Brian Rowe - New Years Kiss

New Years Kiss

A Short Story

by

Brian Rowe

Copyright 2018 by Brian Rowe

http://brianrowebooks.com

License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this story with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If youre reading this story and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously.

New Years Kiss

For Logan Merriwether

On a night that promised to be as unassuming as any other, I found myself trudging through eight inches of snow, my brother on my left side, his girlfriend on my right. With each shivery step we grew closer to the inevitability of over-crowded bars packed with inebriated tourists. My brother guaranteed me that one of the stops would be a gay barin Reno, my hometown, this meant rubbing shoulders with leather daddies and drag queens shipped north from Las Vegasand that we would be throwing down twenties at the blackjack tables after wed consumed half a dozen tequila shots. Since I only had five dollars and two nickels in my wallet, I figured Id let my brother do the buying.

I rested my cold, chapped hands inside my jacket pocket as we sauntered down an empty side street toward the first bar of the evening. I wasnt in the best of spirits. This would mark my third year in a row without a New Years kiss, my third year without a boyfriend. And this year I had zero chance of finding a guy, because unlike Los Angeleswhere Id lived for the past eight years, and where a thousand young twinks swarmed the city like man-hungry zombiesthe only cute gays in Reno were either still in the closet or physically hiding in their closets. I nursed my mediocre beer, way too tart for my taste, and spilled most of it in a trashcan before I headed back out into the piercing cold.

Five Star Saloon, Renos only decent gay bar, was the fourth stop on our invisible checklist. My brother Dustin appeared more interested to step inside than I did, as if he assumed the place would answer all the questions he had about my sexual preference. His tiny girlfriend Kami held my hand for a moment before she walked inside, clearly terrified that she would be swallowed whole by overweight lesbians.

The dimly lit bar had a crowd of at least a hundred people, with too loud an oldies soundtrack to make manageable conversation, and barely any room to maneuver. While Dustin ordered me a gin and tonic, I headed toward the bathroom and scoped out the best talent Reno had to offer. A lot of the players were older bears, all on the lookout for their virginal cubs. Some appeared too old to be out past eight on a Friday night, and others, the more promising younger ones who looked cute enough to share a casual smooch with, were already taken. I wasnt looking for a date. I just wanted someone to hold hands with in those precious seconds before midnight.

After thirty minutes of non-talking and non-dancing, we departed Five Star, Dustin and Kami holding hands, my hands becoming intimate only with the glass of gin and tonic tucked inside my warm leather jacket.

What time is it, Kami? I asked.

She didnt answer me; she was too busy texting one of her friends. With all the commotion on the sidewalk I couldve shouted that there was bird shit running down her dress and she still only wouldve replied with an apathetic yawn. I managed with one quick step and a bend of my torso to see on her phone that it was 11:05. I had never gambled with my brother before, and spending Dustins cash on the blackjack tables sounded like the perfect way to escape the frigid temperature.

But Kami forced us to make one final bar stop on our little adventure, at The Waterfall, a place so crowded with patrons that to walk from one end to the other was a feat akin to tiptoeing across a mile-long tightrope. As soon as I passed the portly bouncer, as well as a large sign that forbade outside alcohol from entering the premises, I pulled the tall glass out of my jacket and downed almost half my drink.

Dustin and Kami ordered more alcoholI told them I was good not just for tonight but for the next century, with my extra-large hangover in a cupand we continued to push through the massive crowd.

After much patience and determination, the three of us arrived at the back of the bar.

Im gonna use the bathroom, Kami said. Can you hold my drink?

Instead of handing her Peachtree Martini to her lover boy, she gave the drink to me. While she strutted into the ladies room, I enjoyed a taste of her sweet concoction, a strong mix of vodka, peaches, and orange juice.

But then I almost choked, when I turned to my leftand saw him.

The cute boy I had been chatting with online for the past six months appeared before me, unexpectedly, the first time Id seen him in the flesh. His name was Landon, and he stood in the middle of a group of attractive twenty-somethings, a Corona in his right hand and a cigarette in his left. While his friends laughed and talked over each other, he seemed lost in his own world, tapping his feet against the sticky hardwood floor, and watching the local New Years coverage on the overhead television with cool disinterest. Six-foot-two, twenty-three years old, with short brown hair and lime green eyes, he was dressed like a hot nerd, doofy yet still somehow unattainable, with a brown-and-purple sweater, a black jacket, and a large pair of dark-framed glasses resting atop his pointy nose.

I stared at him, my mouth agape, shocked and elated at the coincidence of seeing him tonight. We had just tried to meet up for coffee over the Thanksgiving break but to no availwith two jobs, Landon was a busy boy.

You okay ? my brother asked.

Kami returned from the bathroom and pulled her drink out of my hands. She tousled her hair before taking a sip. Whats up? Whats going on?

I had focused my attention to the loving couple in front of me only for a second, when I felt a shoulder rub against mine. I turned to my left to see Landon walk past me, to the mens room, oblivious to my presence.

Its nothing, I said. I recognize someone.

Oh really? asked Kami. Friend of yours?

Actually, Ive never met him.

Dustin crossed his arms and pondered this conundrum, but Kami understood.

Him? Is this a guy were talking about, Ryan?

Yes.

A cute guy?

I tried not to blush. Very.

How do you know him? she asked, her smile exaggerated. Have you guys chatted online?

I nodded but didnt answer with words because Landon exited the bathroom and started to walk back toward his friends, which, lucky for me, meant he had to brush by my shoulder a second time. I didnt think I would say anything; it wasnt like me to make the first move. But in his short march from the hallway to his buddies, I decided to go for it.

Landon?

He turned to me right away, and before I had the chance to follow my first word with a second, he smiled at me with that infectious grin and unexpectedly wrapped his arms around me.

Hi, Happy New Years, he said. I couldnt tell if he recognized me.

Hey, I said. Do you remember me? Weve chatted

Oh my God, Ryan. Hey! I had no idea you were coming to Reno for New Years. How are you?

Im great, I said, overjoyed that he remembered me, and that he seemed excited to see me. How are you?

Jesus, he said, staring into my eyes, not bothering to answer my question. Youre even cuter in person.