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David stood up, holding a hand out. “Now, hold on a minute.”

Christian turned, winking. “Look, you trust me, right?”

“With a lot of things, yes, but this is a very different set of circumstances.”

Christian smiled gently. “Look, I know this is a...well, a fucked-up situation. And I know I’m probably not the first person you would have turned to for help, but I promise you, I have a great idea and know what I’m doing. And even if it doesn’t work, I’ll ensure it doesn’t make things worse, okay?”

Christian's voice had a note of pleading, and David felt his protest die in his throat. Everything he’d said was true, but David still couldn’t help the apprehension as he nodded, sitting down to let Christian leave the office without further protest.

Damn him for being a sucker for a cute face.

CHRISTIAN

The bar wasn’t busy on a Sunday night, and Christian wasn’t sure if he should consider it a blessing or a curse. It made it easy to look around the crowd as he walked through double doors. The bar, equipped with only one bartender, had a line of stools. To Christian’s right was a dance floor with two platforms with dance poles. There wasn’t a single person on the dance floor, let alone the poles, he noticed with faint amusement.

To the left, booths and tables lined the floor. A couple of the booths were occupied already, so he turned his attention away. Christian checked his messages again, confirming he was in the right place. The sign said Coco’s outside, though Christian thought that was a pretty energetic name for a place with maybe a dozen people.

Rereading the message, he looked, finding another area behind the bar. Waving to the frowning bartender, he mounted the steps to the semi-enclosed space. There was only one person sitting at one of the booths, and he matched the picture Christian had been looking at on the dating app.

“Ethan?” Christian asked hesitantly as he approached the man.

“That’s me,” Ethan said with a grin.

Christian had to give General Winter that much, Ethanwasa good-looking man. He was a couple of inches shorter than Christian, which would have made him over half a foot shorter than the general. Ethan’s hair and eyes were light brown, which, with his tanned skin, made him look like a native of the tropical climate. He was on the slight side, but it was obvious he didn’t neglect his body, as the arms showing through the muscle shirt were well-toned. His features were slightly angular, giving the man ‘elfin’ features. He showed gracefulness, which became apparent as he exited the booth to greet Christian.

Christian chuckled. “I guess I should have known. There’s not exactly a lot of people in here. It wouldn’t have been too hard to find you.”

“Well, and I hope my pictures managed to do mesomejustice,” Ethan said.

Christian grinned at the subtle show of confidence. “Alright, well, you have me there.”

Ethan gestured toward the bar. “You want something to drink?”

“Hm, I don’t know what they have here.”

“Not a whole lot, or rather, not that great. But I like meeting people here since it’s quiet.”

“I suppose we could have a drink or two,” Christian said.

Ethan chuckled. “In a rush to get out of here?”

Christian shrugged, putting on a mock air of coyness. “I guess you could say I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen so far.”

“Man, I must be charming as hell if I managed to convince you to leave just by seeing me,” Ethan said.

Christian chuckled, giving the man a wink. “Sure, charming, we’ll go with that.”

“Okay, fine, I look good then.”

Christian laughed, following Ethan to the bar as they ordered their drinks. It was the first time in a few months Christianhad tried going out for drinks with someone. Then again, ‘going out for drinks’ on dating apps was generally just code for ‘get a drink or two and go back to someone’s house to get laid.’ It was precisely the sort of setup he wanted when he’d found Ethan on the dating app the night before and struck up a conversation. After some brief wrangling, he’d secured a meetup and an agreement that if things went well, they’d go back to Ethan’s place.

Normally, Christian was nervous during the first meeting, never knowing what to expect. Yet, as he chatted idly with Ethan and they waited for Christian’s beer and Ethan’s chocolate martini, he felt no trace of nerves. He honestly would have thought that meeting Ethan under false pretenses would have made his nerves worse than usual, but it had the opposite effect. Knowing the night would not end with him in Ethan’s bed was a plus.

And that choice of a chocolate martini on the other man’s part certainly made him feel better.

“So, you work at the base?” Ethan said as they moved back to the booth.

Christian nodded. “Yeah. Transferred in about a year ago, and it’s looking like this will be my home for at least another year.”