After Josh had showered and changed into fresh clothes, the two men rode the short distance back to the bar in silence. Lance kept making furtive glances out of the corner of his eye towards Josh. He could tell the other man was nervous. He wanted to know why he made Josh that way? Ever since they had met the night before. He could tell that Josh had an interest in him. That was obvious. Something was holding Josh back. What had happened to him? Shortly after opening the bar for the day, Lance put Josh to work. Joey had called in saying he would be late, so Lance had to go into the kitchen and leave Josh to tend bar. Lance watched Josh as served drinks and talked to his regular customers. It was nice to see him happy. When Joey finally arrived before the after work rush, Lance told Josh to relax and let him take over the bar. Josh protested at first, but when Lance brought him over a drink, Josh finally relented. Josh watched Lance bring him drink after drink. If he didn't know better, he would say that the bartender was trying to get him drunk on purpose. When he saw Lance coming at him again with a fresh drink, he raised his hand. "No more, Lance. I had enough." "You sure?" Lance placed the glass of beer in front of Josh. Lance looked around, and saw that the bar was mostly empty. He glanced down at his watch. It was already after midnight. People would be heading home soon. Maybe then he could talk to Josh. He wanted to know what bothered Josh so much. That was the reason why he had served the man drink after drink. Maybe the alcohol would loosen him up. "I'm sure, Lance. I'm sort of drunk right now," Josh said with a slight giggle. Lance laughed as he walked to the other side of the bar. It took another thirty minutes before the bar finally emptied. Lance walked over and locked the door after his last customer left. Turing back towards the bar, he watched Josh play with his empty glass on the bar. Sighing, he walked up to the bar and sat on the stool next to Josh.  "What you thinking about?" Josh looked up at Lance. "Why do keep asking me that?" Lance shrugged his shoulders. "Just curious I guess. Something seems to be bothering you. Just wanted to try and help." Josh pushed his glass to the side. "You can't help me, Lance. No one can really." Lance stood up and began to clear off the tables. He stopped and faced Josh who had turned his head to watch him. "Some guy must have done a number on you, Josh." Josh lowered his head. "What makes you say that, Lance?" Lance shrugged as he sat down. "Just a feeling. Am I right?" Josh sighed. He wondered how this man next to him had figured it out. This gorgeous man next to him knew him better in twenty-four hours than Justin ever had. "Yeah, you're right." "So what did he do?" Josh looked at his empty glass. Wishing it was full, so he could drink. He didn't want to talk about his past. Didn't want Lance to know about why he was here."Justin. He cheated on me." Lance looked down at Josh's hands holding onto the glass. "I'm sorry." "It's okay. I'm getting over it by now." Josh looked down at the bar tracing the wet circle left by his glass. Lance reached out and grabbed Josh's hand stilling it. "I don't know what I would have done if my man would have cheated on me." Josh looked up. The shock on his face was plain to see. "Your man? You mean that you are..." Lance smiled. The look on Josh's face was priceless. Lance wanted to lean over and kiss him, but now wouldn't be the right time. Josh was still hurting. "Yeah, I'm gay, Josh." "Wow. I never would have thought. I mean I kept on expecting some beautiful girl to come out." Lance laughed. "Nope. That isn't going to happen. Tried that once. Britney is now one of closest friends." Lance stood up and began to walk around the bar, but he felt Josh's hand grab his and gently pull. Lance looked down at the hand that held his. He wanted to pull away, but at the same time he didn't. He let Josh pull him closer, and when he lifted his head Josh's face was just centimeters from his face. He opened his mouth to protest, but before he could get the words out Josh's lips were against his. He felt Josh's tongue make their way past his slightly parted lips. He could taste the beer that Josh had drunk that night. As much as he wanted the kiss to continue, he raised his hands and pushed against Josh's chest. "Josh, stop." Lance took a step back and broke the grasp Josh had on his wrist. He saw the hurt settle on Josh's face, and he wanted to step forward again and take the other man into his arms. He hadn't wanted to hurt Josh, but if they started something right now when Josh was hurt and drunk, they would never last. "I'm sorry," Josh whispered. Josh stood up, and walked towards the back of the bar. "I'll be out by the car." Lance sighed as he saw the door close. He decided to let the cleaning go for another night, and followed Josh into the night. Continue Menu