The Boss & The Assistant - Rewritten Edition of "The Boss"

Chapter 40 - Lafayette

 We made our way through Peru and Brazil before making it to Montevideo in Uruguay. None of us had ever been before, but I had heard good things about the place and that is was very LGBTQ friendly. Little did I know, that was an understatement. When we arrived, it had a slow-paced and quaint atmosphere. It felt weirdly familiar, not quite deja vu, but like I had been there in a dream.

All of us were shocked at how hot everyone was. I don't think I had ever seen a place with so many attractive people before. The weather was luckily a little warmer than normal for this time of year. It was too cold to get into the water, but people were lounging on the beach and letting skin show. We were going to spend a couple days longer here before leaving the continent. Most of the countries were going to have two or three days dedicated to them, with breaks in between continents.

We were staying in a few cottages with a shared garden. They were small but charming. Luckily, Michael was the one to suggest I share a cottage with Emerson, because otherwise Marcus would have to share one with me or Em or Sasha, and he figured Sasha was the only one who would be able to stand him. Plus, they got the larger cottage that actually had two bedrooms. Em and I took the one farther away from everyone else, that overlooked the beach down the hill. We were going to have a great time.

The show and the gala were successful. After business, we had time to relax. We all went to a few sight-seeing places for an afternoon. The weather was nice, in the seventies and sixties with lots of sun. The city beamed with color. The food was delicious. The people were nice. Montevideo was slowly becoming one of my favorite cities.

In the late evening, when everyone was retiring to their cottages, Em proposed an idea. "There is this place I heard about," he said. "We should ride some bikes down the beach and go to it." He was rummaging through his luggage.

"What is the place?" I asked, lounging on the bed.

"It's a bar," he said. He pulled out a pair of denim shorts. "A gay bar, but it's kind of discreet, apparently. It should be fun."

"Sure, we can go," I said, but I was a little nervous about it.

"You have to dress gay, though," he said, changing his clothes.

"I'm not gay," I said, smirking.

"Okay, but you still need to dress gay."

The next thing I knew, Em was taking a pair of my black jeans and cutting them so they were short as well. They were not as short as his, but they showed a decent amount of thigh. He put on a white linen button-down and made me put on a black linen button-down. Then we hopped on bikes that came with the cottage and rode them down the beach.

He was correct that it was more discreet. There was a small cove with trees hiding a small bar, almost like a shack. There were a lot of shirtless men outside the place. We went in and the dance floor was small and packed with even more mostly shirtless men. Em and I got drinks first, standing by the bar.

The freedom these queer men had was something to envy. They were truly living openly. Did fear or shame ever cross their minds? Based on their faces, I couldn't imagine the answer being yes. They were smiling, laughing, kissing, and staring so deeply into another's eyes. I knew I was bisexual from a young age. I was shamed for being so and even though I still felt shame since then, I didn't let it prevent me from acting on my temptations. I had grown content being in the closet. People most important to me knew. Men I slept with did not out me. I was content. But, when I looked at these happy men being happy with each other, I found myself longing for that feeling.

I set my drink down on the bar and held my hand out to Em. "Wanna dance?" I asked.

He smiled, surprised, but nodded and took my hand.