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Anthony rapped his fingers on the edge of the bar, nerves eating at his stomach. Since when was getting to a date this early a good idea? He wondered to himself as he watching the people milling about the room. As far as bars went, this wasn’t a bad one. It was only after he spent a full minute studying the decor that he shook himself. Maybe ordering a drink would help. Or is that bad date etiquette?
He observed the bartender at the opposite end of the bar. The man was slightly shorter than he was, his nearly shaven hair a light shade of brown, matching that of his stubble beard. His body was thin and lanky, coming in handy when he needed to dart from person to person, filling drinks and such.
Without any thought, Anthony’s hands were back at tapping the bar, and he watched as the bartender’s eyes shot towards him. The man in question moved in his direction, and Anthony swallowed. He hadn’t intended to seem like a needy or obnoxious patron, but he realized he had come off that way as the bartender said, “One second, let me make this drink.”
“Oh no, take your time!” The Italian sputtered quickly, blushing furiously. A devious look flashed in the bartender’s eyes, but Anthony brushed it off. You’re waiting for your date , he reminded himself, your female date. He took a deep breath.
The bartender finished what he was doing before coming to stop in front of Anthony. “What can I get for you?”
Anthony looked down at the wooden bar, finding the bartender’s gaze a bit strong for his liking. “Um, well, actually… I’m waiting for someone. So I should probably wait for them. Yeah. I should. Um.” He mentally cursed himself for being so damn awkward all of the time.
Cocking his head, the bartender replied, “So… You just got my attention for fun?” Though his tone was mostly teasing, there was something hiding within it that Anthony couldn’t quite detect.
“Sorry about that,” Anthony said sheepishly. “I, uh, I’m just nervous.”
“And why’s that?” said the bartender with a crooked smile.
“I’m, um. I’m waiting on a date, actually.” Anthony couldn’t help but notice the bartender’s smile fade, and for some strange reason, his chest tightened. He shook it off. Your date will be here any minute. He told himself.
The pale man nodded lightly. “I should get back to tending the bar if you’re not ordering anything.”
“Sorry,” Anthony said, though he wasn’t sure why.
“No trouble.” The man said quickly, practically tripping over himself to get away from the Italian.
Anthony rested his head on the bar, resisting the urge to slam his head into the hard surface over and over. He was about to just abort the whole operation entirely when he felt a hand tap his shoulder. “Um… Anthony?” A sharp British accent asked from behind him.
He jerked his head up, feeling like a total idiot. Dark brown eyes met lighter brown ones. “Michelle?” Anthony asked, taking in the sight of the gorgeous woman in front of him. She had long brown hair, coming to rest just below her breasts (not that Anthony was looking, god), with a bright purple streak near the front. She wore a bright smile, one that looked a little nervous, Anthony observed.
“That’s me.” She said, sticking out a hand awkwardly. “Hiya.”
“Have a seat,” He replied, shaking her hand before gesturing to the seat beside him. “Do you want a drink?” Michelle nodded, waving over the bartender before Anthony even had the chance to be embarrassed about their earlier meeting.
“What can I get you two?” The man asked, as if earlier had never happened.
Michelle pondered for a second before saying, “Peach schnapps.”
He nodded, “And for the Italian?”
Order something cool! His brain yelled at him, Come on, man! Order something crazy and manly! What would Gary Busey order? “Um, yeah, I’ll just get what Gary Busbey gets.” He scrunched up his face, mentally slapping himself.
“Did you just say Gary Busbey?” Both Michelle and the bartender asked in unison.
“Nope.” He said quickly, shaking his head vehemently. An oddly dolphin-reminiscent laugh ripped its way from the bartender’s mouth and Anthony blushed. “Look, I’ll just get…” He glanced at the drink board, reading off the first name he saw. “A pink martini…” His voice trailed off as another dolphin laugh sounded.
“Delicious,” the dolphin man said teasingly, moving to get their drinks.
Michelle nudged his shoulder lightly. “Very manly choice.”
He shrugged, trying to play off his embarrassment. “I try.” The two chuckled, but the awkward tension was palpable between them. “So… Michelle.”
“You can call me Minx.” She said. “Most of my friends do.”
“Oh, ok. Minx,” he said her name, trying it on for size. “It’s a cool nickname. Did someone give it to you…?”
“Yeah,” she said, a new light in her eyes. “My friend Krism. We play a lot of videogames and, well, that’s my username pretty much everywhere.”
Anthony smiled happily. “You game? You ever play any gmod?”
“Do I ever?” She said, laughing. “All the time.”
“I do too!” He felt a bit lighter after finding something in common. “Although I’m absolutely horrible at Prop Hunt.”
“Krism and I were actually planning on playing some Prop Hunt tomorrow with a few of our friends. You want to join in?”
Anthony’s smile faded. “I don’t know about that… I’m actually in the process of switching computers… So… My stuff isn’t hooked up and it’s just all a bit of a mess for now. So yeah.”
She shrugged. “Let me know when you get situated. We’d love to add another person to the group.”
“That sounds good.” Anthony lied. He felt bad because Minx seemed like a cool person but-
“I’m gonna go freshen up.” Minx said with a smile. “Hopefully our drinks will be here when I get back.” He nodded, letting out a breath when she disappeared into the crowd. His eyes moved from the bar to the bartender, tracing every inch of his person. All of this would be so much easier if you just admitted you’re gay. He told himself.
Almost as if he had heard Anthony’s thoughts, the bartender made his way over to Anthony again, setting drinks in front of him. “Your martini, good sir.” Anthony opened his mouth to thank him, but the bartender held up his hand. “And before you ask, no, we do not make any sort of pasta dishes. You’ll have to go elsewhere for that.”
Anthony frowned. “What makes you think I’m Italian?”
The bartender scanned his face. “Your honker of a nose.” He giggled at his own joke, that damn dolphin laugh resurfacing. "And the fact that you didn't object when I called you that earlier..."
“Okay, okay, you got me there dolphin man.”
“Very creative.” He smirked. “But I prefer Adam.”
“Anthony.” He said, sticking a hand out. His heart had the audacity to skip a beat when their hands met.
Adam cleared his throat. “So. How’s the date?” He asked awkwardly, reaching from behind the bar to grab a cloth.
Anthony shrugged. “She’s nice. It’s just-”
“Ooh the drinks are here.” Minx’s voice jerked him back to reality. Reality… Where he wasn’t allowed talk to cute male bartenders who had an, okay kind of adorable, laugh and a bright smile and oh god how did he get so gay.
“Can I talk to you for a second?” He asked abruptly, grateful as Adam (at least pretended to) turn away so the had (seeming) privacy.
Minx frowned, eyebrows furrowed. “Sure… What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry. You seem like a nice girl. It’s just that… well… I’m gay. My parent don’t know and that’s why my mom set us up. I tried to tell her no, but ‘one of her friends had a very beautiful single daughter’ and it was ‘only right that I gave her a chance’ and-”
“Anthony!” Minx cut in. “Calm down. If we’re being honest here… I’m gay too. I was just trying to find the right time to tell you.”
“Wait really?” Chilled’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected that.
“Yes. That friend I mentioned before? We’re kind of… dating. I’m just too afraid to tell my parents. Hence why I keep getting set up on things like this.” Minx looked sheepish for the first time that night.
“Damn.” He let out a long breath. “Good to know we’re on the same page. Well. Or on the opposite page? You get my point.”
She laughed, causing Anthony to laugh as well. “Well, now that this is all out in the open…” Minx wagged her eyebrows, nodding her head between Adam and Anthony. “You can make a move on bartender man.”
Anthony scoffed. “What makes you think I would want to?”
“Hmmm…” She tapped a finger to her chin. “Maybe the fact that he’s been clearing flirting, and honestly, the two of you could do so much worse.”
After hearing that, Adam moved back towards them. “Okay, so I couldn’t help but overhear.”
Minx giggled knowingly. “ Of course you couldn’t. ” Before Adam could say anything, she sighed. “Just ask him out already so I know he’s in good hands.”
Anthony furrowed his brows. “What?”
“I want to go home and watch Orange is the New Black with my girlfriend. Sue me.”
Adam blushed as he looked into Anthony’s eyes. “Wanna play videogames some time?”
Anthony smiled, his cheeks tinted a light pink. Adam really did have some gorgeous eyes- “Really?” Minx asked shrilly. Anthony and Adam rolled their eyes at her. “You couldn’t asked him to do anything and you chose vid-”
“I would love to, Adam.” Anthony cut in, pointedly raising his voice to mask Minx’s.
She sighed, seeming to be a mixture of disappointed and pleased by the couple’s agreement for their first date to be… videogames. “I’m just going to leave you two then. Anthony, you have my number. Text me sometime. Maybe we can go on a double date.”
Anthony nodded, “Bye, Minx.” He turned back to Adam, a smile on his face. “So… You game?”
Adam smiled deviously, a plan already forming in mind. “Yeah. But I’m so bad. Especially at Prop Hunt. ”