Chapter Six – A List of Things You’re Not Allowed

The drink was odd but pleasant, and Otis had to do his damnedest not to gulp it down. It wasn’t nice to gulp down your drink or gobble down your food, his grandma had taught him, and now, he was in the company of interesting people, who knew a thing or two about how to drink alcohol the polite way. After moistening his lips in the pink drink for a moment and then licking them slowly, as he noticed Missy doing, he needed to find the best words to thank Utah for the treat.

“I am very much grateful,” he said after he took another small sip from his glass. Something of how that cocktail was made caused him to giggle, and somehow, he believed that wouldn’t be too nice.

“Do you come from one of those communities?” Utah asked him, leaning over the bar again, and looking him in the eye. “Where they churn butter all day and read the Bible?”

“I thought so, too, at first,” Missy intervened. “But no, he’s just one very polite guy,” she explained.

“My grandmother raised me like this,” Otis added, not willing to hide a thing from the people who wanted to get to know him better. “She taught me everything.”

“Did she teach you how to dress, as well?” Utah asked with a smirk. “That explains a thing or two.”

Missy scoffed. “Hey, man, don’t be an ass. Otis is pretty sensitive about his looks.”

He didn’t feel insulted. “Yes, she taught me how to dress. She always said that a man should present himself as someone responsible, on whom people can count. And that his clothes must reflect that.”

“Actually,” Utah said, getting closer and resting his chin on one palm, “I like you like this a lot. I could use a responsible man, on whom I can count.” For some reason, he mimicked his words with a large smile, as if they were a cause for amusement.

There was so much for him to learn, Otis decided, and this outing in the real world was proving to be a bit scary, but also exciting and filled with opportunities. Also, he was abiding by Hudson’s advice not to date until he knew everything there was to know about finding a proper boyfriend.

Utah startled him by gently touching his cheek, his long fingers smooth and pleasant against his skin, just like the drink he was having. He didn’t pull away, however, and stared with renewed curiosity at the bartender. “Damn, you’re really pretty,” Utah said slowly. “Do you have a phone number?”

“Yes, I do,” Otis replied firmly. Everyone had a phone these days and a phone number to come with it. That was a strange question.

“Utah!” someone called from his right, causing the bartender to straighten up and his smile to fade.

That same someone slammed one hand on the bar in front of Otis, startling him further. He looked up and found himself face to face with a young man with spiky pink hair and an eyebrow piercing. His eyes were heavily lined with black, as were his lips. “Who’s this weirdo?” he asked, pushing himself into Otis’s face, making him lean back, which was hard on that kind of stool.

“Babe, quit it,” Utah said and pulled the strange young man away. He didn’t have all that upper body strength for nothing because it seemed easy for him to drag the newcomer halfway across the bar between them and then kiss him hard on the lips.

Otis felt funny looking at them, so he moved his eyes away. Missy leaned toward him. “Uh, I think our Utah here’s a bit of a player. Watch out for his kind, Otis. It looks like he has a boyfriend.”

Of course. That explained the kiss. They were boyfriends and boyfriends kissed, although he and Hudson kissed, too, and they weren’t that. However, it was perfectly explainable in their case, too, since Hudson was teaching him about dating men. Between seeing two men kissing each other so freely and remembering about his neighbor’s firm lips on his, he was starting to feel a bit funny. It was a pleasant sensation in the pit of his stomach, but also a bit too ticklish. He didn’t know if he’d start laughing or get really queasy.

Utah finally let go of his boyfriend, and the heavily made-up face turned toward him once more. “Beat it, fugly,” he said from the tip of his lips.

Otis recoiled at the word. He didn’t know many things, but he knew when he was called that, regardless of the variations of it. Heat rose to his cheeks and his right hand began trembling. He needed to get away from there. At that very moment, just as he was about to bolt, Missy reached for him and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. “Hey, who are you calling that, drama queen?” she yelled at the bartender’s boyfriend. Then, she turned toward him. “He’s obviously jelly as fuck.”

“Am not,” the guy replied, putting his hands on his hips. “This little hussy’s obviously a homewrecker.”

That wasn’t fair. He had never wrecked anything… except a few cups and plates when he was still struggling with coordination issues. He put his hands between his knees and hunched his shoulders. He couldn’t run while Missy was still holding him like that. There was warmth coming from her and it took the edge off what he was feeling inside.

The bartender laughed. “Don’t mind Danny, Otis. He is jelly.”

He didn’t dare to look up, but maybe he needed to, because everyone else fell silent, and they were probably expecting him to talk. “It is fine,” he said slowly, not knowing if it were the right thing to say under the circumstances.

“Of course, I’m jealous,” Danny said with a huff, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’re the one flirting with every new cute face in the house.”

“That’s because you just assumed we were in an open relationship without asking first,” Utah said. Otis looked at him only to notice the playful smirk on his lips. How could he be so laidback given all the drama unfolding? “Payback’s a bitch, darling.”

Danny huffed and turned his back to Utah. He did look over his shoulder, though. “I changed my mind.”

The bartender seemed unimpressed with that statement. However, his smirk turned into an affectionate smile as he grabbed Danny by the shoulder and squeezed. “What’s your poison tonight?”

Otis was curious about the way that strange relationship was unfolding in front of his eyes, but he didn’t have time to hear Danny’s answer because someone embraced him from behind, hiking him up in his seat and out of Missy’s hold. He was about to put up a fight when Jackie said into his ear, “How about a little dance, Otis?”

He disentangled himself from the stool with some difficulty while Jackie helped him to his feet. His hand was grabbed quickly and Jackie began pulling him toward the dance floor. “You, straight girl,” he yelled, “come on! Let’s get wild!”

Missy downed her drink in one go and followed, with a huge grin on her face. Otis suspected that she loved dancing very much.

“Has Utah treated you right?” Jackie yelled at him, although the music wasn’t that loud. Maybe Jackie just liked being loud.

“He gave me a pretty drink,” Otis replied dutifully. The music had changed to a rhythmic beat, and now the dance floor was no longer bare.

Jackie pushed him so that they could face each other and began moving to the beat of the music with a coordination Otis observed with growing envy. He was a good dancer, indeed. And he seemed like a fun person, because he smiled and talked a lot. By his side, Missy was doing her own kind of dance, and she seemed to be a pretty good dancer, too. Jackie turned toward her and they both began performing a strange duet, jerking their bodies left and right, always with one shoulder forward as their dance partner moved the opposite back.

They were having fun, and Otis felt the room tilting for a moment, just a smidge. He was also warm all over, and his heart was starting to beat in synch with the music.

***