I’ve never liked bars. They’re gross, dingy, and full of drunk people drowning their problems away in alcohol, when they should really be working through them. I walked into a bar called “White Horse” *. I’ve heard a bit about it… Actually, that’s a lie. I saw it as I was walking. I also saw nine other bars, but I decided to come to this one because it’s for…special people…if you catch my drift. I already didn’t like it. It smelled of alcohol and despair. I’ve never been a drinker. Once I walked in, all I saw was a normal bar. It basically looked like any bar you would imagine. Wooden floors, bar table with stools placed in front, tables, flirting, fighting, singing, crying. I sighed. At least this one looks slightly civilized. I sit down on this, uncomfortable, red barstool, and nodded to the bartender. He smiled back and walked closer to me.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ4QowKMtIN
- - Can I get ya anything? He asked smiling and waiting for my reply.
- - Um, no thanks. I said.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE7f98ZwhWA
He nodded and went back to washing his cup, occasionally speaking with other customers.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOmWTGJKzDC
- - I’ll take an Arnold Palmer, please. Said a voice that came from my right side.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1C0vl54Zip
I turned around to see quite possibly, the most charming man I’ve ever seen. He had soft, pale skin with freckles peppered all over. His hair was blond and tousled, yet perfect all at once. His smile revealed his straight, white teeth. He had deep, beautiful, pastel blue eyes that sparkled with passion. He wore a light blue button-up, cuffed shirt that complemented both his skin and his eyes. He was quite short, I mean, shorter than me, and his voice was soft. Like a melody slowly caressing my ears. I felt myself blush as I observed this man for far too long. The bar tender nodded at his request and went to get a glass. The man looked ahead. I stared. Time seemed slow as I examined his somehow perfect features. He eventually noticed my staring and raised an eyebrow with amusement.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpB00FO86v2
- - Hi there. He said.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2lj7r9ZSH
It was like the entire world melted away. This guy was talking to me. It felt…wow. I tried to get a hold of myself as I flipped through the possible replies to his comment.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNWKLlRaMB
- - Um…h-hi. I said.
- - Do I have something on my face? He teased.
- - Uh…I’m- uh…I don’t- I… I stuttered.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGJrqirceTW
He laughed a bit. Oh. My. Lord. That freaking laugh. I could hear it for the rest of my life and never get tired of it. It’s so beautiful. It goes so well with his perfect face and smile. That adorable man is definitely going to be the death of me.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwCfmdkLhq
- - It’s fine…Don’t worry about it.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBlCTOL0qs
He put his hand out.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXHhHzfUAXF
- - Arthur Johnson, but I hate the name Arthur…so call me Art. He said, putting his hand out.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkAkir6efa
I laughed a bit at his comment about his name. I shook his hand. The skin was incredibly soft, and I could probably melt. My hand was probably very sweaty, so I pulled it away, quickly.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVmGhOzN0Tp
- - James Baxter. I smiled.
- - Charmed. He smiled, his sparkling white teeth showing, followed by a wink.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzDyuatkwlR
I smiled at the ground. As I looked back up at him, I noticed him slightly bite his bottom lip, which was an adorable shade of pastel pink.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLT7F7rYj9m
- - So…you going off to war? He asked.
- - Yeah…you?
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnflEwQPPtX
He inhaled and raised his eyebrows.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu5vgvMDfdN
- - Yup. He said taking a sip of his drink.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE7MTo3Q959
I observed him a bit more. He’s extremely cute. It’s not like I’ve said that before. In case you couldn’t tell, that was sarcastic. It seems he has taken over my mind, not leaving any sort of non-Arthur Johnson-related thoughts.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI0TnFNkrcK
- - Can I ask you something, James? Asked Art.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrIjAtw8SFP
I nodded.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF4UWvjtFMA
- - So, are you a regular, or are you just “trying something new” before going off to war? He asked, microscopically rolling his eyes.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxEu14O3KdK
I quickly realized that he was alluding to my sexuality…he wanted to know if I had explored it, or if I was just testing.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4X9EPQFH0F
- - Well, I’ve always had “suspicions”, but I’ve never been in a relationship…I’m also not a regular, because this is my first time in a bar. I stated.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEzBFsdwFwc
He smiled, his blue eyes trailing me up and down. I felt a layer of red wash over my face.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSIfgdn7GtZ
- - Interesting. I’m a regular.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmCrKeECvqo
I suddenly became very nervous, but I really wanted to shoot my shot, so I did.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmE6XR3hyZM
- - So, are all the regulars as pretty as you, or…
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ84QoXcvhBv
His eyes widened for a second, before he looked down, letting out a breathless laugh. I noticed a slight hint of red in his cheeks.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy3d3NubKcm
- - No, that’s just me. He winked.
- Intriguing.
- - Is it? He asked.
- - Yes.
- - How?
- - It’s intriguing how I’ve met the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen, and we’re both walking into a meat grinder in seven days. I said.
- - Oh, come on…you can’t be that certain you’ll die…and thanks for the compliment…you’re not too bad-looking yourself.
- - First of all; yes I’m certain I’ll die. Second; thanks.
- - You wanna know something? I don’t even care if I die. I just want to beat those Nazis into next week and save the innocent people…I’ve always been big on politics. He said.
- - Ah…opposite of me. My parents have always taught me to lay low and keep my mouth shut when it came to politics. I stated.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrqDCILwptd
He just stayed quiet. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed in confusion as he looked at me.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNPOrmyf60g
- - And you listened to them…? He finally said.
- - Of course.
- - …Just like that…?
- - Yes.
- - No fighting back…?
- - Why would I-
- - Don’t you wanna stand by the things you believe in? If your parents said that, one day, you had to hate on all puppies in public, would you? He asked.
- - No-
- - James, you need to know this; A good boy doesn’t always have to be a pretty face who shuts his mouth off to the side.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAPnTC7zdoA
It was my turn to stay quiet. He was right. All these years, I remember what awful things my family would say…The amount of times I would sit and do nothing as I desperately wanted to say something. The amount of minorities my family would call “an illness” made my blood boil. I asked myself why I listened to my parents and stayed off to the side. This conversation changed my point of view, slightly, on this war. The millions of people, children even, are dying as I speak. I suddenly feel more motivated to go off to war. I didn’t think that was possible. This beautiful, perfect man has changed my point of view on everything I stand for. Wow. Holy crap. How did he do that? Maybe he has some sort of magical charming powers where he can change your life… Or maybe I just realized just how trapped I was, in my life.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuMD2PnVroN
- - Ah, shit. He said.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu6anRBsKw8
I looked up at him.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLpxMRx54Q2
- - I’ve done it again…I said something stupid to a cute guy, and now he’s re-thinking his life, and he’ll never even remember me after this cause he’s too busy having a revelation, and I messed up one of my only chances to finally get a committed relationship instead of those stupid-
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNEKVwg5KsM
I cut off his fast rambling by quickly placing my lips on top of his. He seemed quite startled, at first, but melted into it. His lips were soft and tasted sweet. Have you ever heard someone say; the kiss gave me butterflies in my stomach? Well it’s not true. It gives you this crazy sensation all throughout your body. It’s like your brain is gone, and there’s fireworks instead. You feel so blessed by the other’s presence that your body turns to mush, and you have to physically keep yourself from fainting. You also pinch yourself to make sure this isn’t a dream. And even if it was, you would never want to wake up. You’d rather be in this asleep sequence forever then have to unlock your lips and get back to the real world. When people say that, when you have a near-death accident, your life flashes before your eyes. The same thing happens during your first kiss. Except instead of flashing the past, it flashes the future. Your entire vision of your future changes so you can fit him in. It’s so impossible not to think of him, in that moment, that you literally change your whole future. It’s crazy. This morning, it felt like I was losing time off my life. Now, it feels like I’m gaining time just by being face-to-face with him. Like if I finally had a reason to keep alive. I barely know him enough to call it love, but this is definitely something. We pulled away for air. I kept my eyes closed. He went back in and kissed me, holding my face in his hands. Scratch that. This is definitely love. The way he cradled my face like it was the most precious thing in the world. How could you know someone for a total of 25 minutes, and already be head over heels in love with them. My heart felt like it was going to rip out of my chest. Nothing else mattered. Not the stupid war, not my stupid family, not my stupid life. Just me, Art, and this gross, dingy bar. It’s a real shame I’ll never feel this ever again, due to the fact I’m going off to war in a week. Yet, I couldn’t fully think about that. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. Not even this mattered. I was just in this strange, euphoric state, that I couldn’t even begin to comprehend. When we finally pulled away, I watched his reaction. His eyes fluttered open, smile present. He microscopically bit his bottom lip, then went back to smiling at me. It was so full of passion, despite being strangers to each other, that we both failed to speak for a few seconds.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW1rJ0KyvXO
- - Wow. He said, out of breath.
- - Holy shit. That was my first kiss. I said, eyes wide.
- Really?
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJW5WLJjEwJ
I felt too awkward to reply. Once I realized he was actually waiting for my reply, I cleared my throat, trying to stall my answer, slightly ashamed.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjKUFpAwcaF
- - Um…yeah.
- - Huh. Coulda fooled me. Art winked.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDnxAPOZJ3
He took a pen out from his pocket and scribbled something down on a napkin. He slid it over to me with a wink. I was in awe, so much, I didn’t even glance at the paper. Art paid the bartender with a smile and walked out of the bar, leaving me with nothing but a red face. After I finally convinced myself I wasn’t dreaming and came back to earth, I picked up his napkin. It had a phone number next to a drawing of a heart on it. I smiled to myself as I got up from the uncomfortable barstool. Okay. I changed my mind. I love bars.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
