Avoiding Aiden

Chapter 2: Hey, Jude…

Chapter 2: Hey, Jude…Once Charlie got done performing, he came out and sat with us while still in full drag.

“Why did you say that? I told you I’m not a bottom.”

“Sweetie, lying is so unattractive. Now you can have any of these eligible men.”

I took a sip from my third drink. “I want none. I want Carter.”

“He doesn’t want you, so don’t be a little b***h! Find a guy here and let him ride you until you see God.”

I shook my head. “A hookup is not what I need right now.”

“A hookup is exactly what you need. Look.” Charlie grabbed a muscular man walking by. “Oh, sweetie, those guns! Look at my boy Aiden here. Soft, luscious lips. Smooth skin. A hint of a beard. Eyes the color of milk chocolate. Tell me you wouldn’t want your d**k inside him.”

“Jesus—Charlie!”

Charlie’s eyebrows raised while the guy crossed his arms. “What? It’s not for the long term. Unless you want to be a rebound.”

The guy frowned, looking me up and down and making me feel uncomfortable. “He’s not my type. I mean, he’s cute enough, but he looks sort of…sad. Like a dog you see in a cage at the animal shelter. Maybe when he’s done being sad.”

The guy left. Charlie shrugged while Elyse glared at him.

I took a sip of my drink while glaring at the guy. “Well, gay guys can be really bitchy, can’t they?” I raised my eyebrows to Charlie as if to say his experiment failed.

Elyse flicked Charlie’s hand sitting on the table. “That guy may not want to f**k you, but from how Charlie was describing you, I’m pretty sure he wants to.”

Charlie and I looked at each other and burst into laughter. “I’m more man than he can handle, and more woman than he wants to handle,” Charlie said.

I pointed at Charlie. “That. Anyway, I need another drink.” I wobbled to the bar. As I was standing against the bar waiting to order, a guy I’d noticed earlier sidled up to me.

“Hey. So I hear you’re looking to feel better after a breakup?”

“Yeah. That’s why I’m turning to alcohol.”

He smiled. “You could always come home with me instead.”

“Yeah? What’s my name? What do you like about me? Do you know what I do for a living? Am I crazy? Are you crazy?”

His smile vanished. “Dude, I was only trying to…Ivana said—”

“Ivana wants me to get laid because Ivana likes to get laid. I like to sleep with guys who think of me as more than a hole for their d**k. I’m not sleeping with you.”

He scoffed. “Bitch.” He stalked away, and I smiled. I felt a swell in my chest as I stood up for myself, especially since I was down in the dumps. I paid for my drink and went back to the table to find Elyse and Charlie with their heads together.

“Who was that?” Elyse asked me.

“Another potential suitor. Looks like my announcement really brought out the good ones, I tell you what.”

I glared at Charlie. “Well, when you point out nice, juicy prey to a bunch of wolves…”

He rolled his eyes. “You’ll thank me in the morning when you’ve worked off some of your blues and—if you’re lucky—have a hard time sitting.”

Elyse rolled her eyes. “He thinks that if you pour yourself into the next guy, you’ll get to your rebound sooner and then you can get into a new relationship sooner—one that’s better for you.”

“I really didn’t think Carter and I were that bad together.”

Charlie scoffed and stood, slamming his wig on the table. Oh, s**t. This was serious.

“Let me tell you about you and Carter. He makes you pay part of the rent if you stay more than three days at his apartment. He told all his friends about that time you peed the bed—”

I looked around wildly. “Shh!”

Charlie ranted on, unfazed. “He went to Vancouver alone after you couldn’t pull together the cash to go with him. And he always bought you smaller clothes to encourage you to lose weight. Does that summarize the special kind of bleached asshole that is Carter?”

Charlie sat down and Elyse patted my arm sympathetically. With her jerky movement, it was a mix of a pat and a stroke. “I know you’re probably not thinking about all the bad things, but maybe that will help you get over him?”

I frowned. “I don’t want to get over him. I want to be with him. I’m going to call him.”

I scanned the table, but couldn’t find my phone.

“Sweetie, of course I confiscated your phone. You’ve been drinking after a breakup. I’m not going to let you call him.”

I glared at Charlie. “I f*****g love you and hate you all at the same time.”

“Love me or hate me, but nobody ain’t me.”

“Calm down, real housewife of Buttfuck, Idaho.” Elyse turned to me. “Look, if you’re going to listen to Charlie and have a hookup, fine. Just have a vetting process. Don’t get ax murdered because you didn’t know the guy well enough. And be safe.”

“Okay. Fine, Charlie. You win. I’ll go home with some guy tonight, let him f**k me silly, and it will fix everything.”

“Good. Now, we just need the perfect specimen…” Charlie began looking around the bar.

“Oh! What about him?” Elyse pointed to a man standing by the bar, sipping what looked like a whiskey on the rocks. He was wearing a dark blue button-down shirt with a tan sweater vest over it, and tight jeans.

I c****d my head to the side, considering.

“I like that sweater vest,” Elyse said.

“Yeah. He looks like he’ll f**k you for a polite amount of time,” Charlie said, waving at him. The man looked around to make sure it was meant for him. “Yes, you with the tight ass! Come here.”

He approached, looking nervous at being summoned by a six-foot-tall drag queen.

He looked like he was around my age, maybe a few years older. He had dark blonde hair that was parted on the side. He was really cute. He had a nice jawline.

Charlie took over. “Hi. This is my very good friend, Aiden. Aiden, this is…” He waved impatiently at the man to supply his name.

“Uh, Jude.”

“Jude. Jude, this is Aiden.”

I reached out to shake his hand, and he shook it, looking surprised.

“Hi. I heard you got dumped. I think the bar next door did, too. How you holding up?”

“He’s a complete wreck,” Charlie said, cutting me off. “I mean, look at him. Empty drinks scattered around the table. Sad, puppy dog eyes. And yes, he does normally slouch, but not this much. Don’t you want to be the man to take him home and f**k the sad out of him?”

Elyse gasped in protest and swatted Charlie on the arm.

“What?” Charlie scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Okay, they have my permission to not go all the way. I’m just saying Aiden could use some good lovin’, and Jude looks like he’s got something to offer.”

“I told you, we need a vetting process.” Elyse cleared her throat. “If you could be any fruit, what would you be and why?”

“If he’s a fruit?” Charlie began, but Elyse shushed him.

Jude shrugged. “I’ll play. I guess I would say I’m a tomato. So many people think it’s a vegetable—some people even know it’s a fruit but want it to be a vegetable—yet the tomato says it is a fruit, and other opinions don’t matter.”

I looked at him, intrigued. A tomato. Cute. Unique. I found myself looking him up and down, appreciating his slim but toned body.

Elyse continued her line of questioning. “If you could vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?”

Jude thought for a moment, sticking out his lower teeth. It was kind of cute. Finally, he answered. “I think England. It’s where my ancestors are from, and I’d love to visit some of the tourist attractions and other historical sites.”

Charlie made a buzzer sound. “Wrong. The correct answer is wherever Aiden wants to go, because all you want to do is make him happy.” Charlie shooed him away with his hands, but Jude didn’t move a muscle.

“Isn’t that Aiden’s call to make? This is for him, not you.”

Elyse and I looked at each other, impressed. Putting Charlie in his place. And it wasn’t even my birthday.

“I liked your answer,” I said to Jude. “England would be fun to visit.”

“Okay.” Elyse rubbed her hands together. “Final question. If you could have any superpower in the world, what would it be and why?”

Jude’s answer was fast. “Invisibility. Imagine what you could learn about people if they didn’t know you were there listening! What about you, Aiden? What would your superpower be?”

I laughed. “I think…teleportation. I tend to be late a lot of the time, so being able to teleport would really help me out.”

Elyse patted my hand. “More like you’d show up late anyway because you thought you had more time.”

I frowned. “Rude.”

She smiled sweetly. “Accurate.”

“Anyway, Jude, you pass or whatever.” I looked pointedly at Elyse and Charlie. “And I would be interested in getting to know you better if you’re up for it. In private.”

“Fine, shun the drag queen. I’m used to it.”

Elyse rolled her eyes. “You literally just had people throwing money at you.”

“Help me, I’m poor,” Charlie said in a whiney voice.

She shook her head and stood. “We’re leaving. Come on, Charlie, you’re buying me a drink with all those tips you made.”

Charlie gasped, looking affronted. “Excuse me. That money goes toward my art.”

“Yes, the latest season of NCIS: Los Angeles is a real representation of your art.”

Elyse and Charlie disappeared into the crowd, still bickering. Jude took Elyse’s seat and looked after them. “So, what’s the story with those two? They’re…interesting.”

I shrugged. “I met Elyse in my first year of college, and we’ve been friends ever since. And we started coming out and met Charlie, and he just sort of latched on to our friendship. Elyse is protective, but I think Charlie is living vicariously through me.

“Really? Is your life that much more exciting than a drag queen’s life?”

I glanced at the bar, where Charlie was accepting more money from people who were taking turns doing shots from between his boobs.

“Absolutely not. In fact, I’ve never even hooked up with a guy before. And I’ve only ever been with three guys, so you could say I’m pretty boring.”

Jude smiled at me. “I don’t think you’re boring.”

I took a chance, feeling brave due to the alcohol coursing through my body. “Well, I’m not ‘show up to a bar in a sweater vest’ boring, but I go out only about once a month.”

Jude laughed. “Ouch. That cuts deep, Aiden.”

“It’s a good thing I didn’t mean it. And it’s a good thing I’m a fan of the hot librarian look. Please, shush me. Ooh, and fine me. I hope it’s a big one.”

Jude gave a sideways grin. “You flirt. I like the confidence.”

“It’s all alcohol.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. Alcohol just means your inhibitions are looser. It probably means you’re confident at heart, but don’t trust yourself.”

I laughed. “You sound like a therapist. Oh, s**t. Are you a therapist?”

“No, not at all,” he said. “I’m an English teacher. I actually just moved here for work.”

“On purpose?”

He rolled his eyes, looking amused. “Yes, on purpose. It was a good offer; the area seemed like it was teeming with outdoor activities.”

“I don’t get out much. Like, outside.”

“Well, it sounds like I was lucky to catch you on a night out.”

I leaned forward, licking my lips. “If you’re lucky, I’ll let you catch me on a night in.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “So forward. Are you sure you’re ready to move on from your ex so quickly?”

I nodded fervently. “Oh, yeah. When you hear all the things I heard tonight, and then you meet a handsome guy who actually seems to like you for you, you’re ready to drop your pants.”

“I mean, not that I’m complaining, but…” Jude took a deep breath. “Are you sure that’s what you want? I mean, I want you to know that, whatever happens, I’m going to respect your wishes. Even if we leave together, I won’t go any further than what you’re comfortable with.”

I stared for a moment. “Are you…respecting my boundaries?”

He blinked. “Yes. What wouldn’t I—”

I leaned across the table and pressed my lips to his. It was sweet and thrilling, kissing a new man after almost two years of kissing only Carter. His hand moved to grasp my bicep, pulling me a little closer to him. After a few moments, I pulled away, keeping his bottom lip between my teeth for a moment. We grinned at each other.

I felt exhilarated. Daring. Powerful. Self-assured. Things I hadn’t felt for a while.

“Let’s get out of here.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

“Wait—first I need to pee.”

And if that kiss hadn’t sealed the deal of me going back to his hotel room, this did: he stood back-to-back with me at the urinal to make sure no one messed with me.

As we were leaving the bar, I stopped to say goodbye to Elyse and tell her I was going to Jude’s hotel. I gave her the details of what Jude had told me a moment earlier—which hotel, his room number—and told her I’d make sure I had my cell phone on.

“I’m really sorry you got dumped,” she said. “You don’t have to listen to Charlie. You don’t have to go anywhere with Jude. We could just leave.”

“I love you. But I think I’ll be fine. Jude said he’s going to respect my boundaries.”

Her eyes bulged. “Holy s**t. Yeah, you better lock that down. Do your best, okay? Do some stretches, stay hydrated. Make sure to be as fresh as possible down there. Do you have enough condoms? I have some in my purse.”

“I’ll be fine,” I said, grabbing her hands. “I love you, and I will see you in the morning.”

Jude arrived at that moment, gave Elyse a salute, and escorted me out the door.

“Make good choices,” Elyse called after us.

I took a deep breath. I sure hoped I was.