[COMPLETED]
I won't be another straight man's secret.
It's hard to plan the perfect wedding for your best friend when you can't keep your eyes off the groom's cousin. Sky's perfect -- except for one thing: he's as straight as the last man who broke...
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Neon City.
I stared up at the bar’s signage, taking in its bright neon coloring, even noting the cute little skyline that flared out from its final Y.
I’d never been anywhere like this before. I’d read online that it was a gay bar, which popped up as soon as I put in the directions for the place on my phone’s GPS. But Neon City being a gay bar wasn’t what made it so interesting. The place had a storied history, having been a meeting spot for LGBT+ activists in the 70s and 80s, as well as serving as a safe haven for homeless youth throughout the years, housing the youngsters in a walkup right above the bar.
I appreciated the place’s atmosphere. Most of the people inside didn’t seem as if they were the kind of people who tried too hard, the patrons giving off a casual, laidback vibe. Even the servers in their neon and black tank tops seemed to be taking things easy as I watched them laugh and joke with the tables around us.
Neon City felt safe, even though I knew it wasn’t meant to be a safe place for me, because I wasn’t gay.
Even so, I felt myself relax against my seat as I looked over at Clarissa. “So, is there a reason you’re meeting your wedding planner here instead of at his office?”
“Yeah, because meeting someone at a bar is way more fun than meeting them at work,” she explained. “Oh, and because I love this place. Don’t you just love this place? It’s so real. And chic.”
“I guess I just don’t understand why you’d need to meet Raven at a second location--”
“No!” Clarissa cut me off. “You don’t need to remember his name. Why the hell do you remember his name?”
“Because you introduced us a few hours ago?” I suggested.
“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m watching you.”
“And I’m watching you, too. Well, more like watching your wallet,” I replied.
“I’m not going to bankrupt us,” she repeated. “Why would I blow through all of our money? Trent and I are supposed to be spending the rest of our lives together. You think I want to spend the next sixty years stressed about our finances?”
“Clarissa, your dress is basically a down payment on a house.”
“And you don’t think I’m worth it? Is that what you’re saying?”
“No. I’m saying that I don’t think that anyone’s worth it,” I said. “I don’t think that anything is worth it. I think it makes more sense--”
“To just hoard your wealth like a goddamn dragon, yeah, I know.” Clarissa waved a hand across her face like she was waving off the whole conversation. “Don’t worry, Sky. Trent and I aren’t going to come knocking down your door for your precious inheritance.”
