Remedy [MxM]

Chapter 03: What do You Call a One-Night Stand on the Second Night?

This chapter was edited on 2/1/2016 and includes minor alterations. Enjoy!

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It was roughly a week before I saw Chris again at the bar. Apparently he went on vacation or something, because I was at that bar every night and didn't see him once. And no, just because I went to a bar doesn't mean I got drunk every night, and it doesn't necessarily mean I went looking for him either. I just, didn't have much else to do, is all. Don't give me that skeptical look.

So you've probably figured out by now that I went with alcohol instead of ice cream. Granted the ice cream probably would've been a lot better for my liver, and a lot less expensive.

When Chris finally showed up again, I had just gotten off the phone with Linsey, setting a time for her to come pick up the rest of her stuff. Don't ask me how the guy managed to sneak past me, but just like before he somehow managed to silently trade places with the original bartender. When I looked to where the other bartender should've been—an older guy with a beard that sort of reminded me of Santa Claus—I got Chris instead. Not to say it was an unwelcome change, but some warning might be nice.

"Holy shit!" I said, managing to disguise my surprise as sarcasm. "Mike! You're thirty years younger!"

Chris only rolled his eyes, barely sparing me a glance as he rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. "How often do you come here?" he asked instead.

"More often than I'm going to admit to."

"Don't you have any other bars to go and harass?"

I thought about it for a minute. "Not in the immediate area. Besides, no other bar has your beautiful face." I added with a smile, getting an agitated eyebrow raise for my trouble.

"Are you going to buy something or not?"

I laughed a little before asking for a beer, and watched as he got it and handed it over before moving on to the next customer. I couldn't understand why he was such an asshole toward me. To everyone else, he was nice. Short maybe, but nice. Then you get to me and it's like bitch mode is suddenly turned on. Do guys even have 'bitch mode'? Yeah, they do. Better question, why was I still attracted to him despite him being such a dick? I had questionable taste in men. Or their personalities, at least.

I sat quietly with my beer though, not harassing Chris too much. Or trying not to, anyway. A couple times I failed, such as: "You know your ass still looks pretty good sober", and "You washed your sheets, right?" Needless to say I got several glares in response. He even flipped me off one time.

By closing time, I'd only had one beer that night. Which I was fairly proud of myself for, and I was sure my liver was too in the long run. I stayed and watched Chris clean off the counters, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees in the stool I occupied.

"So, out of curiosity, where were you the past week?" I asked. He faltered in his cleaning at that, then suddenly glared at the counter as he picked back up, a little more aggressively than before.

"Why should I tell you?"

"Well, you know" I started. "There was that one time we had sex, and I woke up in your apartment."

Chris stopped completely, sighing before looking at me. "I was on vacation. With my boyfriend. Happy?"

"Oh, you have a boyfriend?"

"Yes, I do. Now I'd appreciate it if you'd shut up and let me work in peace."

I hummed to that and watched as Chris went back to wiping down counters, essentially ignoring my existence as I sat there quietly. So, he had a boyfriend. Not a total surprise, I supposed. But, if he was seeing someone, why did he cheat on them with me? The thought sort of made me feel like a dick, considering that I'd just done the same thing that caused me to break up with Linsey. Only difference is that I didn't get caught in the act.