Acceptance | Gay MxM |

3. Meeting Him

"Oh – I just wanted to grab a beer before heading home," I explained. Technically the truth.

"You live around here too?"

"A few blocks away," I mumbled, taking a long sip of the beer. I suddenly remembered I wasn't that great to have a conversation with. At least I got to say hi...

"You... in a hurry?" he asked, his eyes now following the glass I was halfway emptying in my nervousness.

"Not really."

"You want to drink alone, or...?"

I froze for a second. I really wasn't in my element in this kind of place. I hardly had any people skills, thanks to being isolated from the world for so long, so I just shrugged.

"Great!" he smiled and grabbed his drink, gesturing for me to follow him to an empty table.

Why was I following him again...? I was only supposed to... to do what exactly? Why was I even there? In a gay bar with a guy I had been stalking at the gym. I nearly made a run for it, but then he turned to look at me over his shoulder.

"I'm Cole, by the way. Cole Smith."

"Randall," I replied, painfully aware of how short my replies were, and wondering why he still wanted to accompany me.

"You look spooked," he said with a smirk as we sat down. "Don't mind me – I've been here for over an hour already and I get a bit chatty after a few beers."

"You're... alone?" I asked, looking around the bar where no one seemed to pay any interest in us.

"I already talked everyone's ears off, so they bailed."

"And I'm the next victim," I guessed.

"You seem like a quiet one, so I get to do all the talking." He chuckled like he was looking forward to it.

I could only stare at him for a moment. "I... see..." I then mumbled, making him laugh.

"So you've never been here before?" he asked, leaning a bit closer over the table.

"...no." I shook my head.

"What do you think?"

"...about what?"

"The bar," he said with a smirk.

I looked around out of politeness, and then shrugged. "It's cool."

"Just cool?"

"...yes?"

"Cool," he said, giving me an intensive stare. "I own it."

"The... bar?" I asked, feeling a bit more nervous again.

"Yes," he said, looking around as well. "I always wanted to open a bar and here it is. It might not be much, but the area is perfect for a gay bar."

"So you're... gay?" I asked, hoping I wasn't sounding like an idiot.

"Yes. And you...?" he asked, turning his eyes back to me.

I looked away from him and took a sip. I didn't know what to say. I couldn't even open my mouth. All I could think of was my father and his words... The silence was getting awkward, and the longer it continued, the harder I wished I'd walked past this whole place.

"How long have you been working out?" he asked, surprising me. When I looked at him, there was something in his eyes... An apology, maybe?

"Um... Ever since I was sixteen," I muttered.

"Oh! Maybe you can teach me then. I only started when I moved here."

"I guess," I said carefully, still trying to figure him out. "But I don't really think you need my help – you're already doing great."

"So you've been watching me?" he asked, his smile turning playful.

I froze once more, and when his stare became too much to bear, I turned away. He let out a short sigh.

"I'm sorry – didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Again. For the third time, actually..." he mumbled.

"It's fine," I said without looking at him. "I'm... not very good at this, so..."

"Fair enough. You can just tell me to piss off if you want."

I peered at him and saw that his smile was gone. What did I want? Run? Hide? Let my father keep destroying my life over and over again, even though he wasn't part of my life anymore?

I leaned against the table. "Well – there are a few techniques I could show you – you'll destroy your back if you continue doing them wrong."

"Really?" He chuckled, and for some reason, his smile made me feel a bit more confident. Not much, but enough.

"It's nothing bad, but I've seen you lifting some weights a bit recklessly, and in the long run it will cause problems."

"Ah – good. The couple I'm always with are trying to show me how to do things, but we're all a bunch of novices, to be honest."

"The couple?" I asked.

"Yeah – Jasper and Kenneth. You've seen them," he said.

His friends... I had no idea they were gay as well. They didn't look gay. They were... just a bunch of guys...

"Yeah, right... right," I mumbled, starting to feel a bit odd. Good kind of odd.

We ended up talking for quite a bit about working out, different kinds of techniques, and diets. It was surprisingly easy to talk with him. He even bought me a few beers, even though I told him I could afford my own drinks. That made him ask what I did for a living, so we talked about cars for an hour – he seemed a lot more enthusiastic about cars than I was. For me, it was just a job, but he was clearly interested in different kinds of cars, especially old ones.

"I loved Vanishing Point – you know that movie, right? The one with the Dodge Challenger and the guy with a pregnant wife?"

"I... No?"

"You have to watch it! It's the best movie ever made! It's the reason why I fell in love with old cars in the first place!"

"I'll keep that in mind," I promised, but that wasn't enough.

"I have it on DVD – you can borrow it," he said.

"Sure, sure," I said, guessing I had no other option now.

"Good, and you better watch it," he smirked. "I'll bring it to the gym tomorrow. You'll be there, right?"

"Yeah, I'll be there," I nodded.