Rum & Ginger (19 page)

“Can you drive?” Brodie asked Ben.

“Yeah. I’m good. I was buzzing five minutes ago, but this whole thing has killed that,” Ben answered.

“Can you drive standard?”

“I haven’t in a while but, yeah, I can drive standard,” Ben said.

“Will you drive my dad’s car? To my apartment? It’s closest.” Brodie held up his keys. “I really don’t want to leave it here.”

Ben understood that. The car was a classic. “That’s fine. I can leave mine. Let’s get out of here.” They piled Lena in the backseat and took off for Brodie’s apartment. Despite the bullshit they’d just experienced, Ben was ecstatic to be behind the wheel of the beautiful behemoth.

“It’s up here on the left.” Brodie pointed. “The parking lot is around back.” Ben followed Brodie’s instruction and swung the Impala into the lot. Brodie’s apartment wasn’t far from Jackie’s. He could walk back and pick up his car if he wanted. Lena had dozed off on the ride, and Brodie shook her awake.

“What’s up?” she mumbled. “Do I have to kick someone else’s ass?”

“Nah. We’re at my building. Want to come up for a drink?”

“Will your roommate care?” Ben asked.

Brodie shook his head as he opened the door to the building. “He’s out with his girlfriend. They usually end up at her house. More privacy.” They climbed the stairs to the third floor and Brodie unlocked the door, allowing them inside. He flicked on the light, and Ben wasn’t too surprised by the shoddy décor and general chaos he saw within. Band, movie, and comic posters decorated the walls. Someone had an entire shelf dedicated to various action figures. A steamer trunk served as a coffee table with an empty beer bottle sitting on the top with some magazines, a TV remote, and a game controller.

“Have a seat. What are you drinking?” Brodie asked, throwing his keys on a table in the kitchen area.

“No. You sit down. It’s your night off. Let someone else be the bartender for a change,” Lena said walking over to a collection of bottles on a small counter that served to differentiate the kitchen from the living room. “What’s everybody drinking?” she asked as she pulled three glasses from beneath the bar.

“Surprise us,” Brodie said, taking a seat on the worn couch. He used the remote to turn the TV on, then the game controller to turn on the Xbox. As the system started up, Ben noticed the only thing in the house that wasn’t shabby and worn was the flat-screen TV.

“You shouldn’t tell her that,” Ben said.

“Why?” Brodie patted the cushion next to him.

Ben sat. “Have you ever had one of Lena’s drinks? They’re like rocket fuel.”

“Shut up, Ben-Ben. My drinks are delicious. Here.” She handed them each a glass. Ben sipped it tentatively. He nodded—mostly alcohol with a splash of something, some kind of juice. Brodie sputtered and coughed after he tasted his.

“Told you,” Ben said.

“Jesus, Leeny,” Brodie croaked.

“Good, right?” She flashed them a broad smile. “I need a drink after all that shit. I can’t believe they did that. If Sammy had been working, they wouldn’t have gotten away with that.”

“I don’t know,” Ben responded. “I’ve known Sammy since we were kids, but she never knew I was gay. I wonder if she really would have stopped her employees even if she was there.”

“You really need to open your bar,” Brodie said.

“I’ve been looking online, but none of the places for sale come with liquor licenses. And there’s no point in renting a place unless I can buy a license, and nobody’s selling right now. At least, not in town,” Ben explained. “There are a bunch of places in Harrisburg and Philly that are selling licenses, but I don’t think they’re transferrable. I think they have to stay in the counties that they’re issued in.”

“I’m sure there’s some way to do it,” Brodie said. “But you probably have to jump through a million hoops, pay a bunch of extra money, and wait forever. I think you have to convince, like, the local government, mayor, or city council or whatever that you should be allowed to bring in a license and open a bar.”

“Yeah,” Ben agreed. “And I know there’s some sort of hearing process you have to go through in case people in the neighborhood oppose it. That might even be for licenses that aren’t from outside the county.”

“I don’t know enough about it,” Brodie answered.

“Me either,” Ben admitted. “But after tonight, I just want to do it even more. I want to make a place for us where we don’t have to put up with that shit.”

“Well, count me in,” Lena offered. “I’ll help however I can.”

“Thanks,” Ben said with a salute of his glass.

“I’m going to really start poking around,” Brodie stated. “See if anyone has heard any rumors or anything about bars shutting down or anything. We’re going to get this bar opened.”

“Who wants another drink?” Lena asked, holding up her empty glass. Ben and Brodie both looked down at their nearly full glasses.

“I’m good,” Ben said.

“Me too.”

“Okay.” Lena shrugged and rose to fix herself another.

“It’s too bad.” Brodie lowered his voice and put his hand on Ben’s leg. “I was having a really good time before they interrupted us.”

“Yeah, I was too.” Ben reached over and squeezed Brodie’s hand. “Maybe we can try again?”

“Definitely. Tonight?”

Ben shook his head. “I’ll have to get Lena home. She’s in no fit state to drive.”

“I understand. Soon, though?” Brodie asked.

“Soon.” Ben nodded.

Lena returned and sat down. “I couldn’t help but overhear,” she said. “If you guys want to make out, by all means, I won’t complain.” She sat forward eagerly with a dopey grin plastered across her face. “Seriously. Go for it.”

“Want to watch something?” Brodie anxiously changed the subject, picking up the controller and queuing Netflix on the screen. “We don’t have cable, but Nick streams Netflix through his Xbox.”

“Sure,” Ben agreed. Lena scowled and sat back in her chair, pouting.

“Have you ever watched
The IT Crowd
?” Brodie asked.

“I have,” Ben answered. “It’s funny, but I’d rather not watch a show about IT guys.”

“Mm. They just added
Always Sunny
. Want to watch that?”

“That show is hilarious,” Lena interjected. “I love Sweet Dee.”

Ben wondered if she was saying that ironically. “That’s fine,” he agreed.

“Cool.” Brodie flipped through the onscreen menu until he found the series and set it to play. They watched quietly, laughing at Charlie’s stupidity and the gang’s antics in general. Brodie asked Ben when his next day off would be and said he’d try to find someone to take his shift at the bar so they could get together.

B
EN
AWOKE
a few hours later with Brodie asleep on his shoulder. He didn’t remember drifting off. Lena remained in the chair she’d been in, but her head rested on one arm while her legs hung out over the other as she slept soundly. Ben’s neck hurt a little, but he didn’t want to move too much and disturb Brodie. He shifted just a little, and Brodie stirred immediately.

“I tried not to wake you,” Ben whispered.

“No. It’s fine.” Brodie sat up, taking the pressure off Ben’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“It was probably Lena’s superdrink. They have a tendency to knock people out,” Ben said.

“I’m still tired.” Brodie rubbed his eyes. “It doesn’t look like she’s waking up anytime soon.”

“If sleeping were an Olympic event, Lena would have lots of gold medals.” Ben yawned.

“You’re still wiped too. You can go in and sleep in my room if you want,” Brodie whispered.

“I couldn’t. You go ahead. I’ll stay here on the couch.”

“Are you sure?” Brodie asked.

“Totally. Besides, if I’m out here and she wakes up, I’ll know, and we can get off your furniture.”

“It’s no big deal. You can stay as long as you want,” Brodie told him.

“Thanks. If we leave before you wake up, I’ll make sure to lock the door.”

“Cool. Night, Ben.”

“Night.” Ben watched as Brodie shuffled off to his bedroom. Ben stretched out on the couch to wait for Lena to wake and soon fell into a light sleep as well. She woke him less than an hour later and suggested they leave before Brodie’s roommate returned. Ben agreed. He put his shoes back on, and they left. He made sure to lock the door behind him. They talked on their walk back to Jackie’s to Ben’s car, but Lena dozed off once more as they drove to her building.

A
FTER
SEEING
Lena to her apartment, Ben returned home. He shuffled through the front door, too tired to walk around to his private entrance. “Benny? Is that you?” Derek’s voice drifted down the hallway.

“Yeah,” Ben answered. “I’m whupped. Heading to sleep.”

“Woo, buddy. Long night?” Derek emerged, buttoning up his shirt.

“Yeah.” Ben realized he wasn’t being very articulate, but he was too tired to care.

“You’ll have to fill me in later. I’ve got to get to work.” Derek looped a tie around his neck. “My kids are staying this weekend. I’m planning to have a cookout on Saturday, invite some friends and family. Are you cool with that?”

Ben’s mind wrestled for a moment with Derek’s words. “Oh. Oh, you want me to take off for the weekend? Find another place to stay?”

“What?” Derek stopped tightening the knot he’d just tied. “No. Why would I want you to leave? I just wanted to make sure the kids wouldn’t be a problem for any plans you might have.”

“I just thought, y’know, you might not want me around for that.”

“Dude. It’s fine. You’re welcome to come to the cookout if you don’t have any plans.”

“Oh.” Ben wasn’t sure if he was surprised. “Cool. I’ll see what’s going on.”

“Awesome. Let Lena and Brodie know too. You can totally invite your parents too, if you want.” Derek pulled on a sport jacket. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Later,” Ben said just before Derek rushed out the door.
Derek’s kids
, Ben thought as he walked down the steps to his rooms.
This should be interesting
. He toed off his shoes and flopped onto the bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

B
EN
WAS
surprised that Brodie waited until evening to text him and see how he was doing after the previous night’s excitement. Ben responded that he was fine after his nap. He asked if Brodie had found anyone to take his shift on Friday.

Yep. Chez is going to take it
, Brodie typed back.

Cool
, Ben responded.
Now we’ll just have to figure out what to do.

I have an idea about that
, Brodie offered.

Great. Let’s hear it.
Ben waited, but Brodie didn’t text him back. “What the fuck,” Ben muttered.
Hmm
, he thought.
Maybe he’s driving or something
.

How about I surprise you?
Ben read Brodie’s response after his phone vibrated and smiled.

OK
, he typed back.
I can’t wait. What time?

I have to figure a couple of things out first. But I’ll let you know. Talk to you soon.

OK, I’ll wait to hear from you :)
Ben replied. Brodie returned the smiley face, and Ben’s mind turned to their date, wondering what Brodie might have up his sleeve.

O
NLY
THREE
days had passed, but it seemed like a month to Ben. He’d been anxiously awaiting his date with Brodie. Ben received a text from him yesterday that he’d pick Ben up around noon. Ben asked what he should wear, and Brodie told him to dress comfortably but to bring along something a little dressier for the evening.

Ben had been agonizing over his clothes for the better part of last evening and now, at eleven thirty, stood looking at five different outfits laid out on his bed. Should he take “nightclub” dressy or “fine dining” dressy? Ben huffed. Why couldn’t Brodie have given him a hint? He moved some of the shirts between the outfits, crossed his arms, and tipped his head to the side. He stalked over to the closet and pulled out two ties, laying them across the shirts in turn.

Ultimately he decided on a pair of dark, comfortable dress pants with a subtle houndstooth pattern. He laid a bright cantaloupe-colored shirt with them and picked the deep-purple tie with thin pink stitching, then shook his head, decided it looked too much like the Joker, and replaced it with a charcoal tie with silver stitching in the same pattern. He added to those a tailored black velvet coat with elaborately embroidered lapels. The embroidery was the same color black as the material of the lapel.

He nodded. This would work. He could wear the coat and tie to a fancy restaurant, and if they went to a club or something a little more laid-back, he could remove the coat and tie. He pulled one of his heavy-duty hangers from the closet and arranged the clothes carefully on it. Then he slipped the whole thing into a garment bag and zipped it up. He dropped the hook of the hanger onto the doorknob outside his bedroom and tried to pass the time until Brodie arrived.