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"
Hijo de puta
!
"
Ricardo
'
s arms tightened around Mark
'
s shoulders and Mark shook his head, pulling back to look up into
Ricardo
'
s face.

"No! I told you, he wasn't alone. He couldn't say what he really wanted to. This can't be right. They're making him do it. They found out about us somehow, and they're making him get married. He loves me. He told me he loved me!" The tears were falling freely now, but Mark didn't bother trying to hide them, not from Ricardo. They'd been friends since grade school, had seen each other through both good times and bad. It would take more than a few tears to chase Ricardo away.

Ricardo
'
s hand cupped his cheek and Mark leaned into the touch, appreciating the caress of
Ricardo
'
s thumb as it brushed away his tears.
"
He said a lot of things,
amigo
, but he never did a damn thing.
"

Ricardo's soft rebuke made his guts twist. The accusation wasn't new. Ricardo never had liked Nate. Mark wiped the tears from his other cheek and pulled out of the embrace, trying to regain his composure and ignoring the sting of Ricardo's words. "What am I going to do without him?"

"What'll you do without him?" Ricardo let out a harsh laugh. "Ha! Hell, you've been doing without him all along, yeah? Think about it. What's he done, huh? He didn't pay any rent. He didn't put any money into this place, and he never lifted a finger to help get things set up here! He was a freeloader. You're better off without him."

Angry, Mark pulled away and scrambled off the floor. His head throbbed and the room spun erratically before his eyes. Mark stumbled over the empty bottles at his feet, crashing into the bar. He clung to the edge, leaning against it and hanging on as tightly as his sweaty fingers would allow, swallowing back nausea.

"No, you're wrong! He did what he could. He was busy. He tried to help out. With tennis and school and studying… He didn't have time!" Mark could hear Ricardo climbing to his feet and then stomping up beside him. Ricardo leaned against the bar next to him and sighed heavily. Mark closed his eyes, not wanting to see to pity swimming behind Ricardo's wry smile.

"Oh, yeah, studying. Right. You and I both know he wasn't studying. As much time as he spent with his so-called tutors he should have been making straight A's. He barely passed anything." Again, Mark's guts twisted inside of him. The insinuation that Nate was screwing his tutors was clear in Ricardo's voice and Mark had to swallow back bile. He'd suspected as much himself once, but Nate had vehemently denied it and Mark had taken him at his word. Hearing the accusation again from Ricardo fueled his anger even more.

"Stop it! You weren't there, you don't know anything about it. Why do you hate him so much?" Mark slumped down even more over the bar, laying his head over his forearms, blocking the light and putting much needed pressure against his throbbing eyes.

"I can't help it. I hate what he does to you. Damn it, Mark, you talk to him four and five times a week! Why the hell didn't he mention any of this to you before now, huh?" The sound of papers shaking, crinkling and rubbing against each other assaulted Mark's ears, bringing his focus back to the elegant invitation. "You give and you give, and he don't give nothing back! Nothing but grief. He's draining the life out of you! Can't you see? You're better off without him!"

Mark snapped his head up off the bar, searing pain shooting through his head with the sudden movement. He rounded on Ricardo, filled with righteous indignation. Defending his lover came naturally to him now. In all reality, he did it to defend himself as well.

"No! They're forcing him into this. He… I'm nothing without him." Frustrated, Mark flung his arm out to the side, shoving empty and half empty bottles of whiskey and beer off the edge of the bar. They hit the hardwood floor with a crash, glass and alcohol splashing against the edge of the bar and over his ankles.

Ricardo grabbed him, wrapping his large hands around Mark's biceps and shaking him fiercely. Mark stumbled, but Ricardo hauled him up, leaning his face mere inches in front of Mark's. Ricardo's eyes were bright, his face was almost crimson. Mark had never seen him so angry.

"
Nothing without him?
You
'
re a man, damn it! With a business to run. A lot is depending on you,
amigo
. My brother, Manny, and his crew? They expect to get paid for fixing this place up. Those servers and bartenders you hired? They
'
re expecting to work.
"
Ricardo shook him again, gentler this time, before pulling Mark to him in a fierce hug.
"
You
'
re the boss, Mark.
You.
You
'
ve got to buck up,
hombre
. Pull yourself together.
"

Mark pressed his face against Ricardo's chest and shook his head. "I know, but… Nate…"

"You don't need him!" Ricardo's arms tightened around Mark briefly before he let go, his heavy sigh ruffling Mark's hair.

"
Okay, look.
"
Ricardo
'
s arms slid away from Mark
'
s shoulders and he leaned back, holding the invitation between them.
"
The wedding is July
27
th
,
si?
Two week
s
before we
open. And this invitation is for you
,
plus a guest.
So
I
'
m going with
you. We
'
ll go out there, talk to him, see
if he means business or not. If he
is
being forced into this, we
'
ll grab him and bring him back.
"

Mark whipped his head around to look at Ricardo, his friend's face blurring before his eyes. He couldn't handle this on his own, but with Ricardo's help? Excited, he tried to find the words to thank him, but Ricardo cut him off.

"
B
ut
,
if this wedding really
is
what he wants, you
'
ll have to let him go,
amigo
. We
'
ll watch him get hitched, we
'
ll wish him well, and then we
'
ll come back here and open those doors without him,
comprende
?
"
Mark
'
s vision blurred with tears of gratitude. Quickly he nodded his head in agreement
, wincing at the sudden agony caused by the move
. Sure
,
he understood. He was going to get his man back. Laughing with uncontrolled excitement Mark
swayed forward
, reaching
for
an open bottle of beer
and
bringing it to his lips. Before he could drink
Ricardo
intercepted him, pulling the drink from his hand.

"Oh, no. You've had enough. Look at this place!" Ricardo's arm swung out in an arch, sweeping over the disaster that covered the entire main room of the bar. "Come on, let's get this mess cleaned up." Ricardo straightened and slapped Mark on the back. The room tilted before Mark's eyes as pushed away from the bar and turned to follow Ricardo. After only a few steps the room began to spin in earnest and Mark lost his balance. Doubling over, Mark vomited all over his feet and the floor in front of him.

Seconds later Ricardo was there, holding him up and rubbing his back. Mark's throat burned and tears were streaming down his face. He had never been so wasted before in his life. Once his stomach had emptied and the heaving stopped Ricardo led him over to a sofa along the far wall of the bar. He helped him lay down and shoved a coat under his head for a pillow.

"Tell you what. You lie down here and sleep it off. I'll get you some water and then I'll clean this place up, okay?" Ricardo was sitting on the edge of the sofa next to him, petting his head. Mark didn't have the energy to answer him, he couldn't even nod his head. Instead he lay there, enjoying Ricardo's soft voice and gentle caress until he fell asleep.

****

Sunday, August 9, 1987.

Mark closed the front doors behind the last customer and turned the lock, finally closing the bar down for the night. Or for the day. Whatever. It was nearly four in the morning and Mark's feet hurt, his head hurt, hell, his whole body hurt.

"Damn, that was insane! I don't know about you, but I'm beat." Mark slid the deadbolt into place and switched off the outside lights, making it official. The party was over, the bar was closed. Leaning heavily against the door he turned to face Ricardo, the last of his employees still at work. Most of the clean-up had been done around the few straggling customers and all that remained to be done was minor.

Ricardo grinned and scooped up the bottles and glasses the
final
customers had lef
t
at the bar.
"
Yeah, but it was worth it. I told you,
hombre
, people love a party.
"
He winked as he hurried off into the back to dispose of the bottles and wash the final glasses.

Mark groaned and pushed off the wall, following Ricardo into the back. "Half those people didn't even know what they were celebrating."

"Doesn't matter. They came, they had a good time, and they spent a ton of cash!" Ricardo's voice floated out of the back room, muffled by the sound of running water. Mark pushed through the sliding door and joined Ricardo by the sink.

"That they did. Maybe we ought to make this an annual thing?" Mark leaned his hip against the counter, watching Ricardo work. His strong hands made quick work of the final four glasses and before long the tumblers were on the drying rack and Ricardo was bending over the sink to pull the plug that would allow the soapy water to drain out into the lot behind the bar.

Biting back a moan, Mark turned away and leaned back against the counter, bracing his hands on the edge. He closed his eyes to keep from staring at the enticing sight Ricardo's ass made under those tight jeans. Damn. They'd been friends since they were nine years old. How the hell had he never noticed how attractive Ricardo was before now? The whole fiasco with Nate two years ago seemed so trivial now. His feelings for that prick were nothing next to how he'd come to feel about Ricardo over the past year. Trying to keep his hands to himself for the past six months had been absolute torture.

"
Hell, yes. Keep it going, keep it fresh, and before you know it, the MN bar will be a legend. A legend,
amigo
!
"
Ricardo
'
s voice and his rich laughter vibrated though Mark
'
s frame,
setting his nerves on fire. Mark shook his head, trying to clear away the lustful thoughts. Embarrassed by the tightening in his groin he pushed away from the counter and headed for the back exit.

"Aw, now. Let's not get carried away." Reaching the back door, he stopped and turned to make sure Ricardo was following him. To his surprise, Ricardo was right there, practically pinning him into the corner. He could smell Ricardo's rich, musky scent and he could feel the heat from his body. Before he could stop himself he licked his lips, unable to pull his gaze away from Ricardo's smile. He couldn't help wondering what it would be like to kiss those lips, to run his tongue over the full moustache. Was it soft or prickly? Would it tickle? God, he wanted to find out.

"Why not? It's good to dream big. You wanted this place to be something, didn't you? Something special. You said you were going to make this place the biggest, loudest, most successful bar on the west coast, remember?" Ricardo braced his hands on the wall on either side of Mark's head, and Mark groaned, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back against the door behind him. The temptation was too great, if he didn't close his eyes he would never be able to control himself. He would make a fool of himself again, like he had after Nate's wedding.

They had gone out to a loud leather bar right after the ceremony and Mark had gotten so drunk he could barely stand. He'd thrown himself at Ricardo, kissing him and begging to get fucked. Ricardo's rebuff from that night still stung. He couldn't remember much else from that night, but he sure as hell didn't want a repeat of it.

"I've said and done a lot of stupid shit, man. I don't even want remember half of it." Ricardo chuckled softly and ran his thumb over Mark's bottom lip. Surprised, Mark opened his eyes and stared down into Ricardo's.

"Oh, come on now. It wasn't all bad, was it?" Mark swallowed hard and shrugged, not sure what they were even talking about anymore.

"I've said a lot of shit, too, yeah? Do you remember what I said the night Nate got hitched? After you kissed me?" Mark frowned and shook his head, gently pushing against Ricardo's chest. He couldn't handle being this close.

"I was drunk, man. Being stupid. I told you I was sorry." Ricardo leaned into Mark's hands, not letting himself be pushed away. Not letting Mark out of his arms.

"Yeah, I know what you said. But I'm talking about me right now. Do you remember what I said?" One of Ricardo's hands slid off the wall and onto Mark's shoulder, squeezing gently. Mark drew his eyebrows together and shook his head, never taking his eyes away from Ricardo's face.