Waking the Behr

Lorraine, the Bottom’s co-owner, latched on to us near the hostess stand, scooped up three menus, and said over her shoulder, “Right this way.”

Connor was having lunch with us, then.

“Let me give you a quick overview about the roadhouse, Mitch. Then you’ll have some basic info to think about. Okay?” This was a working lunch, right? So I’d best be acting businesslike.

Mitch nodded, and Con, fortunately, figured out what was going on and shut the fuck up.

After we ordered, I walked Mitch through the building’s long list of minuses and its one plus—it was a sturdy old bugger. He told me he’d get back to me about what he was going to do. I had a feeling he’d already decided and was going to call the Realtor to make an offer once we were back in town. You don’t often find guys dancing around like crazy idiots who don’t already have their minds made up.

As we ate, I watched Mitch and Con chat. I sat there and mentally took notes on how gay guys flirt. If nothing else, I guess I could chalk lunch up as a learning experience.

Right before we got dessert, Mitch asked Con what guys did around here for fun. Nobody mentioned the missing “gay” before the word “guys,” but we all knew it was there.

Con told him about Stonewall Saloon with its gay owner and bartender as well as a couple of clubs in a fifty-mile radius.

I thought they’d be off on another of their shared experiences discussions, but Mitch surprised the crap out of me by asking what I did for fun. I’d given up on learning how to flirt with a man and had switched to thinking about Rita and the drive up here, as well as the rest of my stops for the day. I was buried so deep in thought I had to ask him to repeat his question.

“Me? What I do for fun?”

Yup, I sounded like I was loose a screw or two.

Mitch smiled as if he found my reaction funny.

“Uh, well, Con already told you about Stonewall. It’s not just a gay bar but more of an everybody bar.” I scratched my head as I thought. “Well, except women. Not a whole lot of them there. You have to go….”

Yeah, right. Like Mitch was interested in where to go to pick up girls. Con was staring at me with a puzzled frown.

“Uh, well, anyway. Um, I’m mostly a country boy. Even more than my brothers.” I shifted in my chair. My hands and feet felt too big and too in the way. “I like stuff like fishing, hunting, camping—stuff like that.”

Mitch had brightened at my list and seemed to be sitting a little closer to me, maybe even leaning in a little .

“You like to go camping?” He made it sound like a special treat to sleep outdoors. “How about canoeing or kayaking or rafting? Do you like those too?”

“Are you kidding?” Con asked and snorted. “If you can do it outside, Ben’s your man. He’s done all of it . And actually liked it. Right, Ben?”

I nodded even though my face was getting hot. I didn’t know why I was blushing. I did like  to do all of that, as well as skiing, motocross, swimming, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Only outdoor activities I wasn’t partial to were birdwatching or counting wildlife. Those I left to people who didn’t like to get dirty.

“Are you any good, Ben?”

Mitch’s curiosity seemed odd. What the hell did he care? It wasn’t like we were going to bond or anything over any of it.

Con butted in before I could answer. “I hate the outdoors, but if I had to go, I can’t think of a better person to be with.” Con’s compliment took me by surprise. “Ben knows the area around here like the back of his hand. He should take you out sometime. Then you’d see what I mean.”

He stopped and shot me a fucking “got you” grin. But he wasn’t finished.

“You know, if you’re going to be here this weekend, there’s a rally on Saturday. You could go  along as Ben’s navigator.” He turned to me with a twinkle in his eyes. “I’m sorry, bro, I can’t do it. I promised both Monique’s and the Bottom extra desserts ’cuz this weekend’s supposed to be so busy for them.”

Con’s smirk said “you can thank me later” even though he knew I probably wouldn’t be in the thanking mood.

Mitch brightened and turned to me.

“What’s a rally?”

With a quick glare at Con, I explained it was a car competition of sorts. A race that wasn’t a race, exactly.

In the back of my mind, I tried to figure out what Con was doing. He acted like he was setting me up on a date, but that couldn’t be right. Could it?

Mitch stared at me for a few seconds, then at Con.

“You know, I think I’d like to go with you, Ben. I’d like that a lot.” Finally he settled his gaze on me and grinned. “You’ve got a date.”

Now I felt like I must be  brick red, and my ability to speak had left the building. What the fuck had just happened?