Page 12 of The Bartender Special

Since then, it hadn’t mattered what stage of life Benny experienced. He’d always been able to go back and feel that day again just by remembering it.

A feeling that he had typed out in an attempt to keep it close for as long as possible.

Why hadn't he told Marcus how he'd felt?

Well, why mess with perfection?

And now?

Now he was engaged, living a life that had seemingly continued to go his way. Benny had been out of his orbit for almost a decade, living a much different life outside of the zip code where he’d grown up. Benny could no more tell Marcus the truth than he could stop blushing while feeling the weight of his stare now.

Maybe that’s why Benny's heart made a decision before his brain could really think it through.

This time he wasn't going to focus on his first love.

This time he was doubling down on self-preservation.

Benny placed his hand on Jack's chest and patted it.

“Why do you think I came back to town?” he asked. “I thought it was finally time to come clean about how I felt. Like you said, Carol, it's no fun when it's one-sided.”

Jack squeezed him into his side. His body didn't give an inch. Sturdy, steady.

“That's right,” Jack said. “There I was, working, and he just jumps up on the barstool and lays it all out for me. This one's surprisingly fierce, I tell you.”

Benny shared a look with the man.

He didn’t understand the why of his actions, but that didn’t mean Benny wanted to do less than his new counterpart.

He just forgot about his awkwardness a little bit.

“And this one is…” His words stalled out. The only thing he knew about Jack was that he worked at a bar. “Well, he’s⁠—”

“Ready to get out of here,” Jack interrupted. His smile went customer-service polite as he swung it to Carol. “Benny and I were supposed to go out tonight, but I had to come in to do a few things first. Now we can finally turn tail and go.”

Carol was quick.

“So why don't you join us now?” she offered. “We'd love to be the first to get the inside scoop on this interesting new relationship. Or, I guess I should say, new to us.”

Her eyes narrowed again.

Benny suppressed a wail of panic.

“Sorry, but we'll have to rain check that,” Jack answered, also not wailing. “We have some plans we can’t get out of at the moment.”

Carol opened her mouth to respond, but Jack had already turned the two of them around in one fluid movement.

“Thanks for the drink,” Benny called over his shoulder.

The Queen Bee of Arbor Bay didn’t call back.

Benny let himself be led to the bar, where two more curious faces met them. Dixon and the waitress he knew was named Santana were wide-eyed as they looked between them. Jack dropped his hold long enough to take his nametag off and throw it to Dixon.

He lowered his voice so only the four of them could hear.

“I'm leaving for the night. I'll explain later and make it up to you. Cool?” Dixon nodded. “I'll also clear out his tab tomorrow.”

The two had no follow-up questions—a trait Carol could stand to learn—and said nothing as Jack placed his freehand on the back of Benny’s back.