Textbook Romance

Chapter One

Pink smoke erupted from the wings, and a dazzle of glitter fell upon the crowd in front of the runway-shaped stage. They went wild – the drag queen had dropped to her knees, her hands outstretched in ecstatic supplication. Fans crowded forward chanting her name and trying to hand her dollar bills of appreciation. Andy sighed and made his way to the back towards the bar, which had emptied out since the start of the show. It was close to midnight and he debated how long he had to stay at Mark's birthday until it wasn't rude to leave. It's not that Hypnotic wasn't his scene. It usually was; he loved the drag shows and hanging out with the dj's when they took breaks. But he was tired and summer had been long and lonely. He had been really disappointed when his sort-of boyfriend Darren had left for the summer.

Andy and Darren had started seeing each other casually in the Spring, and then Darren had gone to Hong Kong for a fantastic internship with the Poli Sci Grad program. Andy had been excited for him, but also wished they could have spent the summer together. They had been by no means exclusive; they were barely dating. Andy had wanted more, and had even asked Darren to be his boyfriend, but Darren had just laughed and then played it off as if Andy wasn't being serious. Andy was okay with a one night stand but he didn't get the whole fuck-buddies situation. He wanted to date someone, wanted to bring someone home to his family. Darren had made it clear that he wasn't interested. But Darren was fun to be around and the sex had been good, and maybe a small part of Andy hoped that Darren would eventually want more, too.

Tomorrow, he was starting the second year of his PhD tomorrow, and in preparation he had spent a good two months of his summer applying for an NIH F31 young researcher grant. At the beginning of August, however, he'd received news that the grant had gone to someone else in the clinical psychology program at the University of Columbus. He had been shocked. After all, every person he spoke to almost guaranteed that he'd be chosen. Who could it have gone to? He had wallowed for a while then asked all the other students about the mystery individual, but nobody knew. He felt like a straight stalker. It must have been some dean's nephew, or a rich alum's daughter. He had moved on from shame to angry bitterness, which as a psychologist in training he knew were coping mechanisms. The knowledge of that only further infuriated him, which in turn made him more ashamed. It was best to just drink and try to forget about the theft of his future. He would find out tomorrow anyway, they had a welcome back reception at the department. He stood at the bar. The bartender was shirtless and wearing gold eyeshadow. Andy didn't recognize him; he must be new.

He was sweet; his hair curled behind his ears effortlessly and then he gave Andy a heavy wink, "What can I get you?"

Andy found himself amused. He brushed his finger along his jaw, accenting its sharpness. He knew he was good looking, with his sandy hair, brown eyes, muscular build, and he was going to call attention to it.

"A tequila soda," he replied. The boyish bartender smiled and went to fetch a glass. Andy considered him for a long moment, it had been awhile since he had been with anyone. Maybe something easy tonight would be welcome. Suddenly, the door opened. He felt it before hearing it. In a split second, a gush of humid air, hot like a gasp, caressed the back of his neck. He turned as if caught in honey and saw a dark head of hair, a flash of blue eyes, and legs long and slim clad in black denim. Andy knew he was staring but he couldn't stop, the man was walking closer. His wide eyes, the color of indigo on silk, were alight with curiosity. Tall, but not imposing, a body thrumming with an energy, an animation, something wild barely contained; like the sketch for a statue had walked off the page... "8 dollars," the bartender's voice snapped Andy's head around.

"Uhh," he stammered. The bartender looked past him annoyed.

"Here's a ten. Keep the change," said a disembodied voice. Andy mentally kicked himself, as he heard the barstool legs scrape as the stranger, who had clearly seen Andy staring, sat down beside him.