Page 39 of Burning for Alexander
Like I was Jett Marian.
Lennon nodded. “’S no different. Just find someone and make it happen. No big.”
Except… it was big. It was definitely big.
Two weeks later, I came across an excuse to travel up to Billings. A band I liked was playing live music at the Palomino, so I booked a hotel room close by and dressed as slutty as gay Montana could handle in a town known for its huge-ass refinery.
There were plenty of guys looking for connections, but I was way too nervous and definitely too sober when I first walked in. My plan was to catch a little buzz, listen to some music, and then get my flirt on in hopes of finding someone who wanted to kiss and grope a little in the bathroom or out back. Wasn’t sure I was exactly up for bringing anyone back to my hotel room, but I also knew that the chances of me not coming the minute another man glanced at my dick were slim to none.
“Hey, cutie, what can I getcha?” a bartender asked when it was my turn to order a drink. He was younger than I was, with two long braids twisted into buns on top of his head like panda ears. “We’re running two for one on Bud Light, or I’ve got a great local IPA…?”
“Vodka cranberry, please,” I said, flashing him a smile. “Thanks.”
He nodded and got to work as I turned to take in the scene. It was a decent crowd for a bar in Billings, but it was definitely not like going to a bar in San Francisco or Davis. Many of the people in the casino area looked like they might have come from a long day at the refinery, and others looked like they’d been holding down their vinyl stool since the building had been erected early in the previous century.
But there were quite a few guys giving me a quick up-down, so I flashed my smile early and often.
“You okay, there, buddy?” the bartender asked, setting a refill down in front of me.
“Yeah, why?”
“You just seem… Never mind.”
The guy next to me leaned over and chuckled. “Little awkward. Boy, you wanna suck a dick, just lick your lips at someone. They’ll get the hint. Believe me.”
I… didn’t want to suck some random stranger’s dick in a gay bar in Billings. “What if I just want to make out on the dance floor a little?” I joked back.
The bartender and the guy next to me roared with laughter. “That’s a good one. Maybe the band knows Elvis’s ‘Love Me Tender,’ and you can even slow dance with your sweetheart.”
Okay, I was in over my head. The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth, but at least I wasn’t desperate enough to have an even worse bad taste in my mouth.
Thankfully, the band was on fire, and I was able to relax and enjoy it once I stopped assessing everyone who came through the door as a potential hookup. How Lennon had ever found anyone here for a quick connection was beyond me.
Maybe I was being too picky or too snobby. Hell, I was definitely too scared, and I was using everything else as an excuse. It didn’t really matter in the end because the flirty bartender endedup being good company, and enough people started dancing that I was able to join and let loose a little.
Unfortunately, no one non-intimidating seemed interested. Plenty of guys tried to get me out back, but none of them seemed to want a little kissing and heavy petting.
Maybe the barfly was right. I was a little old lady whose idea of getting to first base was way too antiquated for a gay bar in Billings.
Before getting back on the road the next day, I went ahead and swung by Costco to get a few things I couldn’t get in Legacy. My plan was to pick up a bulk container of nuts for Lennon as a joke and shop the big-screen televisions, even though mine was already plenty big. But as soon as I opened my car door, I almost took out the man getting out of his truck beside me.
“Oh shit,” I blurted. “Sorr…” My voice trailed off as I realized it was Judd Kincaid.
His eyebrows lifted. “Alex? What’re you doing here?”
My face heated. “Um. Nuts? And stuff.”
He hesitated as if unsure how to take that. I didn’t blame him. So I added more. “Also, I was here in town to see a band play last night. At a bar. Palomino.”
“Ah. Was it good?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I had a good time. Drank and danced a little. You know.”
How long had it been since I’d felt this awkward?
“Good,” he said. “That… sounds good. Glad you had a chance to relax.”
Suddenly, I had a horrible thought. “Wait. Are you in Billings for a Costco run or a…a Costco run?”
