The Pickup

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?What?ll it be?? ?Martini. Gin. Dry.? The bar wasn?t particularly busy, at least not yet. The music was too loud. He hadn?t been in a bar in years, but he could see that nothing had changed since he was a young man frequenting such places. The obligatory pack of straight women who thought it hip to hang at a gay bar. The table of lesbians, looking smug with their lovers, knowing they wouldn?t be lonely tonight. And the young men; all those men, hovering like so many predators, trying to hide the loneliness they felt as they hoped to find someone to assuage it for a night. Frank twirled the stem, then took a sip. The first drink of the night and it was good. That first drink always tasted the best. The bartender put two olives on a plastic spear on a napkin near him. ?Thanks,? Frank said. He bit into an olive and ate half of it, then took another sip of his drink. ?Hello,? a voice said, startling him. He had been lost in his own thoughts. ?My name?s Zach,? the man said, flashing a brilliant smile at him. He had a full beard. Frank detested facial hair. Tony had fine, delicate features and very little body hair. His facial hair was sparse and he shaved daily. Just one of the many things he loved about Tony. ?What?s your name?? the man said, when Frank didn?t answer. ?No offense,? Frank said, coolly. ?But I?m really not in the mood to talk.? ?None taken,? the boy said, flashing that smile again. ?Good night.? The boy looked no more than twenty five or six. He wistfully thought back to when he was that age. Frank had graduated high school at exactly the moment in history when, for the first time ever, being a gay male was a death sentence. Though the world was a homophobic place, you could forget that in LA in 1981. The scene was alive, it was happening, it was everywhere. Then, just when Frank began to understand and accept his sexual identity, it was over. There wasn?t a person he knew that didn?t lose a friend Avrupa yakası escort bayan (http://avrupayakasi.t2bro.net/) to AIDS, or more likely, many friends. Monogamy seemed the only way to deal with it, but monogamy requires a lover you can stand; and that can put up with your shit. Frank had spent many nights in just such a bar as this, trying to hide the fear of being lonely, as these men were. That?s when he learned that pot disguised the loneliness. Over the years, he found that alcohol did a better job. He suddenly remembered what had started the fight with Tony. Another plea from Tony to stop drinking so much had gotten the usual, sarcastic, shitty response from Frank. Tony was used to Frank?s bitchiness, but Frank went too far. They both knew that Tony would be back; he always came back, no matter how shitty Frank treated him. Tony adored Frank, would always adore Frank. And Frank? Well, he adored being adored, and he enjoyed sex without worrying about condoms or disease. And if he was to live a life of monogamy, at least Tony was attractive. And there was the sex; the sex was always good. Frank?s expression softened, as he thought about the sex. ?Another?? the bartender asked. Frank nodded, then drained the rest of his drink. He looked around, noticing that the bar was beginning to fill, though it wasn?t yet nine. He saw his young man, flashing his smile at everyone he saw. Had he been so obviously desperate, at that age? Frank decided he probably had been. It?s easy to forget, in the smugness that comes with having a lover, how lonely life can be without one. He had met Tony fifteen years earlier, as a client, and they had been together ever since. It was by far the closest Frank had ever come to being happy. Zach came back over. ?Back so soon,? Frank said sarcastically. The smile ran from Zach?s face. ?Why did you come here?? ?Well, I could claim that I came for a drink,? Escort Ataköy (http://atakoy.t2bro.net/) Frank said. ?Though that may seem odd, since this is a bar.? ?That?s bullshit,? Zach said. ?You could have had a drink at home, for less money than you?ll pay here.? ?So you tell me, Dr. Phil. Why did I come?? ?You came hoping to meet someone. Perhaps for pleasant conversation, perhaps more.? ?And?? ?Perhaps me.? Frank chortled in his drink. ?You? No offense, but you?re hardly my type.? ?I don?t give a shit about that.? Frank shrugged his shoulder. ?Are you finding the conversation pleasant here?? Frank asked. ?No, I guess not.? Frank went back to his drink, while Zach stood and left. He sneered as he saw Zach approach another man, desperately hoping to find someone to take away the loneliness, if just for a night. ?Young fools,? Frank thought. ?They go out at night dressed as though they?re going to the supermarket, and they have fat bellies already. The look popular among gay males, when Frank entered the scene, was well groomed, short hair, mustaches or no facial hair, and thin, as epitomized by Freddie Mercury. Just that week, he had seen in a men?s magazine that ?the look? today was a burly man with a full beard. ?They?re too lazy to stay in shape, so they just change ?the look? instead, to a "lumberjack? he thought. Frank was about the same weight as when he graduated from high school, at 5?10?, 168 pounds. Tony was thin as well, and dressed meticulously. Frank saw to that. He had dreamed of being a fashion designer, but had settled on a life in retail, working as a clerk in a very high end men?s clothing store. As Frank started his third, Zach approached again. Frank was a bit mellower now. ?Struck out elsewhere?? Zach didn?t answer that. ?Looks like you?re having fun,? he said. Now Frank didn?t answer. ?You?re pretty good at drinking, aren?t you?? ?I practice.? Frank thought back to Şirinevler escort (http://sirinevler.t2bro.net/) the years he had spent in places like this, knowing that he would probably strike out, like so many nights before. The desperation that set in as the bar began to empty. And he thought of the nights when he did find someone, going back to his apartment or theirs, waking up with a strange man, the awkward goodbyes. It wasn?t a life he missed. Still, there was the thrill of the hunt, especially when he scored, that was unlike anything he now knew. No, he wouldn?t go back to this way of life, but he could still sense the thrill of someone new. ?Why don?t you come to my place?? Zach said. ?Like I said, you aren?t my type.? ?What?s your type?? ?Well, I prefer men that don?t dress like they?re going to a barn raising. I prefer men that are meticulously groomed. And I?m not much attracted to that twenty pounds of fat you?re waiting to birth.? ?Ouch.? ?You asked.? ?Fair enough. Why don?t you come over anyway?? ?Why are you here? I?m old enough to be your father. You know that, don?t you?? ?Perhaps I have a thing for older men.? ?Perhaps you have a thing for anything you can find.? ?Double ouch,? he said, rising. ?Hold on, cowboy, I didn?t say no.? Zach stared at him. Was the old man playing with him? ?I didn?t say yes, either.? Zach sat back down. ?How long has it been since you had sex,? Zach asked. ?Let me see,? Frank said, as he feigned deep thought. ?Two days. You?? ?More like four months,? Zach said. ?Listen, you won?t be sorry." ?How could he possibly know that,? Frank thought. ?Why would I jeopardize my relationship for a fling with a young, fat kid with a beard?? Zach laid his hand on Frank?s arm. ?What?s your name,? he asked, softly. ?It?s Frank.? ?Frank, won?t you come over?? he asked, looking into his eyes. Zach?s lonely eyes pleaded with him. There was no way that Frank would say yes, he?d already decided that. Still, all the old feelings of the hunt rushed back into his memory, thrilling him with the excitement he remembered feeling when he found a mate for the night. Frank remembered the horniness of a twenty-five year old. He knew that Zach would put up with any insult Frank could hurl, so long as he had a chance of getting him in bed.