Free Open Seating by Mickie B. Ashling Page B

Bryce had a huge slice of lasagna. They didn’t converse, wolfing down their meals to keep the deadline. When they finished, there were five minutes to spare, so they had a cup of coffee to give them the extra caffeine boost for the afternoon tour of the Tower of London.
    “How’s your tummy?” Bryce asked.
    “So far so good,” Seth said. “Thanks for asking.”
    “Did you get any writing done this morning?”
    “A little bit,” Seth lied. “I’m sure I’ll do better once we’re on board the ship.”
    “Do you want to go out tonight after we get back from the tour?”
    “Out?”
    “Yeah, hit a club or two.”
    Seth was surprised Bryce would want to go out with him. “Won’t I cramp your style?”
    “I wouldn’t ask if I had a problem with it.”
    “How did it go last night?” Seth asked.
    “Fine, but that’s not what this is about.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “You should see a London gay club for the experience if nothing else.”
    “I haven’t been to a club in years,” Seth admitted. “Mark and I were sort of homebodies.”
    “Time to make a few changes.”
    “I don’t have the right clothes,” Seth protested.
    Bryce snorted. “You’ve got the looks; that’s all that matters. Clothes are optional anyway.”
    Seth wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not. He was dying to ask if Bryce found him attractive but didn’t want to hear the answer if it was negative so he said nothing.
    “Well?” Bryce asked again.
    “I’ll go if I’m not too tired.”
    “Come on. Stop acting like a member of AARP.”
    “I’m not in my twenties,” Seth retorted. “It takes a while to bounce back from an illness.”
    “You had diarrhea, not cancer.”
    “Bryce,” Seth scolded. “Keep your voice down.”
    Bryce looked around. “No one heard, and besides, even if they did, who gives a damn?”
    “The last thing I’d want to imagine while I’m eating is that .”
    “Come on.” Bryce grabbed the bill they’d been handed a few minutes ago. “We’re going to be late.”
    They paid the cashier and hurried to the bus, which was warming up. Most of their fellow travelers were already seated, and the tour guide checked their names off her list when they boarded.
    As the bus headed to the Tower, Bryce nudged Seth’s shoulder. “Doing okay?”
    “I’m fine.”
    “So… tonight is a go?” Bryce asked.
    “Are you always this persistent?”
    “Yeah, if it’s something I want. Do you have a problem with it?”
    “What if I do?” Seth asked.
    “I’ll stop bugging you and ask someone else.”
    Oddly disappointed, Seth remarked, “Grindr will hook you up.”
    “It’s never let me down yet.”
    “How can I compete with that?” Seth asked.
    “This isn’t a competition,” Bryce reminded him. “I just thought you’d enjoy a night on the town to take your mind off the last few weeks. No biggie.”
    “You’re right,” Seth said. He knew that he was reading too much into Bryce’s request and needed to lighten up. This wasn’t a date, and their relationship had not changed. Just because they’d shared some intimate, albeit unpleasant, moments didn’t mean they were anything more than friends. “Let’s do it.”
    “Cool,” Bryce said, sounding like a frat boy again.
    Seth did a mental eye roll. What on earth was he thinking?

Chapter 9
     
     
    STANDING IN the middle of their hotel room patiently watching his roommate primp for his first club appearance in decades was not the scenario Bryce had in mind when he invited Seth to join him for a night on the town. Seth was extremely nervous, discarding one shirt after another and babbling nonsense the entire time. He was acting like this was a real date rather than two guys checking out the scene. Bryce felt the frustration building as Seth unbuttoned yet another shirt and threw it on the bed. Seth hadn’t lied when he said he didn’t have the right clothes. Most of his outfits were colorfully hideous in a Nathan Lane-South