After all, there was a reason Sam wanted to dance with Topher the night of Rosemary’s Abortion, there was a reason Sam stayed up late on so many summer nights chatting with Topher online, and there was a reason Sam cared so much about how Topher would handle the truth.
Perhaps they had both wanted the same thing all along, and Sam was just scared Topher wouldn’t want it with the real Sam. Perhaps he had been hiding the truth to spare himself the disappointment. Whatever the case may be, Sam was about to find out.
From that moment on, the trip was more bittersweet than before. By the time it was over they would head home with a dozen new memories, but maybe a couple of broken hearts, too.
Chapter Twelve
SINNERS AND SAINTS
The Downers Grove troop pulled into the parking lot of the Oklahoma City Vacation Suites at seven fifteen on Monday evening, but Cash was nowhere to be found.
“Did a man come in this afternoon, saying he was traveling with a group?” Topher asked the woman at the check-in counter.
“I don’t believe so,” she said. “What does he look like?”
“Never mind, he would have left an impression,” Topher said. “We’d like to put one of our rooms under his name for when he arrives.”
By the time they’d settled into their room, Topher, Sam, and Mo were exhausted—not just from hiking through the hills of the Mark Twain National Forest, but also from their emotional fifteen minutes of fame. They decided to grab a quick bite at Noodles Galore, the pasta house across the street from the hotel, and then head straight to bed.
“Are you going to eat before your registration meeting?” Sam asked Joey.
“I’ll just grab dinner on my way back,” he said.
“Have fun!” Mo said. “Don’t party too hard without us.”
“Yeah, right,” Joey said. “A Monday night in Oklahoma City with a bunch of Baptists—don’t wait up!”
As soon as the door closed behind them, Joey got ready for his “registration meeting” like it was a fire drill. He put together a nice outfit and Googled what the appropriate number of buttons was to leave open for a hookup date (four, apparently).
Joey followed the advice of a shirtless and energetic gay YouTuber on how to have a safe and pleasurable sexual experience. He dashed to the pharmacy down the street, taking the long way around the hotel so his friends wouldn’t see him from Noodles Galore, and purchased the essentials to groom, clean, and protect himself.
By eight fifteen that night, Joey was feeling as fresh as humanly possible and prepared for anything the night had in store. There was only one problem: he still hadn’t heard from the guy he was meeting.
He paced around the small hotel room, continuously refreshing his ManNip app in case it wasn’t working properly. At eight thirty Joey worried his friends would return from dinner so he left the hotel and wandered aimlessly around downtown Oklahoma City while he waited to hear from Brian K.
At nine thirty, Joey figured he had been stood up, so he headed back to the hotel with his tail between his legs.
“Yeah, Daddy!” His phone rang three times.
Joey’s heart fluttered. Maybe the night wasn’t a total waste? He almost dropped his phone as he hurried to read the new ManNip messages.
Hey sexy!
Sorry, I just got off work.
Still in the mood to meet up?
XO Brian
Joey didn’t want to seem desperate so he played it cool, waiting a good twenty seconds before responding.
Absolutely!!!
Just name the time and place.
There was no reply for a couple of minutes. Joey worried he might have scared Brian off by using too many exclamation points. To his relief, his phone chimed with a game plan.
Let’s meet for a drink first.
There’s a bar called Sinners and Saints.
It’s on the corner of Robinson and Park Ave.
Meet me there at 10
The name couldn’t have been more ironic and Joey took it as a sign their date was meant to be. He looked up directions and saw that the bar was only a few blocks away from where he stood. Joey strolled through town with a spring in his step and arrived twenty minutes early.
Sinners and Saints was in the basement of a tall bank building that doubled as a tornado shelter when needed. It had red carpet, big red booths, and red stools at the bar. It was decorated in framed portraits of Catholic saints and framed mug shots of notorious criminals. There were only two other customers, but the bar was completely empty, so Joey had a seat at one of the stools.
“Can I get you a drink?” a gruff bartender asked.
“Just water, thanks,” Joey said.
The bartender refilled his water four times as Joey waited for his ManNip date to show up. Joey was so nervous his hands were shaky and he almost spilled his glass after every sip. His heart was beating out of control and every minute seemed much longer than the one before—it felt more like running on a treadmill than meeting a guy for a drink.
Finally, at five past ten, a tall, handsome, and muscular man walked into the bar and tapped Joey on the shoulder.
“Jay?” the man asked.