Page 3 of Rico

Two

Evan was fucking this up. The first time he stepped foot in the Cock & Bull was on a Wednesday eight weeks ago when a few people from the radio station where he worked went there for someone’s birthday. At some point during the evening, he spotted the hot bartender on the other side of the room from his group’s table. After that, he had a hard time keeping his gaze off him. Thankfully, the only one who noticed him ogling the six-foot hunk, with tattoos peeking out from the short sleeves of his black T-shirt, was his friend Lily Albert, who worked in the advertising department at KCXN. She sat beside him and leaned over to whisper, “He’s yummy, isn’t he? He swings your way, too, and last I heard, he’s single. His name is Rico Demara, and he owns the place.”

She laughed when Evan stared at her, shocked that she knew all that. “I know his name and that he’s the owner because he advertises with us. As for the rest of the info, when I was here last Saturday with a few girlfriends, we flirted with him and another bartender—not the cute blond one working tonight. Anyway, the other guy said we were barking up the wrong tree with Rico. When Donna said she had a friend she could hookRico up with if he was interested, he said he wasn’t dating anyone but also doesn’t do blind dates.”

“Jesus, woman. Do you know his shoe size too?” was his hoarse response.

She’d smirked. “My guess is he’s a size thirteen, which means he probably has a really nice package. His shirt wasn’t tucked in the other night, so I can’t say for sure, of course.”

Evan had practically choked at that.

Since that night, he stopped in every Wednesday for a few hours, attempting to get to know the man better while trying to summon the courage to ask him out. All Rico had to do was say hello, and Evan’s knees got weak.

Evan gave himself a deadline to finally ask Rico on a date, and tonight was the night. Now, he wasn’t sure if it was a big mistake.

“No, I’m not bi. Just spent twenty years in denial. When I told my wife, she wasn’t exactly surprised—said she suspected over the last five years of our marriage that I struggled to admit to myself I was gay. We got divorced last year—amicably—and I came out around the same time. Lost some friends and family members over it, but I’m done trying to convince myself I’m something I’m not.” He would’ve ended his little speech there, but in for a penny, in for a pound, as his grandmother used to say. “As for the experimenting, I hit some clubs after we separated and hooked up with a few guys. Not exactly proud of the fact I never got more than their first names, but I had to make sure, you know?”

He was surprised when Rico nodded. Damn, the man was attractive—like, drool-worthy attractive. His hazel eyes appeared more green than brown tonight, and his dark-brown hair was longer on the top and back, fading to very short on the sides. The five o’clock shadow gracing his jawline and upper lip added to his allure. The gray Cock & Bull T-shirt he wore wastaut across his muscular shoulders, chest, abs, and biceps and tucked into a snug and faded pair of blue jeans. And Lily would be happy to know that, under the denim, the man did have a nice-looking package to go with a tight, rounded ass.

“Anyway,” Evan continued. “I’ve been on a few dates recently, but they asked me out. I never ... look, I like you, Rico. I’m attracted to you and would like to get to know you better. I hoped we could do that somewhere other than where you work. But if you’re not interested?—”

“I am.”

A shiver went down Evan’s spine as those two words, spoken in Rico’s deep baritone voice, skirted over his skin. “You are?”

Smirking, Rico chuckled. “Yeah, I am. Give me about ten minutes to take care of a few things before we leave. A coffee shop two blocks away is open all night.”

Shocked and a little delirious, Evan nodded and sat back down on the stool. Holy shit. He did it. He finally managed to get the nerve to ask the guy out, and Rico said yes. Wow.

Okay. Play it cool, Ev. Don’t rush things or sound desperate. Keep the conversation neutral, and don’t talk too much. And for God’s sake, stop your hands and knees from shaking like there’s a damn earthquake!

As Evan paid for their coffees, Rico picked up the two cups the barista had placed on the counter, then gestured toward an empty table next to the large window by the front door. “Over there, okay?”

Evan nodded like a bobblehead doll. “Um, yeah, that’s ... that’s fine.”

Rico strode over, trying not to laugh at the other man’s apparent nervousness. It had been a long time since Rico was on a date with someone so unsure of himself. He found it endearing.

He set the cups on the table and then decided to be a gentleman and remain standing until Evan joined him before taking a seat. Across from him, Evan took a sip of his coffee. Rico waited silently for a few moments, watching Evan try to think of something to start a conversation with, then took pity on him. “You mentioned earlier you have a kid—Brian, was it?”

A grateful expression crossed Evan’s face. “Uh, yeah. Actually, I have two boys. Brian’s seventeen, and Mark is fourteen.”

“How’d they take the divorce and you coming out?”

Evan shrugged, then his shoulders relaxed. “How does any kid take their folks getting a divorce? It kinda hit them out of the blue. They had no idea there were any problems. In fact, aside from me finally admitting I’m gay, Susan and I had a good marriage. She became my best friend when we started dating during our sophomore year of high school. She still is—she took my announcement better than anyone, including me. I just feel bad that I didn’t tell her sooner. She deserves to find someone who can love her in a way I can’t. Idolove her—I always will—but I’m notinlove with her. I’m not sure if I ever was. Getting married and having kids seemed like what I was supposed to do, you know? Brian and Mark were shocked when I came out to them, but they seem okay with it now. What about you? Have you always known you were gay, or did you have trouble figuring it out?”

Swallowing a sip of his coffee, Rico nodded. “Yeah, I figured it out when I was a freshman in high school. Ironically, my best friend realized he was gay around the same time.”

“Scout?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you two ever—” His eyes widened in shock and embarrassment. “Never mind, that’s none of my business.”

Rico smiled. “Don’t worry about it. No, we never hooked up. Never even kissed. We’re close—like brothers—and that just felt too weird to even think about. We did talk to each other about what we did with other guys, but that was it.”

“How did you two meet?”

“We lived a few blocks away from each other but were in different elementary schools. Those combined into one middle school. He sat beside me in social studies on the first day of sixth grade, introduced himself, and asked if I was a Giants or A’s fan. I said I was a diehard Giants fan. He slapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘Thank fuck. I thought I was going to have to kick your ass.’ I laughed so hard because he was four inches shorter and about thirty pounds lighter than me at the time. Turns out I found the best friend I could ever ask for.”

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