Find Me in July (Mesa Boys)

Chapter 19

nineteen

T roy lay curled into Jessie’s side, still nude under the covers of his bed, the blacklight posters glowing on the wall. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

“Yeah, I can’t believe it either.” Jessie tightened the hold on his shoulders and kissed his head. “What a long day.”

“Can’t believe we’re still awake.” Troy caressed Jessie’s chest with his fingers. He should be tired, but he was still too excited to have him living in his apartment to sleep. “I don’t have to go back to work for another five days. What do you want to do?”

“Let’s chill and maybe go into Minneapolis.” Jessie grinned. “Do you want to go to the Gay 90s with me?”

Troy tipped his head. “Sure.” What would that be like? Weird, he was sure. He had a whole new community to figure out. “I suppose I should check out that bisexual group you told me about.”

“I think if we go to the bar, we’ll be able to get information on all that from the people there. Maybe we can find out if there are any gay publications here. There was one in New York called Gaysweek that I used to read.” Jessie drew a deep inhale.

“I suppose we should do that first, then. Maybe tomorrow?” Troy peeked at him. If he was going in on this with him, he’d go in all the way.

“I’ll take you there earlier in the evening, so you don’t get too overwhelmed.” Jessie chuckled. “When I went there, it was pretty crazy.”

Troy’s chest squeezed and he wrinkled his nose. “That was when you met Gary, right?”

“Yeah.” Jessie peered at him. “Don’t you go looking at all the dudes there. We’re only going for information.”

Troy snickered. “I can’t help what my eyeballs look at. Especially if it’s a foxy dude.” Teasing him was too much fun.

“Yes, you can help it, and you will.” Jessie flicked his head.

“Ow.” Troy rubbed the flick. “Damn, man.” He chuckled. He was definitely going to look now, just to tease him. He thought a moment. “So, I’ll call my manager in the next day or so and set up an interview for you. Does that work?”

“I guess so. What’s he like?” Jessie snuggled into him.

“He’s pretty cool. He’ll like you, I’m sure. The work is pretty easy, stocking shelves, getting carts from the parking lot, that sort of thing. Then you can work your way up to cashier.” Troy kissed his chest. They’d be working together, living together, and going to school together. He couldn’t wait.

The sound of a door opening and clicking shut snaked in from the main room.

“Shit, sounds like Sam’s home. We should get dressed, so you can meet him.” Troy climbed out of the bed and put on his gray t-shirt and jean shorts.

With a sigh, Jessie stepped off the bed and put on a blue shirt and tan corduroy shorts. “You sure he’s going to be okay with this?”

“No, but I’m more sure that I don’t care.” Troy walked to the door. “Ready?” Looked like they’d find out if they were keeping a roommate.

“Ready.” Jessie followed Troy out of the room, down the hallway and into the main room.

Sam stood at the oven, reading over a frozen dinner package. He looked up and pushed his thick black glasses up his nose. “Troy. Didn’t know you were home already.” His gaze caught on Jessie.

“Yeah, some shit went down, and I left early.” Troy turned to Jessie, holding out his hand. “Sam, meet my friend, Jessie.”

Sam opened the package and put a frozen dinner in the oven, then walked to Jessie, and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, man.” He focused on Troy. “Isn’t this the dude from New York?”

Jessie smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I’m the dude from New York.”

Sam gave him the once over. “You must be something. Troy talks about you all the time.” He freed a sharp laugh.

Jessie blushed and glanced at Troy. “He does, huh?”

“Yeah, man. All good stuff.” Sam placed his hands on his hips. “So, you staying in town, or headed back?”

“He’s staying here, as in here.” Troy pointed at the floor. “Like I said, some shit went down, and his father kicked him out. So he’s going to live here, with me.” He gauged Sam’s reaction.

Sam narrowed his eyes. “So, you’re saying he’s living here now, not just crashing on our couch for a while.”

“Yeah.” Troy glanced at Jessie. “He’ll uh, stay in my room with me. He’s not sleeping on the couch.” Damn, didn’t Sam understand what he was trying to say, or did he have to spell it out for him?

Sam nodded his head, lifting his brows. “Okay, sure.” He walked to the oven and opened it, checking on his frozen dinner. “Welcome to the pad, Jessie.” He smiled at him. “I assume the rent will be split three ways now?”

Troy smirked. “Yeah, we can do that.” Of course, it was always about money with this dude. “See ya.” He grabbed Jessie’s hand and led him to their bedroom, then shut the door.

Jessie snickered. “That dude’s a trip.”

“Yeah, I never know how he’s going to react to things. Guess all he cares about is paying cheaper rent. I never even thought about that.” Troy raked a hand through his hair. He had to get him that job.

“I couldn’t tell if he knew we were going together or not.” Jessie sat on the bed.

“Well, he’s going to figure it out at some point.” Troy took a seat next to him, then planted a kiss on his lips. “Guess we’ll let him get used to it slowly. No need to shock the dude.” He snickered, then glanced at the cream pillows on the bed. “Let’s get some sleep.”

“Naked?” Jessie shimmied his shirt off and threw it to the floor. “I’m used to sleeping nude when I’m not at the cabin.” He unfastened his shorts.

Troy licked his lips, desire heating his spine. “This is going to be a long night, isn’t it?” He was going to sleep naked with him every night from now on. Damn.

Jessie skimmed his shorts and underwear off, his cock half-mast. “You had to bring it up. Literally.” He chuckled and crawled over the bed, then under the covers. “Get in here.”

Troy walked out of the bathroom, drying his hair with an orange towel, another one wrapped around his waist, and stepped into the bedroom.

Jessie sat on the bed, fastening his brown leather sandals, wearing a form-fitting flower-print short-sleeve button-down shirt, and bell bottom jeans. “You shouldn’t come in here like that. We might not make it to the bar.” He gave him a coy smile.

“You’ve got to be sore after last night.” Troy snorted. He’d never even had that much sex with a chick in one night.

“It’s a good sore.” Jessie laughed. “There are other things we can do...” He stood up and stepped to him, then placed his hands on his cheeks and came in for a long, deep kiss.

Troy bit his lip, his cock growing heavy. “We might never leave this apartment. You’re giving me another boner.”

Jessie smirked and headed for the closet. “Save it for later. Right now, you need to dress appropriately for a night at the Gay 90s .” He swung the wooden doors open and shoved clothes aside, assessing each shirt on the hangers.

“What’s wrong with the way I normally dress?” Troy furrowed his brows. Jessie had never said anything about how he dressed before.

“It’s fine for when it’s just us and regular situations. But I’m showing you off tonight. I want you to look good.” Jessie stared at him, widening his eyes. “I mean?—”

“I know what you mean. I dress like a straight college student.” Troy sniggered. “You’re a real fucker sometimes.” He set down the towel he’d used on his hair, then strode to Jessie. “Come here.” He dug his fingers into Jessie’s sides, tickling him.

“No, Troy.” Jessie jerked and squirmed, giggling. “Stop.” He snatched the towel at his waist and yanked it off.

Troy stood naked at the closet, dropping his mouth open. “You just want to see my dick.”

Jessie spread a wicked grin over his face. “You betcha.” He bit his index finger, taking him in.

“Hey, Troy, I was—” Sam stood at the entrance to the bedroom, his eyes wide, his face draining of color. “I, uh...” He pinched his mouth. “We can talk later.” He walked out of the room, shutting the door.

“Shit, we need to keep that door locked.” Jessie snorted. “He looked like he was going to faint.”

“It’s okay. Guess he’ll figure things out sooner rather than later.” Troy glanced at the clothes. “What do you want me to wear?” He stepped to his dresser and slid underwear up his legs.

“How about this?” Jessie pulled down a black shiny polyester shirt with a thick collar and held it out for him. “I bought this shirt in The Village. It’s one of my favorites.”

Troy looked the shirt over. “Uh, okay.” He could go with it. Wearing one of Jessie’s shirts was sort of cool. It would be like having Jessie wrapped around him all night. He took the shirt from the hanger and put it on, then started on the buttons.

Jessie stepped to him. “Here, let me do that.” He buttoned the shirt halfway up, leaving the first few buttons undone, then gave him the once over, licking his lips. “It’s going to be hard for me to keep my hands off you tonight.”

Troy hooked a hand around Jessie’s neck and kissed him deeply. “Then don’t.”

Jessie adjusted his jeans. “Maybe we can stay home and go tomorrow.” He breathed heavily.

“No, we’re going.” Troy chuckled and snagged a pair of bell bottom jeans off a hanger. “You need to learn how to control yourself.” He slipped the jeans up his legs and fastened them.

“If I could control myself, I’d be on my way to New York right now and not here with you.” Jessie knit his brows.

Troy studied him, thinking back on the last night at the cabin. He was right. “I love you, Jess.” He placed a tender kiss on his lips. “Now, let’s go.”

Troy walked on the sidewalk up Hennepin Avenue beside Jessie, taking in the colorful blinking lights on the signs adorning older and newer buildings, mostly in brick. People in all sorts of dress, all the way from suits and fancy dresses to shorts and t-shirts, milled around, chatting, and walking beside them. Traffic slowed on the avenue as people in cars perused those on the sidewalk. “There are a lot of people cruising down here.” He peeked up at the darkening sky, the remnants of the sunset barely visible.

“Yeah.” Jessie stepped to the entrance of a two-story, white building with a rounded sign lighting up in the colors of flames, reading Gay 90s in white in the middle. He grabbed Troy’s hand and opened a red door, then stepped inside.

Troy walked over a black and white checkered floor into a dark room with a long, wooden bar top, sections of it curved outward. Ornate tin tiles covered the ceiling. “So, this place is pretty big, huh?”

Jessie took a rounded barstool at the bar top. “Yeah, there are multiple bars in here, even a drag queen area upstairs.”

A bartender approached, bare-chested and built. “What can I get you?”

“Two Schlitz beers and a menu.” Jessie looked the man over, licking his lips.

Troy sat beside him. “And you thought I was going to be the one looking at the dudes.” He scoffed and searched around him. The bar was half full of men, some shirtless, and a couple kissed in a booth. He watched the couple. He’d never seen two men kissing in real life before. Was that what he and Jessie looked like?

“Quit staring at them.” Jessie slapped his arm.

Troy blinked. “I’m not.” But he was. He focused on Jessie and smirked. If they could do it, so could he. He placed his hand on Jessie’s neck and came in, planting a lingering kiss on his lips. He broke the kiss to say, “I’ve never kissed you in public before.”

“How does it feel?” Jessie smiled at him.

“Good. Really good.” Troy scanned down the end of the bar. Nobody cared that they’d just kissed.

The bartender dropped off their beers and menus.

A woman in a sequined red dress, dramatic make-up, and a large, bouffant hairdo strolled into the bar, catching Troy’s eye. He couldn’t help, but stare. He’d never seen a chick like that before. He tapped Jessie’s arm. “Hey, chicks come in here?”

Jessie sipped his beer, then chuckled. “She’s a drag queen.”

“A what?” Troy peeked at her. Okay, this was pretty wild, a whole new world even.

She stopped at Troy and ran her long fingernail over his shoulder. “Show starts in an hour. I expect to see you up there.” She winked at him.

Jessie swiveled on his stool, facing her. “He’s mine.”

She looked Jessie over. “I’ll take you both, then.” She laughed, throwing her head back, then focused on Troy, placing her fingers on his chin. “Somebody better keep an eye on you. You are foxy. Damn.” She glanced at Jessie and smirked, ticking her head, then sauntered off.

Jessie scoffed. “She better stay away from you.” He flung an arm around Troy’s shoulders and tugged him close. “So, we should order some food.” He held a menu up.

Troy perused the menu. “Just get me a burger and fries.” He should eat something greasy if they were going to be drinking all night.

“Sure.” Jessie set the menu down. When the bartender came around, he ordered their burgers.

Troy peered across the bar. A man with blond hair walked through in a black leather jacket, bare chested underneath, and leather pants, wearing a black leather hat with a chain running across it. Into Jessie’s ear, he whispered, “Uh, is there a biker bar section in here, too?”

Jessie chuckled. “Sort of, and a whole leather shop upstairs.” He drew his brows together. “I didn’t think about all this when I thought about bringing you here. You freaking out?”

“Uh, no.” Maybe. Troy pursed his lips. This was a lot to take in. How much of this did Jessie get into? Had he ever dressed in drag? Did he do things with dudes in leather? He peered at him.

“What are you thinking about? And don’t tell me nothing .” Jessie faced him on his stool. “Talk to me. You look like you’re freaking out.”

“Well...” Troy watched the bartender set their food in front of them. How could he talk to him and not look like a dork? “So, have you ever tried dressing in drag?” He popped a French fry in his mouth.

“No.” Jessie smirked.

“Have you ever, uh, dressed in leather?” Troy lifted his brows, then sipped his beer.

“No.” Jessie came in close to his ear, flicking his tongue over the shell. “You want me to?”

Desire tingled down Troy’s spine. The image of Jessie in leather flashed through is mind. “Maybe.” He offered a coy grin. “The leather thing. That might be a turn on.”

“We can stop off at the shop upstairs if you want before we go home.” Jessie drew a ragged breath. “They have toys, too.”

“Toys?” Troy’s mind went back to the discussion of Jessie’s secret suitcase stash. “You really don’t have any already, right?”

“No, but I think it might be fun to try some things. You know, if you’re into it.” Jessie bit his lip, squirming on his chair.

“Fucking Sam will have a cow if he finds that stuff.” Troy sniggered. What was he getting himself into here? “Maybe next time we’ll pick something up. Right now, I’m just taking everything in.”

“Yeah, okay.” Jessie turned to the bar and picked up his burger, then took a bite.

“So, is this where you get your weed, too?” Troy sucked ketchup off his finger. He hadn’t seen Jessie light up a joint since before they got caught in the van. It was a little weird.

Jessie watched him.

Troy stopped mid-lick on his finger. “Jess.”

Jessie blinked. “What did you ask me?” He leaned in. “I was looking at your tongue.”

Troy chuckled. “Damn, man. I asked you if you get weed here.” He shook his head. At some point, they had to quit thinking about sex, right?

“Yeah, I got weed when I came in here last time.” Jessie dipped a fry in ketchup.

“So, do you want to get some tonight?” Troy set his burger down, studying him. Now he’d see if Jessie was telling the truth or not when he said he only smoked up north.

Jessie twisted his mouth. “You know? No, I don’t want to.” He ate a fry. “Unless you want to. Do you?”

Troy shook his head. “No, the only time I do that is up north with you.” He smirked. Apparently he was telling the truth about that. “But you were supposed to get some information while we were here.” He ate his burger, then a few fries.

“I know. Guess I got caught up in everything, being here with you.” Jessie chewed some fries, then washed them down with beer.

The bartender waltzed by.

“Hey.” Jessie held his hand up.

The bartender stopped. “Yes?”

Jessie glanced at Troy, then focused on him. “We’re new here and would like some information.”

“Sure, what are you looking for? Bathhouses, bars, or what?” The bartender picked up a glass and wiped it, then held out his hand. “I’m Henry, by the way.”

“Oh, I’m Jessie, and this is my boyfriend, Troy.” Jessie shook his hand.

“Hi, Henry.” Troy gave Henry’s hand a quick shake.

“Anyway, we’re looking for pretty much all of the above. I’ve been living out in New York and Troy here is new to... well, he’s new.” Jessie glanced at Troy.

“I see. So, just coming out, Troy?” Henry set his hands on the back bar and smiled at him.

“Yeah, you could say that.” Heat flushed Troy’s face. Why was this embarrassing him? Jessie was nothing to be embarrassed about. He forced a grin.

“Well, welcome to the community, my friend.” Henry focused on Jessie. “So, we’ve got a few bathhouses, the 315 Club, and Big Daddy’s .” He twisted his mouth. “For bookstores, you can try Shinder’s Bookstore . They have pretty much everything, probably whatever publications you were picking up in New York.” He lifted a brow to Jessie. “Even the backroom stuff.”

Jessie flashed his eyes at Troy, giving him a coy grin.

Troy smirked. “So, they have Playguys there?” He bumped his shoulder on Jessie’s.

“Yep.” Henry glanced down the bar, then focused on Jessie. “There’s a great theater showing adult gay films, called the Adonis . Be careful, though, the cops have been posing as gay men and arresting people on indecent conduct charges.” He pursed his lips. “If you get taken into custody, the police are pretty brutal around here.” The muscle in his jaw bulged.

Jessie nodded, knitting his brows. “Thanks for the information.”

“Anyhow, let me know if you need anything else. I’ve got to pour some drinks.” Henry walked to a set of taps behind the bar.

Jessie studied Troy. “We need to be careful when we’re not in a place like this.”

Troy lifted his brows. “We could be arrested for being together?” This was a whole new level of crazy. He expected assholes throwing slurs or even punches, but arrests?

“Yeah. It happens.” Jessie gulped his beer down. “Let’s forget about that and have some fun tonight, okay?”

“Sure.” Troy placed his hands on Jessie’s cheeks and pressed his lips to Jessie’s. “This doesn’t change how I feel one bit. Okay?”

Jessie offered a faint grin. “Okay.”

An hour or so passed, and the bar was filling up, the music getting louder. They each were a few beers in. Troy settled against Jessie’s side. He gazed at his beer and picked it up. Seemed he was feeling more comfortable with everything. He took a few gulps, then set it down.

Donna Summer’s Love to Love You Baby filled the bar.

Men whooped and stood up in place, gyrating their hips to the music, dancing close to one another.

Jessie pulled on his arm, tugging him off the chair. “Let’s dance.”

“Right here?” Troy widened his eyes. He wasn’t much of a dancer, especially when it came to disco. He definitely dug rock.

Jessie pushed on his chest until his back hit the bar, then rolled his hips into him, skimming his hands up and down his sides to the music.

“Wh-what are you doing?” Troy’s cock rubbed against his hip through their jeans, shivering need through his groin. He wrapped his arms around Jessie’s neck, bringing him closer. This wasn’t so bad. “I thought you didn’t like disco.”

“I don’t prefer it, but it can be fun to dance to with the right person.” Jessie gazed into his eyes, then brushed his lips over Troy’s, sneaking his tongue between them.

Troy intensified the kiss, claiming him fully, tasting beer and fries and Jessie. He moved his body against him, rubbing their hips together, feeling Jessie’s hard cock against his through their jeans. Pleasure pulsed up his shaft. He peeked around them. No one noticed. No one cared if they were grinding on each other and making out. In fact, other men were doing it, too.

Jessie moaned and broke the kiss, nuzzling his face into his neck, pulling their hips tighter. “Fuck, we might have to go to the dark room.” He nibbled and licked at his neck.

Troy released a soft groan, tension coiling inside him. “We can just go home. We don’t need a hotel room.” He kissed his cheek, then licked at his ear and bit an earlobe.

Jessie snickered. “I said dark room, not hotel room.” He thrust his hips, freeing a choked gasp. “Maybe I’ll rub off on you right here.” He thrust faster, wrapping his hands around Troy’s ass, pulling against him, skimming his teeth over his neck.

Troy lifted his head. “What do you mean, a dark room?”

Jessie stopped his motions and gazed at him with hooded lids. “They have rooms in here where we can go and... you know, do it.”

Troy widened his eyes. “Holy shit. I didn’t know that.” He watched a few men walking off toward the end of the bar, hand in hand. Was that where they were going? He focused on him. “Are there other people in there, or can we get a room just for us?”

Jessie lifted a corner of his mouth. “There would be other people in there, but no one’s going to care.”

Was he ready to have sex in front of strangers? No. It felt wrong to do that with him. What they had was not something to be shared that way. “I’m not really cool with that.”

Jessie’s smile waned and he straightened. “Okay. It’s cool.” He chewed his lower lip, studying him. “I freaked you out.”

“No, you didn’t.” Troy forced a quick grin. “I need time to get used to all of this. You didn’t go off and go to gay bars right away, did you?”

“No...” Jessie glanced at the back of the bar.

“I’m not freaking out.” Troy placed a long, hard kiss on his lips. “I love you. I promise I’m not going to freak out on you.”

Jessie let the ghost of a smile creep over his lips. “So, let’s keep dancing, and when we get home, we are definitely bangin’.”