Hunter hated putting on the glitter lotion shit, but the shimmer accented his pecs and biceps. Hazards of the trade, he supposed. He heard the front door open and close and peeked his head out of the bathroom. Tyler came in, looking completely drained.

"Hey dude!" Hunter called out.

"Hey," Tyler responded, his voice completely lifeless.

"Um, I've got beers in the fridge if you want. Help yourself."

"Thanks man." Hunter wondered why Tyler was gawking at him on the way to the kitchen until he realized his cock was out and flapping around. Oh well; if they were gonna be roomies, Tyler and Charlie would have to get used to it. He quickly finished slathering on the glittery shit, threw on the jockstrap that accentuated his junk, and joined Tyler in the kitchen.

"Looks like you had a rough day, dude," Hunter said, cracking open a PBR. Tyler nodded, dejectedly. Poor kid. "Look, I gotta get to work. Why don't you stop in and have some drinks. Forget your troubles?"

"I can't afford that right now."

"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of you."

"Cocktail right? You dance there?" So Charlie had told him. How much, though, Hunter had no idea.

"You got it."

It was pretty dead in the bar when Tyler showed up. Usually the place didn't get going until 10:30 or 11. Carlos (a.k.a. Axel) took the stage, so Hunter was on shot duty, per usual. With no prospective shot buyers, he waved Tyler over to the bar and introduced him to the bartender. "Jimmy, whatever my buddy here wants, I'll take care of." He set his shot tray down and leaned on the bar next to Tyler.
"How's the job?"

"It sucks dude! Nobody wants to talk to you. Seriously, nothing blows as much as getting rejected by everyone who walks by."

"Think of it as dating practice. Everyone hears ‘no' more than ‘yes'."

"Yeah right; like you'd know anything about that."

"Hey! I get a lot of rejection. Look at where I work. The second guys hear what I do, they're out the door. Or, they only expect one thing."

"Yeah, when Charlie said you were a dancer, I thought it was for music videos or ballet or something." Tyler laughed, Hunter joining in.

"So, what else did Charlie tell you about me?" Hunter nonchalantly asked.

"Just that he was having a drink here and saw that you were a dancer. And that Boystown is too small sometimes." Tyler was too green and too honest for this to be a lie. It was a reprieve for the moment, but Hunter wondered how long they were going to put off talking about that night. Or if they ever would. A Skeezer sidled up to Hunter, rubbing up on his thigh, no cash in hand. Hunter dismissed him and the Skeezer walked away, dejected.

"Geez! That must happen a lot!" Tyler exclaimed, watching the guy walk away.

"Yeah, some guys don't realize that it's all just a show. That we're not theirs for the taking."

"Must make it real easy to meet guys!"

"Are you kidding? Twice as hard, man. Even the fuckable guys that come in here, they all see me as just some piece of ass. Plus, house rules dude. Don't hook up with the clientele."

"Wow, you're stronger than I am. You've never broken that rule?"

"Well, maybe... if like the guy's really cute or if there's just something about him that's... there's more to him, you know? Like maybe something... I dunno."

Tyler leaned in gleefully, eager to trade secrets. "So how many times have you done it? Like, broken the rule, I mean?"

Hunter didn't need to take time to figure out the number. "Once."

*

Charlie was making breakfast when Hunter came in from work. "Morning," he said.

"Morning dude. Is Tyler at work?"

"Nope, he's passed out. You kept him out pretty late."

"Yeah, poor guy needed it."

Charlie looked at Hunter, searching for any hidden meaning in that. Hunter poured himself a cup of coffee and sat on the counter top, facing Charlie directly.

"Um... listen dude. We should probably talk about that night."

###