Horray! I am done with my work on Holiday Cup Of Joe (That is my next Ice Era Chronicle.) So you know what that means??? I can play with this again. Writing about these alien takes me back to a time when I didn't have so much to worry about. I know. That's odd.
Anyway, if you are still here reading, thanks!
Cheers,
~M. from C.M. Moore
***
*Chapter 3*
On to the next job.
Sloan gave Elijah every cent he had in case Hugo found him again. After he left the coffee shop, he stopped at home. Once in his shitty apartment, he got cleaned up and then slept on the couch for a few hours. He had enough time to eat a few slices of cheese from the fridge and shower before he headed to his second job.
As he entered the bar, Lindsay waved to him as she mixed drinks. They both began working without talking. The bar was filling up fast. The dance floor was turning into a sea of jumping bodies. The night took off as the music blasted. It was well after one in the morning when the flow of people slowed enough for Lindsay to turn on him. He'd been waiting for her to give him her speech all night.
"You left with Reese? Again?"
"I know."
"I should kick you in the balls."
"I know."
"You said you dumped him."
"I did."
"So, what the hell was that?" Lindsay threw her arms up in the air.
"I wanted to get laid." Sloan shrugged. That excuse worked on Elijah. Maybe that explanation for his dumb-assery would work on Lindsay too.
"You work in a bar." She waved to the mob of people laughing and drinking. "Take any one of these guys home."
Sloan smirked. Oh yeah. Take home all these straight guys air humping the women on the dance floor. He rubbed his eyes.
Before Sloan responded to Lindsay's comment, his eyes caught an individual weaving his way toward the bar. For a second, Sloan felt like he was in a movie. The man was beautiful, and he didn't use that word often. This guy's body was chiseled perfection with shoulder-length thick brown hair and a charming smile. Easily six-foot-five of muscles and utterly gorgeous.
For the second time today, Sloan wanted to wax poetic. The stranger made his way through the men and woman like he was on a single-minded quest. As he walked, heads turned like he was on a catwalk. His clothes were plain jeans and a pale blue button-down, but he made the clothes look tailored to perfection. This guy was probably a model. His tan skin said he either vacationed in the sun or he had to be spray-tanned for his next shoot.
The attractive stranger marched up to the side of the bar and didn't look at a single woman in the room. Sloan's heart began to beat a little faster.
"What can I get you, sweetie?" Lindsay moved like a ninja and was in front of the sexy stranger in seconds. In the amount of time Sloan was picking up his tongue from the floor, she had managed to tug down her tank top so more of her cleavage showed.
The man didn't look at her or down at her chest. Even though Sloan was gay, he would admit Lindsay had a nice rack. Sloan considered that a sign that the heavens were favoring him tonight.
When the stranger turned his head, Sloan was met with piercing emerald green eyes. He had a flashback of this weird morning at the coffee shop. Eyes like emeralds in the moonlight.
"I want nothing from you." The man kept his eyes on Sloan. "But you have something I want."
Sloan nodded. Fuck yeah. Sloan would bet all his nonexistent money that this guy wasn't straight.
Lindsay stepped to the other side of the bar. "Lucky bastard," she muttered.
"You said I should pick up someone from the bar." Sloan chuckled.
"Yes," she whispered and pushed him toward the stranger. "Go with that one tonight and tell me about it tomorrow."
Lindsay moved to the other end of the counter and started to help people. Sloan strolled to the stranger trying not to drool.
"What can I get you?" Sloan couldn't get over this man's eyes. He considered asking if he'd ever heard of the Learning Institute. Now he wished that he'd caught the fat old ruler's real name. He also wished he'd had a chance to talk to Elijah before he headed to his second job. He didn't get the specifics of who JP was yet.
"What is complex?" His green eyes danced.
Sloan shook his head. What the hell was this? Was he in an episode of the twilight zone?
"Nothing is complex..." He scanned the bar. Was this Deja vu? Fuck it. He should just come right out and ask. Except, how could a man go from old to young and fat to thin? Vampire? He didn't believe in magic or crap like that. Maybe Sloan was going crazy. It had been a long day with not a lot of sleep.
Just as Sloan opened his mouth, he spotted Reese making his way up to the bar. His ex-boyfriend stopped next to the handsome stranger and seeing them side by side was jarring.
Reese's eyes were red and bloodshot. Bags surrounded his brown eyes and his cheeks were flushed. That mostly came from his constant drinking to forget he was gay. His beer belly hung over his pants, and for the first time, Sloan saw how much his unsatisfying life took its toll on his former lover.