Made Marian, Volume Two by Lucy Lennox
Sam
Sunday was usually the day I cooked brunch for my roommates. They loved living with a professional chef because it meant they ate like kings. This Sunday was no exception. After the late-night shift at the club, I slept in until around 10 a.m. before getting up and prepping the groceries I’d purchased the day before.
Today I was making crêpes with sautéed pears, gouda, and thyme. I put together a fresh fruit bowl as well as a melted chocolate sauce dip in case anyone felt particularly indulgent.
Jason came out of his room first, scratching his bare chest with one hand and his scruffy beard with another. “Coffee?” he mumbled.
“Yup. Sit, I’ll get it.”
After handing him a cup, I gave him a few minutes to doctor it and get the first sips down before talking to him.
“Where did you guys end up last night?” I asked. Jason and Robbie had been hoping to spy on my ex. They knew he’d be drunk and dancing in a club anywhere other than Harry Dick’s.
“Are you kidding? Everywhere, man. That guy’s a slut. No offense.”
Tell me something I don’t know, I thought. “No shit,” I said.
“We followed him to four different clubs before we saw him settle on one target. He was draped all over Neil if you can believe it.” Jason laughed. “We think they went home together.”
We’d gone to college with Neil, and he was like the gay male equivalent of a tiny scared mouse baby. “Neil Hooper?” I asked just to be sure.
He snorted. “Yeah, little timid Neil. Poor kid. Johnny probably ate him alive when he got him alone.”
My ex was gargantuan. He’d been a linebacker in college and then became a meatheaded gym rat. Don’t ask how we ended up together for almost a year and a half. Pure stupid lust on my part. The guy was very shallow. I’d gone through this experimental phase where I wanted to get manhandled and tossed around a bit. Luckily, the phase ended just before Johnny decided to sleep with every little guy he came across. It was anyone’s guess as to why he was attracted to my six-foot self in the first place.
Jason and Robbie loved following Johnny to gay clubs because he looked like a skinhead NFL homophobe. He lumbered through gay clubs leaving a wake of people behind him who were either terrified of him or intimidated but turned on by the idea of sex with the beast. It was pretty funny. When we’d been together, I had gotten a kick out of seeing people’s reactions to him.
I finished putting the fruit in the bowl when Robbie came through the front door. “Sorry I’m late. I went for a run since you told me there was going to be chocolate.”
I poured another coffee for Robbie as he headed to his room for a quick shower.
When we all sat down to breakfast, Robbie raved about the crêpes. “These are fucking amazing,” he said around a mouthful. “Hey, Jason, did you tell him about Neil last night?”
“Yeah. Total trip. Wonder if he ended up in traction. No way could a guy that little take a dick that big,” Jason said.
“Spoiler alert: the dick isn’t that big,” I informed them. “And he probably wasn’t taking it as much as giving it.”
“Aw shit, man. Don’t make me lose my appetite now of all times.” Robbie groaned. “How was work last night?”
“Slammed. Made some good money,” I said before taking another sip of coffee and remembering the other part of the night that was good.
“Oh-ho.” Jason chuckled. “What have we here? A shit-eating grin on our boy Sam’s face? Do tell, Chef Coxwell.”
“It’s nothing. Just saw a cute guy, that’s all.”
“A cute guy? At a dance club? That can’t be right.” Robbie feigned shock.
“Shut up.” I laughed. “You know I don’t usually notice or give a shit. This was different. This guy was fucking adorable. Like, I wanted to steal him and snuggle the hell out of him.”
Robbie choked on his crêpe. “I’m sorry, you mispronounced ‘fuck his brains out.’” Jason laughed and pounded Robbie on the back.
“I know. It’s crazy. I wanted to fuck his brains out too, but something about him just… I don’t know. I couldn’t stop thinking about just grabbing him and holding on to him. Maybe I’m feeling maternal and protective for some reason. I need someone to look out for now that Lacey’s away at school.”
Jason put his hand on my shoulder. “Aww, someone’s having their period. It’s okay, Sam. Robbie and I will feed you chocolate and play you Terms of Endearment later. Robbie, what did we do with that antique VCR we found in the time capsule?”
Robbie laughed and reached out a fist bump to Jason. “So, did you ask him out?”
“No,” I said with a huff. “He left before I could.”
“Did you get his name?” Jason asked.
“No, but I think he’ll be back at some point. He’s been in every night this week.” I didn’t tell them about spewing out humiliating nonsense at the guy. They’d never let me live it down.
We finished eating, and Jason offered to clean up. I changed and headed for the YMCA to swim laps. When I swam, I was able to completely relax. I wore earplugs not to protect my ears from the water but to keep noise out. I’d been on a recreational swim team while at UC Berkeley and had fallen in love with the meditative feeling of pulling myself through the water.
By the time I got to work at the club that night, I was relaxed and happy. Having cooked, spent time with friends, and swum, it was turning out to be a great day. Sundays were like Fridays for me since I had Monday and Tuesday nights off.
I spent all night trying not to put Foxy’s face on every man who sat at the bar. Finally, I gave up and resigned myself to getting through my shift as quickly and profitably as I could. There was a rich-looking older man making eyeballs at me on one end of the bar, and I spent the rest of the night flirting with him to max out the tips coming my way.
After last call, he asked me to come home with him, and I declined with as big a smile as I could. When he suggested a quick suck behind the club, I wanted to roll my eyes. Instead I said politely, “Maybe next time.”
It wasn’t the first time someone had hoped to get me out back, and it wouldn’t be the last. What surprised me most was how many people actually thought that was how I liked to get off after being on my feet in the club for eight hours.
As I left that night, the same man was waiting for me outside. This time his pleas for a quickie were more aggressive and rude, almost to the point of making me nervous for my safety. As I began to walk, trying to ignore him, I noticed him follow me. Luckily, one of the other bartenders ran to join me for part of the way. We only lived a block away from each other, and I’d never been more grateful.
The older man gave up and walked away, leaving me with a deep sense of relief that I didn’t have to confront him.
* * *
The followingday I agreed to help an old classmate from culinary school make ten dozen gourmet cupcakes and deliver them to a youth shelter for some kind of celebration they were having. I met Julio at the bakery where he worked, and we enjoyed several hours of conversation while we worked. After baking and frosting fifteen dozen just to be safe, we carefully set the boxes into the back of a van Julio had borrowed.
After we pulled up to the front door of the shelter, I began unloading boxes two at a time. Julio teased me for being too cautious and stacked two more on top of the two I was already carrying, making it impossible to see where I was going. I carefully made my way and tried to reach for the handle just as the door banged open, mashing the top two boxes against my face and chest before they tipped onto the pavement.
“Ow, fuck,” I cried, bobbling the remaining two boxes. Two hands came out to help me steady them and before I knew it, the top of the stack had been lifted out of my hands. Someone apologized while Julio complained and tried to recover the two fallen boxes.
I looked up to see who had caused the caketastrophe and stared right into the eyes of my fox.
