Chapter 1

1

Saturday Night

Second Week in May

It was his best friend Bobby Michaels who insisted on that last shot that sent the room spinning. His friends had gone all out providing the party that he should have had on his twenty-first birthday, a year ago. But his parents had died in a car wreck the week before his birthday and Jason Monroe had been taking care of business.

In his case that had meant making all of the arrangements for his parents’ interment and shepherding his half-sister, who was only three at the time, through the experience. He was named as guardian in Ann and Evan Monroe’s will and since there was literally no one else, the state gave him sole custody. He’d only gone out tonight because Bobby Michaels’ mom and dad volunteered to babysit for Kitty. Mrs. Schwartz, his usual sitter, had made plans to go to the movies with a friend.

His parents had been no more than working-class stiffs like himself, but Kitty was the center of their universe and both his parents and Jason had doted on her. Jason worked two jobs, the first as a computer geek at Paper Clips and the second in Point Pleasant as a bartender at the Ocean View on the boardwalk, to make sure Kitty had everything she needed. There had been an insurance policy, but it was small and that was for Kitty’s college. Her monthly social security check was put away for her to use as a nest egg. His own dreams had fallen by the wayside with his dad and Ann’s death. He was determined that Kitty’s wouldn’t meet a similar fate.

Bobby came up behind him and slapped him on the back. “You’re a lightweight, Monroe. We’re all three shots ahead of you.”

Bobby was referring to the men that were the members of Ocean Township’s champion soccer team of 2010. All of them had gone on to play at big soccer schools, including Jason, who had played for two years at UNM. Unfortunately, Jason’s scholarship couldn’t help him support his sister, so he’d quit both school and soccer. His dream of being a software engineer for Google now lay in the dust of his parents graves.

“I’ve got to go home for Kitty. She wakes up early. Besides, the room is already spinning.” Jason turned his shot glass upside down.

“So we come to the second part of the evening, the reason why we, a bunch of semi-straight guys, took you to a gay club.”

Jason looked at Bobby a bit confused.

“What? Semi what?” Jason knew of no agenda except getting drunk off his ass and forgetting about his problems for a while.

“We are going to get you laid, dude, and we’ve picked out a great prospect.” Bobby smirked and turned Jason’s shot glass back up and asked the bartender for another shot of Jameson’s for his friend. The bartender came over and poured Jason a shot. He looked at Bobby in exasperation.

“What? Now you’re not even drinking?”

To distract Bobby from the shot of Jameson’s in front of him he changed the subject.

“Is getting laid now a spectator sport?” Jason asked mulishly. It had been a fun evening, especially seeing all the guys together again, but Kitty was up at seven a.m. and it was already past midnight.

Bobby read his mind. “Don’t worry about Kitty. My parents are keeping her overnight and I’ll bring her back in the morning. When do you get a Saturday night off? Take advantage of it.”

“But she doesn’t have her blue rabbit and her Hello Kitty pajamas, she’ll be upset.” Jason sobered up.

“It’s handled my friend, blue bunny and PJ’s included. Now look down the bar.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t want to deal with a hysterical Kitty when he got home—if he got home. His legs weren’t working.

Sitting at the end of the bar was a man who even in his present state of inebriation Jason had noticed eyeing him up all evening. Obviously, Bobby had noticed it, too.

“You’re not going to say anything to that man. Bobby Michaels, if you go down to the end of this bar you are so dead that even the guys won’t be able to save your ass.” Bobby smirked. Jason gave up. Bobby was going to do whatever it was that he was going to do and Jason couldn’t stop him. It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion.

Bobby got up and said, “I’ll be right back.”

He left Jason sitting at the bar with the drink he didn’t want and sauntered over to the black-haired stranger. All right, I’ve been doing my share of eyeballing him, too.Jason laid his head on his arms hiding his eyes.