Tom ordered another round while Josh was in the bathroom. It was always great to unwind with a drink after work, especially with somebody who understood exactly what he was going through. Josh was like a brother to him, especially since he was the only one Tom could relate to in a group of friends he found himself thrown into based purely on who his boyfriend was. Still, something was bothering him and he had to figure out a way to bring it up without making things awkward.

"Thanks man," Josh said, pulling out his wallet.

"Don't worry about it. This one's on me." Tom's phone vibrated and he checked the incoming text. He shook his head, chuckled with frustration, and groaned as he sipped his drink.

"The old ball and chain?"

"You bet."

"What time is it? If it's almost six, I should be getting similar in... " And as if on cue, Josh's phone vibrated with a text from Mason. They both sighed and laughed, drowning their commiseration with whiskey sodas.

"It's what we signed up for, isn't it?"

"Well, you guys are only a few months old. You enlisted. I, however, was drafted. Mason and I've been together since undergrad. I don't know how not to be with him."

"That's... bleek."

Josh tried to laugh it off as he downed his drink. "Sorry. Didn't mean to be. Married man talk, you know?"

"Sure." Tom motioned for the bartender.

"No man," Josh said, grabbing his wallet. "This one's on me."

They sipped in silence for a moment. "Is that what I have to look forward to then?"

"It's not that bad, really," said Josh. "After you've been together for a few years, you just... it becomes more of a struggle to remind yourself of how it used to be." Josh took another swig and stared thoughtfully into his drink, almost lost.

"Sometimes... you forget, you know? Why you fell in love with this guy in the first place. How could it be possible to grow old with someone when they're not growing at all. You start to realize... you don't have to remind yourself of who this guy was when you met him, because he's still that guy. Literally. He hasn't grown or changed or... and then you meet someone. Totally out of the blue. And there's that spark, like when you first... but it's different, you know? And nothing's happened, but... you still think about this other guy. And everything you had, starts to feel routine. And you start to wonder... " Josh stopped himself and chuckled. "Man, sorry, whew! What was that? I gotta lay off these whiskey sodas. I did not mean to... "

"So you regret? You and Mason, you're starting to... "

Josh looked him dead in the eye. "A little yeah."

"It's kind of the reverse for me. My situation. And the regret."

"How now?"

"Whew, that made no sense. Whiskey sodas," Tom chuckled. "Never mind, it's... complicated."

Josh laughed. "Isn't it always."

One last round was ordered and the "I'll be home soon" texts were sent out to Mason and Diego. They continued niceties over the last round, almost ignoring how deep their camaraderie had just gotten. But that thing was still gnawing away at Tom. As Josh hailed a cab home, Tom finally bit the bullet and asked:

"So, you know Charlie Parker?"

"Huh?" Josh asked, caught off guard. "Oh... um yeah. Why... ?"

"At the Gala, things seemed kind of... "

"Nah, it's just... I hadn't seen him in a while is all. We volunteer at Haven together and he'd been in the hospital... "

"Right. Right," Tom said, holding the cab door open for Josh.

"So... you know Charlie?"

Tom smiled the same wistful way Josh disappeared into his drink as he waxed poetic about Mason. "Used to."

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Just joining us? Start from the very beginning, Volume 1 Chapter 1, by clicking here!

In other news, long-time BOYSTOWN supporter Jess Godwin, the misfit with soul, will be releasing a new EP! The release party is on November 2 at the Double Door! Visit her website for more info, including a free download of her new song "Be A Light," featured in today's chapter. Want more Jess? Check out her albums on iTunes!

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