Page 34 of Fish Out of Water

“You’re such a drip.”

“No worse than you and your perpetual horny quest to find a guy out here to fuck.”

“At least that’s fun.”

“So’s reading.”

“Only if you can’t think of anything better to do.”

Robbie sighed. “Really, Jake, not everyone wants to be like you.”

“Well, I knowyoudon’t.”

“Plenty of others don’t either. You’d do well to take a step back and examine your life instead of just bulldozing through it like you are now. There’s more out there than pretty faces and a good time.”

Jake stood up straighter, resting his fists on his hips. His gloves were filthy, and at any other time, he would have thought better of touching his clothes with them, but his judgement was more than a little clouded right now. “You think I don’t know that? I have a life, Robbie. And it’s more interesting than yours.”

“Really?”

“It was before I moved here.”

“Yeah, you’ve told me that plenty of times before. Well, have fun tonight, I guess. Don’t do anything stupid. I won’t be there to bail you out this time.”

“Thank God.” Jake turned around and stooped to pick up some clippings.

“Hey, I saved you at that bar.”

“And I thanked you for that.”

“Eh, kind of—begrudgingly.”

“You’re gonna have to be happy with begrudging thanks, then.”

“Oh, believe me, I am.Anythanks from you is impressive. But you seriously can’t rely on me tonight.”

“I don’t want to.”

Jake glanced back to see that Robbie was smiling again. He winked, and then he looked away, leaving Jake to stare at the back of his head.

Robbie was still working when Jake left, too engrossed in his cleanup to bother saying goodbye. But Jake didn’t need a goodbye from Robbie. He’d see him again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.

After stopping at the thrift store, dropping off the two cardboard boxes a few minutes before it closed, he got back in the car and pulled up the map on his phone. He was looking for the gay bar less than half an hour away from there. He was so starved of touch, so starved of excitement, that the mere idea made him giddy.

Tonight was going to be a great night.

But first he had to get there, and the drive was more complicated than Jake was prepared for. “Aw, fuck,” he muttered, pulling into a parking lot to turn around when the directions beeped at him. “That was my turn back there.”

It was dark by the time he finally pulled onto the side of the street. It was getting dark earlier now, but Jake wasn’t worried. This city was much brighter than Eventide at night, though it was no match for the colorful nights Jake was used to.

The atmosphere the moment he walked into Oxygen, Grayland’s premier and only gay bar, was already better than the bar back in Eventide. He stopped, taking it all in. The rickety little stage in the back was set up for karaoke. Bass-heavy pop thumped in his ears and chest. Familiar smells of liquor and soda, sweet musk, and sweat tickled his nose. He was home.

He walked deeper into the room, approaching the bar to order a drink. As his nose grew used to all the other assaulting scents, a smoother, more complex one broke through: one he’d smelled earlier in the day, when he was standing inches deep in damp sand with hot, stiff gloves on his hands.

And then he saw him sitting at a table in the corner, shirt crisp as ever, light brown hair tinged purple by the lighting, with some sort of fruity cocktail on the table in front of him.

Robbie.

“Excuse me.”