getting fucked up. I’m a bit too old for it, you know?”
“You’re two years younger than I am!”
No way was Mackenzie drunk enough to pursue that topic. “I’m thinking another hour or two, and then home to bed?” He could tell as soon as he saw her expression that he wasn’t going to like her response.
“Actually… I was thinking of bed quite a bit sooner.” She grinned and cut her eyes toward a young preppy guy standing by the bar, clearly waiting for her. “But he lives somewhere….” She frowned as she tried to remember the details. “I don’t know. Somewhere I can’t go. So we need to go to my place.”
The effect that would have on Mackenzie was clear, but he tried to delay the discussion of it. “Is it possible he lives with his parents ? He’s just a kid, Kristen!”
She grinned again. “I know . He’s going to be fun!” And then she got more serious. “But you know how small the apartment is. It’s would be a bit… you know. Kind of awkward. If he’s in with me and you’re out on the couch, hearing everything….” She made a cutesy face that had probably been a lot more effective when she was the age of her prospective fuck. “You can find somewhere else to crash, right? I mean, you know lots of people here tonight….”
Mackenzie did know them. Or at least, he had. But they’d drifted out of his life over the past months, and he hadn’t missed them. Kristen was the only friend from the city he’d stayed in touch with, and now she was ditching him for some guy. Which, of course, was completely in keeping with the rules they’d always had for their friendship. It wasn’t Kristen’s fault that Mackenzie had settled down and gotten boring.
He forced himself to smile at her. “Have fun. I’ll find somewhere else, no problem.”
His response earned him a quick kiss, and then she was gone, giggling and grabbing the prep’s hand. He sighed. He wanted another drink, a real one.
Well, it wasn’t that cold of a night. He could take the subway back up to where he’d parked the car, sleep in it, and pay a couple dollars for a shower at the community center the next morning. Not his ideal night, but not the end of the world, either. It was a workable plan. He’d wasted too much money the last time he was in town, so there was no way he was paying for a hotel, and he really didn’t want to beg a bed from any of the people he saw in the bar.
It all made sense. Which made it that much more confusing when, less than an hour later, he found himself being dragged out of the bar, Anton clenching his hand as if one or both of them were drowning, heading for…. “Where? Where are we going, again?”
“The Blue Room,” Anton said. “It’s just down the block. Or a few blocks. I don’t know, it’s in here somewhere.”
“And Alexi is there?”
“That’s what Casey said. That son of a whore! He said he wanted a quiet night at home! Said he needed some peace!”
Well, that would certainly not be something he’d get hanging out with Anton, Mackenzie mused. He stumbled along behind as Anton continued to rant and rave, managing to wrench his hand free just in time to avoid being run into the sandwich board advertising dinner specials outside a restaurant. He glanced in through the tall glass windows and saw four men, maybe a bit older than him, looking out at him with a mix of horror and amusement.
They weren’t envying his youth and beauty, he realized with a start. They weren’t wishing they could live a carefree life of adventure and glamor and flirting and late-night fun. They thought he was a mess.
Anton grabbed his hand again and yanked him forward. “Move it, Mackenzie!” he ordered.
Mackenzie let himself be dragged along, but his mind was back with the men in the restaurant. They hadn’t looked like tourists, or even suburbanites. They lived in the city, they were part of the community, they were enjoying the cultural offerings on tap… they were just doing
“You’re two years younger than I am!”
No way was Mackenzie drunk enough to pursue that topic. “I’m thinking another hour or two, and then home to bed?” He could tell as soon as he saw her expression that he wasn’t going to like her response.
“Actually… I was thinking of bed quite a bit sooner.” She grinned and cut her eyes toward a young preppy guy standing by the bar, clearly waiting for her. “But he lives somewhere….” She frowned as she tried to remember the details. “I don’t know. Somewhere I can’t go. So we need to go to my place.”
The effect that would have on Mackenzie was clear, but he tried to delay the discussion of it. “Is it possible he lives with his parents ? He’s just a kid, Kristen!”
She grinned again. “I know . He’s going to be fun!” And then she got more serious. “But you know how small the apartment is. It’s would be a bit… you know. Kind of awkward. If he’s in with me and you’re out on the couch, hearing everything….” She made a cutesy face that had probably been a lot more effective when she was the age of her prospective fuck. “You can find somewhere else to crash, right? I mean, you know lots of people here tonight….”
Mackenzie did know them. Or at least, he had. But they’d drifted out of his life over the past months, and he hadn’t missed them. Kristen was the only friend from the city he’d stayed in touch with, and now she was ditching him for some guy. Which, of course, was completely in keeping with the rules they’d always had for their friendship. It wasn’t Kristen’s fault that Mackenzie had settled down and gotten boring.
He forced himself to smile at her. “Have fun. I’ll find somewhere else, no problem.”
His response earned him a quick kiss, and then she was gone, giggling and grabbing the prep’s hand. He sighed. He wanted another drink, a real one.
Well, it wasn’t that cold of a night. He could take the subway back up to where he’d parked the car, sleep in it, and pay a couple dollars for a shower at the community center the next morning. Not his ideal night, but not the end of the world, either. It was a workable plan. He’d wasted too much money the last time he was in town, so there was no way he was paying for a hotel, and he really didn’t want to beg a bed from any of the people he saw in the bar.
It all made sense. Which made it that much more confusing when, less than an hour later, he found himself being dragged out of the bar, Anton clenching his hand as if one or both of them were drowning, heading for…. “Where? Where are we going, again?”
“The Blue Room,” Anton said. “It’s just down the block. Or a few blocks. I don’t know, it’s in here somewhere.”
“And Alexi is there?”
“That’s what Casey said. That son of a whore! He said he wanted a quiet night at home! Said he needed some peace!”
Well, that would certainly not be something he’d get hanging out with Anton, Mackenzie mused. He stumbled along behind as Anton continued to rant and rave, managing to wrench his hand free just in time to avoid being run into the sandwich board advertising dinner specials outside a restaurant. He glanced in through the tall glass windows and saw four men, maybe a bit older than him, looking out at him with a mix of horror and amusement.
They weren’t envying his youth and beauty, he realized with a start. They weren’t wishing they could live a carefree life of adventure and glamor and flirting and late-night fun. They thought he was a mess.
Anton grabbed his hand again and yanked him forward. “Move it, Mackenzie!” he ordered.
Mackenzie let himself be dragged along, but his mind was back with the men in the restaurant. They hadn’t looked like tourists, or even suburbanites. They lived in the city, they were part of the community, they were enjoying the cultural offerings on tap… they were just doing
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