Chapter 2 Josh stood in the doorway letting his eyes adjust to the darkness and smoke contained within. Running his fingers through his hair, he looked for an empty stool for him to sit at the bar. Spotting one, he walked over to it and sat down. He looked around the bar taken in the scene around him. The smell of smoke and stale beer filled his nostrils and he grimaced. "What can I get you?" A voice came from behind making him turn back around to face the bar. The sight before him almost made him gasp out loud, but he stopped himself. This bartender was hot.  The man that stood before him wore a tight pair of blue jeans and a tight white sleeveless shirt. He moved his gaze up higher, and looked into the greenest eyes he had ever seen. "Hey, what you want to drink?" Josh shook his head and looking down at the bar for a second before looking back up at the man in front of him. "A beer." The man turned away from him grabbing a glass from the shelf over the bar. Josh's eyes made their way up and down the bartender's body stopping at the well-rounded ass as it bent over to fill the glass. He licked his lips slightly as the man turned around to face him putting the glass down on a napkin in front of him. "Anything else?" Josh almost opened his mouth, and said , 'you,' but stopped himself. This was the south, and it was well known what was thought of gays in the south. The chance that this gorgeous man was gay was slim to none. So instead he looked towards the back. "Kitchen still open?" "Yeah, it is." Taking a sip of his beer, Josh asked, "What do you recommend?" "Joey makes a good burger platter." "Yeah, I'll have that. Thanks." The bartender turned away and walked towards the kitchen to place the order. A few minutes later, Josh looked up and caught the eye of the bartender who was drying his hands on a towel.  Josh looked down into his beer, but he still felt the gaze of the other man on his face. Josh didn't raise his eyes until he heard the bartender stop in front of him his eyes fixated on the hem of the white t-shirt. "I haven't seen you around here before, " the green-eyed man said as he leaned on the bar. "I'm not from around here," Josh said. "Just passing through." "Yeah. We get that lot around here. I'm Lance." "Josh. Nice to meet you, " he said as he took one last sip of his beer. Lance brought back out of his food, and he ate in silence as he watched Lance fill drink order after drink order laughing and talking with the various costumers in the bar. Every once in awhile, he would come over and they would talk for a little bit. Lance said he liked talking to people that he didn't know. As the night grew later, the bar began to empty, and the two men were able to talk more and more. Josh had forgotten all about getting back on the road and finding a place to stay for the night. He hadn't been looking for someone, but he had. Lance was perfect for him in every way. If only he wasn't so obviously straight. Josh sighed as he reached for his wallet, but Lance waved it away. "It's on me tonight. I liked talking with someone different." "You sure?" "Yeah. Nice meeting you, Josh." "Same here, Lance. Have a good night." Josh stood up walking towards the front door of the bar turning back one last time to glance at Lance. Lance smiled in response and waved his hand. Josh pushed through the door and walked outside sighing. continue menu