A Bar Tender Tale by Melanie Tushmore

flirtatious touch to his shoulder said, “Come on, Matt, you know you love it.”
    “I’d love it more if you were working, Justin. Chop, chop.”

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    Their shift started promptly at six. After restocking and prepping the bar after a busy Saturday daytime, it was ready for the evening.
    Rainbow’s was directly connected to one of the larger guest houses set back from the road, with a private entrance into the bar for its guests. By midevening there would be a constant stream of gay men filing in from the guest house as well as from the street. Rainbow’s was long established and one of the busiest gay clubs in Brighton.
    Lewis, the enormous yet friendly doorman, arrived early and sat at the bar while Nathan made him a coffee. “At least the weather’s all right,” Lewis said.
    Nathan smiled. Being a doorman and forced to stand outside a lot, the weather was usually the first thing Lewis would talk about.
    It was close to 7 p.m., and luckily the place wasn’t busy yet. Mathew and Stuart were busy setting up the small P.A.
    in the corner ready for the cabaret. Nathan and Justin larked about behind the bar, falling into their familiar jokes which mainly consisted of patting and tugging on each other’s clothes while saying, “Topshop.” It was a sketch from The Mighty Boosh , Justin’s favorite TV show. Nathan loved this joke as it meant he got to flirt with Justin. Lewis raised an eyebrow at them in confusion as they mucked around. When Nathan’s phone buzzed in his pocket, he leaped to read the message, grinning from ear to ear.
    “Is that your new man?” Justin asked.
    “Yeah.”

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    “What’s he say?” Justin peered over Nathan’s shoulder and read the message. “ What does that say?” Nathan smiled shyly. “ Poultrygeist ,” he explained. “It’s a film. We’re quoting B-movie titles. You won’t get it.”
    “Clearly!”
    Nathan shrugged. “I’ve found a fellow nerd. What can I say?”
    “You’re hardly a nerd, Nathan.” Justin gave him the eye again.
    Nathan tried to ignore it. “Underneath this cool exterior beats the heart of a nerd, mate.”
    Lewis laughed as he sipped his coffee. “You could say that about all men, really. Mention something like Star Wars ….”
    “Oh, yawn!” Justin waved a hand at them as he strutted away.
    Nathan got back to his texting while it was still quiet. He was in the middle of replying when another message from Auryn came through.
    “I really want to see you.”
    Surprised, Nathan ditched his earlier reply and said,
    “But I’m working.”
    Auryn’s next message was almost instant: “No, you’re not. You’re standing at the bar, chatting.” Nathan blinked. Then he looked up.
    Shit!

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    He could see through the glass front of the bar; a figure standing just on the other side that looked remarkably like Auryn.
    Oh, typical!
    Why did he always have to see Auryn when he wasn’t prepared? This outfit was so not the impression he wanted to give.
    Oh well.
    Nathan slipped out from behind the bar and crossed the venue, shooting a cursory glance to check everyone else was busy. He would just pretend he was going out for a cigarette… a cigarette he had forgotten to bring with him.
    When he opened the door to the cooler evening air and stepped outside, Auryn was waiting for him with a smile. He was clean shaven, dressed in casual clothes this time; jeans and a jacket. They made him look younger than his thirty-one years, Nathan thought. Still drop-dead gorgeous.
    “Hello, Nathan,” he said. “Wow, new look, is it?”
    “Oh, um….” Nathan felt his cheeks grow hot. “It’s retro night. I don’t normally dress like this.”
    “You look very… sparkly.”
    “Er… yeah.” Nathan was stuck for words. In front of him was a very fine specimen of a man, and he felt the blood rush through his veins excitedly. His natural