheekbones. The man probably could have done a little modeling.
So, when the guy leaned toward him, seeking a kiss, he let it happen.
And it left him positively cold.
The stranger’s lips mashed all against him, his tongue making an insistent play to get inside Matt’s mouth. It was awful. Nothing like what he’d shared with Robby.
He stepped back and shook his head in an unspoken apology, but he couldn’t think of any explanation where he wouldn’t insult the guy.
“It’s okay.” The man blew a kiss into the air. “Plenty of fish in the sea.”
Grateful for an easy exit, he scurried back to the bar. More Jell-O shots followed. And more men approached. Tall men. Short men. Black. White. Asian. Skinny. Muscular. Fat.
He danced once or twice more, but he couldn’t bring himself to try anything else.
His experiment ended as an abysmal failure.
At least he learned he liked Jell-O shots.
It was almost midnight when his Lyft driver dropped him back home. He fell into bed and dreamed of being back on the dance floor. Only this time, Robby snuggled in his arms, and the kiss was one that rocked his world.
***
Robby
