Baby, I'm Gonna Ride You

"No, don't have a girlfriend."

"Or a boyfriend?" he asked, smiling wider.

"Hey, do I look like the type?" he growled defensively.

"Do I?" Alexei wondered. "Because I am," he assured him. "Well, I'm not picky. But you get the picture. No need to be defensive."

He grew quiet at that.

"...So you're a faggot?" he asked after a long silence. He didn't sound as accusatory as he had hoped, only curious.

Alexei laughed, smiling widely.

"Yes, half-faggot, I guess," he replied, highly amused. "Something wrong with that?"

"Of course," he replied, surprised. "Everyone hates faggots."

"Except other faggots," he replied thoughtfully. "Or people with any amount of decency, I suppose."

Alexei shrugged.

"It doesn't matter much to me what other people think, anyway. It's not like my sleeping with other men is somehow effecting then." He smiled. "I'm too old to care what other people think."

He scoffed and stared at the counter.

"Just sounds like you've never been beat up before."

Alexei laughed.

"Oh, I've been beat up for being ore than just bi. Turns out, other kids don't like kids with heavy Russian accents. We're Communist spies or something, obviously." He chortled. "Being interested in other boys doesn't help that. Guess I just kept getting the short end of the stick."

He shrugged.

"But that was a long time ago. Adults are more forgiving. Children are ruthless."

"Adults aren't forgiving at all," he replied quietly.

"Well, if you meet the right ones, anyway," he admitted.

He gulped down the last of his second beer.

"Whatever. Can we change the subject now? I need something stronger."

"What would you like? Tell me what flavors you like and I can work from there," he offered.

He just blinked at him.

"I just want to get drunk. I don't give a fuck."

Alexei cocked his head to one side.

"Well...you don't mean to tell me you just drink...whatever? Don't you like anything? Just....what types of food do you like? Fruit, spicy stuff?"

He shrugged. "Meat. Potatoes. Whatever they have in TV dinners, I guess."

"...oh," Alexei replied, before he caught himself. "Right. Uhm. I'll just make you something and we'll see if you like it, ok?" He offered, trying to smile.

He turned around to look through his bottles, and eventually he handed Beau a large shot. "Called a .46 magnum. See if you like it. It'll get you drunk all right."

"I'll take two more," he replied, downing it in one gulp. His eyes widened, and he stared at the empty glass.

"Hey...'s actually pretty good..."

"You like bourbon? Or whiskey?' He asked, mixing two more. He smiled as he did so, but he made it look effortless. "Anyway, do you like your job? I certainly love mine."

"Really? You like dealing with drunk people? Though, free booze, I guess..." He nodded, satisfied.

"My job's fine. 'S what I know. Got my GED and got to fixing cars, 's about it."

Alexei chuckled.

"It's not so bad, actually," he admitted. "Rarely does my bar get bad. It's usually busiest on the nights where it's a gay bar, and nobody starts fights in gay bars. So, I'm pretty much covered."

He pulled over a stool and sat down, smiling at Beau with perhaps a bit too much warmth. "So...judging by our conversation earlier, I don't suppose you'd be willing to go out on a date?"

"...I don't really do dates," he replied evasively, downing another shot.

"So...not even if I paid?" He coaxed. Normally Alexei was not pushy, but he was very fond of Beau already. He didn't expect his pursuit to pan out, anyway.

Beau glanced around the empty bar and drank his last shot.

"...I mean, I don't do the dating thing," he insisted. "I do other stuff...worse stuff, ya know?"