Center Line by Joyce Sweeney

Author:Joyce Sweeney
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781504004275
Publisher: Open Road Media Teen & Tween

Ten

The bar was crowded, even for New Year’s Eve. Shawn and Chris had good places at the bar only because they’d started very early in the evening. Since ten o’clock people had been pouring into the Blackhawk, choosing it to be their final resting place until midnight. It was reaching the stage now where everyone had to talk loudly in order to be heard, and no one was terribly offended if someone pressed against or fell on them.

The Blackhawk was Chris and Shawn’s favorite bar in Grand Rapids. They liked it because it was very dark, and because the atmosphere allowed for easy, honest pickups. The bartender, who looked about nineteen himself, had no interest in asking silly questions about identification. If you had money, and didn’t misbehave or throw up on the floor, you were twenty-one as far as he was concerned.

The decor had been chosen for its ability to look good in the dark. The bar and barstools were upholstered in black leather. The walls were paneled and walnut-stained. There was an antique jukebox with stained glass in the front and there was a statue of a brass hawk standing next to the cash register. Right now the place was still decorated for Christmas, which meant a string of erratically flashing lights over the bar and a garland of gold tinsel around the hawk’s neck.

It was just the kind of place Steven should have liked, but he had refused to come. He didn’t want to get drunk, he said, and he didn’t want to pick up girls. Again, Shawn and Chris were sure something was wrong with him, but they didn’t press the matter.

So this New Year’s Eve, Steven stayed back at the hotel with the “little” kids, helping them drink off what was left of Rick’s Christmas present.

Chris, who looked good on any occasion, was especially sharp tonight. He had his new jeans on, and with them he wore a black pullover and no shirt, showing off a sensual collarbone. The lights over the bar made shadows of his eyelashes against his cheeks. He sat sideways on his stool, in order to talk intimately with Shawn, and one of his feet was propped on Shawn’s stool. This pose allowed any interested woman in the room to observe him with one leg stretched and one flexed. He held his Bloody Mary gracefully, with the fingers of both hands curving around the glass. Instead of taking drinks, he held the glass close to his mouth all the time, and occasionally sucked at the rim. This slightly childish drinking style was another woman-pleaser, he had learned. He had already gotten seven separate offers for sex during the course of the evening, but so far had resisted.

Shawn, in his new motorcycle jacket, was nothing to sneeze at either. He had racked up five offers for himself, although three of them didn’t really count, as they were rebounds from Chris. He was also trying to resist temptation that night. He and Chris intended to stay together at least until midnight.

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