Page 9 of Four Times Taken

He started vibing until Matt and I rolled our eyes. "Okay, fine. So, you know a few dance moves. You keep up with the trends. This is original, baby!"

"That's right." Matt clapped and stepped from foot to foot like a dad at a family picnic, watching his kid show off his best dance moves.

"Uh, let's go back to the table I reserved before you break your damn ankle," Ryan snorted. "I have news to celebrate! Where the hell is Ethan?"

Chapter 3

Ryan

"Whoa! No! You don't need another drink," I said, pulling the vodka shot from Eric's hand and downing it. "I need to catch up to your level." I grinned, ordering a few more.

"So, come on." Matt rubbed his hands together. "Tell us the big news."

"I will. Just as soon as Ethan gets here." My eyes were focused on the screen before me as I flipped through the images I had captured earlier. From walls covered in creeping green leaves to romantic restaurants hidden between the alleyways of paint-stripped walls. A pink sunset glow reflected off palaces and surrounding buildings. The palace sat as if admiring its own beauty in the waters below it.

Statues held themselves in high regard as turquoise blue flowed with grace, filling their fountains. Even the outside of a pizza place with a Vespa parked out front was as breathtaking as Ponte Garibaldi in the early morning. From pigeons to cats to people going about their lives, the city screamed, 'Look at me. I'm marvelous.' Its views boasted history, battle, freedom, and resolutions. Everything and everyone burst with life; the echoes of bloodshed and the cries of people past were etched and bellowed from the Colosseum. It's even possible to hear the songs of angels standing in The Pantheon, even now as I looked at the picture.

"Wow, that's incredible," Matt said from over my shoulder.

"How do you do it, man? You capture the essence of the city and the people in every shot. It's impressive." Eric patted my shoulder.

"Thanks, guys." I smiled, my body filling with something like air that could lift me off this stool and have me floating around the room.

"What did I miss?" Ethan strolled in, head in his phone.

"It's about damn time!" I spun around. "Damn." I put the camera down. "Finally, I can share my news."

The guys took a seat. I cleared my throat to get Ethan's attention away from his phone for one fucking second.

"Sorry," he apologized, putting it face down on the bar counter and looking up at me with a smile. "Go on." He rubbed his hands together. "I'm on the edge of my seat here."

"I booked a job! It's a wedding photography gig, and I'll be earning some good money." I raised my shot.

"Congrats, man! I'm happy for you!" Matt said, closing into me for a hug. He smelled good. We'd hooked up a few times before, especially in the beginning. We're both bisexual, and we were both single at the time. We decided it was better off being friends. We're the only bi guys in the group. The others are as straight as a ruler, which is all for the best. Not that there's any drama or anything between Matt and me. Sometimes, we forget it even happened.

It's just we're all pretty good-looking guys—Eric with his shoulder-length, wavy hair, facial hair, white but tanned skin, and hard abs, Ethan and his nerdy but sexy glasses, tight T-shirts, equally hard abs, and beautiful brown eyes. And a great haircut.

There's me; I'd say I'm quite the catch as well. The only person of color in the group with a dashing smile and a bit of facial hair, not too much. Is that too much? Do I sound cocky? Oh, hell, whatever. Best to love yourself as much as you'd want someone to love you. My body is all right. I'm not rocking abs or anything, but I'm lean. Matt and I were the only ones who didn't take the gym that seriously, which threw the stereotype out the window. You know the one, how gay and bisexual men are muscle-wielding hulks who always keep their bodies right and tight.

My body's right and tight, sure, but it's far from the gym aesthetic. In my experience, a lot of the bulky men are the 'gym bros' regardless of sexuality. It's just about who cares about that kind of stuff. I got my exercise in by walking a lot and jogging here and there. I'd get up at whatever time in the morning to get the perfect shot, and I'd keep going as other shots revealed themselves to me. I'd find myself walking for hours and miles, capturing as many photos as I could because I couldn't help myself. I'm a little obsessed with photography, which is why I'm glad I actually get paid good money for this job. Usually, I earn enough to get by; this paycheck will keep me set for the next three months.

As for Matt, he's the 'always smiling,' shorts and T-shirt-wearing, mountain-hiking fanatic. That's how he stays thin or lean as he'd like to put it. He's always finding new trails, taking us on hikes, which I'll admit have some pretty sick views at the end of it.

So, we're in shape, good looking, dress well, and we smell good. It'd probably be a fuckfest if everyone swung like a pendulum. That could be just me. I've never been a part of an orgy. It's something I've always wanted to try, but I'd never bring that up to them. They'd look at me crazy. It'd be weird as hell to be involved in something like that with my best friends in the room.

Why were my thoughts running in that direction? Better question. Why were we still single? Because it's hard to be in a relationship when we don't stay in one location for more than a month, and I couldn't speak for them, but I hadn't found anyone I'm willing to settle down with right now. Might be why I'm thinking about orgies and looking at my friends differently. I haven't been laid in months.

Anyway, I brought myself back from the 'zoned-out wonderland' adventure I went on for the last few minutes. "So, the wedding is in North Carolina and guess what, I get to invite friends. I reserved a few invitations for all of you. You down?" I asked.

"Yeah, why not?" Matt shrugged, and Ethan nodded without looking up at me.

Eric's gotten on a flight to zone out wonderland himself. "You okay, man?" I snapped him into focus.

He cleared his throat. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. Where in North Carolina did you say the wedding will be held?"

Chapter 4

Ethan

---