I was shocked that Duncan texted me back, because I was sure that he’d blow me off like so many men before him. He didn’t sound enthusiastic about meeting up again in his texts, but he had a very lazy texting style, so it was hard to parse his tone. I figured if he never wanted to see me again, he wouldn’t bother responding at all. When I suggested meeting up again, he told he had “family drama” that he had to worry about but that maybe he’d have some availability next week. Right when I assumed he was making up excuses, he asked if I wanted to hang out and get a beer with him “and friends”. Considering my struggle with friend and family functions, I asked if I could bring my friend as well.

sure, he responded. if he’s cute.

Cuter than me for sure, I replied.

Impossible, came his response, with a tongue-out emoji.

I wasn’t sure why Duncan had availability to hang out but not to fuck, but I wasn’t going to complain. I then called Josh.

“I need you to come get a beer with me tonight.”

“You need me to? I didn’t think you had a problem doing that on your own.”

“I hooked up with this guy and now he wants to get a drink with me and his friends, so I invited you because recent events have taught me that I’m terrible at socializing on my own, and you’re so good at it.”

“Recent events? Like what?”

I told him about running into Rachel, my high school buddy, and then going to the club with her cool gay friends who I couldn’t connect with.

“You should have told me about this. That’s nuts. You told me Rachel stopped talking to you.”

“She did. But time heals wounds, I guess. I dunno, she was really nice to me.” I nibbled on my lower lip, trying to hold back a tide of guilt. She had no reason to be nice to me. And to show my appreciation, I abandoned her and her friends in a club to go suck a stranger’s dick. It was classic me. She probably expected it of me.

“Man, you are meeting people left and right! What about this guy you hooked up with? And why is he not taking you on a proper date? A beer with friends, seriously?”

“I don’t think he was planning on inviting me, but I pestered him about hooking up again and I guess he figured I could tag along.” That’s how I read it, anyway.

“Who is this person?”

“His name is Duncan.” I flopped onto the couch and curled my legs up against my torso. “He’s really tall.”

“That’s all you got?”

“And hot! And the sex was really good. You’ll learn what he looks like if you come with me. Please?”

“You never know, I might steal him from you.”

“You’re welcome to try. You probably need a good dicking.”

“I’m hanging up. Text me the details.”

***

Duncan’s friends were two equally thin and tattooed guys, and by the time Josh and I showed up, they’d already gotten a booth and were halfway through their second beer. Judging by the awkward pause to their conversation, we were interrupting them.

Duncan, however, didn’t seem perturbed. He tossed me a rather debonair smile and gestured to the empty space beside him. “Sit. Be merry.”

I did so, and Josh grabbed a chair from a nearby table to sit at the head of the booth. I introduced Josh, who got nods from all three men. Then a waitress arrived, and Josh and I gave her our beer orders.

“Nice place,” I said, looking up at the exposed ducts on the ceiling. The bar was “hip” in that Instagramable way, with recycled wood on the walls and metal baskets serving as utterly useless lampshades. I bet one beer was going to put me back ten bucks.

“I have a friend who’s a cook here,” Duncan said. “They make good fries. I should order you some.”

“That’s not—”

“Nah, I insist. When the waitress comes back, you’ll get fries.” Duncan’s gaze moved from me to Josh, and he smiled. He seemed a bit more “on” today—full of charm with a hint of seductive energy. He wore a baggy sleeveless shirt that exposed a plethora of tattoos up his arms and down his ribcage; most of the skin was inked. Part of his head was shaved, and the other side was grown long, the sort of thing very few men beyond high school could pull off without looking like a sad Nazi or a douche. But he rocked it all with confidence, and that was the core of what attracted me to him.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one, because Josh wasn’t acting like his usual self. He did tend to stutter and flush a little more in the presence of very attractive men, and I could sense he was stumbling as Duncan started to ask him questions. I didn’t think Duncan would interest Josh at all. As he said himself, he wasn’t into edgy asshole types. But Duncan differed from Dylan. Dylan had a blustering macho attitude, always prickling over perceived threats to his status. Duncan wasn’t like that at all. He was cool-headed and exuded a low-intensity sex appeal that could draw in even someone as principled as Josh. I’m glad I wasn’t alone in getting caught up in Duncan’s web.

The beers arrived, Duncan ordered the fries, and then he touched his glass to mine. “Tvajó zdaróvye.”

I couldn’t help but feel Duncan knew exactly what he was doing and was delighted by it. Getting turned on by bilingual people had to be the most unfortunate American tendency in existence.

“What’s that mean?” Josh asked.

“Cheers.” Duncan took a sip of his beer.

“What language is it?”

“Russian.”

“Wow. Cool.” Josh flushed a little bit more and cleared his throat. “I speak French, but not even nice French. Just the bastard Canadian version.”

“Sounds the same to me, dude.” Duncan chuckled. “I’m sure many Russians would take issue with my bastard Russian. Kyrgyzstan is not the motherland.”

“How many Russians do you know?”

“None. I visited Russia as a kid once, but you wouldn’t catch my bisexual ass anywhere near it these days.” He tilted his head at Josh. “Do you visit Quebec much?”

“We go every other Christmas to see my dad’s family.”

“And how is that?”

“About what you’d expect. They’re not metropolitan, so they’re what I call hard Canadian.”

Duncan laughed. “Lots of flannel?”

“Soo much flannel.”

All three of the guys laughed, and Josh relaxed a bit. Duncan could be intimidating, but with at least two beers in him, he was more prone to amusement. At some point in the conversation, I felt his hand on my leg, drifting from the top of my thigh to the inside, which he squeezed with intention. I tried to keep my face neutral, though I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. He gave me a smirk and a lift of his eyebrows but otherwise acted normal. He didn’t go for my junk but instead kept his hand on my leg, somewhere between a tease and a promise.

I was hoping that after an hour and a half of socializing, Duncan might ask me over to his place again. But instead, he just wished Josh and I a safe ride home before walking off to his car.

“Wow,” Josh said as we both watched him stride away. “Talk about hot.”

I chuckled, turning to face him. “Thirsty much?”

“It’s been a while, okay?”

“I’m surprised you were into him.”

“Who do you think I’m into?”

“I dunno.” I shrugged. “Nerds?”

Josh laughed and elbowed me. “What, like you?”

“I have the decency to hide it.”

“Yeah, until you open your mouth.”

I shoved Josh toward the car. “Shut up and let’s get going.”

We were in the car and waiting for a light to turn green when my phone buzzed. I glanced at the screen.

Nice seeing u and ur cute friend, said the text. Ttyl.

“He says you’re cute,” I couldn’t help but say aloud.

“What? Seriously?” Josh made a grab for my phone, but I pulled it away. When he pouted, I showed him the message.

“You think he has vision problems?” Josh asked, and I slapped his arm as a reprimand.

“Talking shit about yourself isn’t okay, Josh! Goddamn. Shut the fuck up.”

Josh chuckled and gunned the gas a bit too hard when the light turned green. “Maybe he’ll ask for a threesome.”

“Mm, maybe.” I paused, then turned to him. “Would you do it?”

“A threesome? With you?”

“Yeah.”

“No!” Josh looked both amused and scandalized by the notion. “Would you?”

“No.” I’d already had my share of fucking exes, and I’d gotten a concussion from it. Not that Josh would hurt me, but having sex with him would seriously fuck with my emotions, which were already messed up enough. I cared about Josh more than everyone else in my life, and while I had mastered the art of casual sex, that indifference to adult encounters did not extend into close personal relationships.

“He can have us both then. Separately.”

“So you’d have sex with Duncan if he asked you?”

“No. Because you’re having sex with him.”

“Only one time.”

“I’m not going to fuck a guy my best friend is fucking, Justin.”

I was about to say I wouldn’t care, but I probably would. My desire to see Josh get laid did not win over my jealousy. I liked Duncan a little bit too much, and the thought of him choosing Josh over me would bowl me over like so many other emotional disasters had before it.

“Besides, I’m not a casual sex kind of person, and Duncan seems like someone who very much is.”

We’d see about that. I’d check back in with him soon and find out if he’d changed his mind about being preoccupied with “family drama”. He definitely seemed ready to fuck me in that bar, so it shouldn’t require too much effort to tempt him back into the bedroom using my usual wiles.