Nachos & Hash

by Brandon Witt

  Nachos & Hash

  By Brandon Witt

  A Mary’s Boys Novella

  Darwin Michaels is living his dreams in the Mile High City. While Denver offers the perfect job, scrumptious dining, and whirlwind dating options, Darwin is losing hope he’ll find the right man to spark his interest for more than a one-night stand—until he sets eyes on Cody Russell.

  Cody has just accomplished his life’s goal—get the hell out of Kansas. In one fell swoop, he lands a job at Hamburger Mary’s and gets a newfound family and the chance to be with other gay people! All that’s missing is someone special. But when Darwin shows his interest, Cody is sure it’s too good to be true. After all, what can Darwin possibly see in the high school dropout serving him nachos?

  As Darwin falls in love, Cody struggles to realize his worth. When his past threatens the fragile life he is building, Cody spirals into a moment of dark desperation. But Darwin is determined to show Cody that love and family and home are there for him… will Cody accept what is offered?

  Table of Contents

  Blurb

  Chapter ONE

  Chapter TWO

  Chapter THREE

  Chapter FOUR

  Chapter FIVE

  Chapter SIX

  Chapter SEVEN

  Chapter EIGHT

  Chapter NINE

  Chapter TEN

  Chapter ELEVEN

  Chapter TWELVE

  Acknowledgments and Thanks

  Exclusive Excerpt

  Author’s Note

  More from Brandon Witt

  About the Author

  By Brandon Witt

  Visit Dreamspinner Press

  Copyright

  RUNNING AWAY was the only viable option. Darwin peered over his date’s shoulder to the door. He could make it. One quick motion. Stand, dig in his wallet, rip out a couple of twenties to toss on the table, and then run through the crowded restaurant, past the ceramic Hamburger Mary’s statue, and book it outside.

  Oh, right. He’d driven. That would leave his date without a car. Whatever. Darwin would just toss down another twenty for Uber fare and call it good.

  Hmm. Sixty bucks. He didn’t have much cash. Did he even have a twenty?

  “See someone you know?”

  Darwin looked away from the exit and forced a smile at Mark. “No. Sorry. Just zoned out there for a moment.”

  Mark motioned to the other side of the restaurant. “It’s okay. I was zoning out on that guy. Fucking hot, right?”

  Darwin turned around in his seat. Even though Hamburger Mary’s was packed, there was only one person Mark could mean. The bartender. Solid muscle. Skintight tank top. Wavy black hair. Glowing brown skin. Model face.

  “He’s hot, right? Not my usual type. Kinda unusual-looking for a black guy.”

  Oh dear Lord. Sometimes the city wasn’t much different from his little hometown in Missouri. Darwin attempted a smile as he turned back around, but he was fairly certain he failed. “That’s because I’m pretty sure he’s Indian.”

  Mark’s eyes bugged, and he lowered his voice. “Bro, I don’t think you’re supposed to call them that anymore. It’s Native American now.”

  Darwin almost laughed. Almost. But the urge to scream swept the laugh away. “Except I meant Indian. Like a person from India, the country.”

  “Oh. Yeah. I don’t know what you call them.” Mark took a chip from the huge plate of nachos between them. “You sure you don’t want something besides nachos? I know it’s good to be a cheap date and all, but you’re cute enough to earn a real dinner.”

  Damn you, Match.com. Damn you.

  “No, I’m good.” Darwin glanced once more at the door. He doubted he had more than a twenty on him, which was fine. He’d never make it, anyway. Probably dump the contents of his wallet all over the floor as he tried to stand, or trip on a chair leg and crash in the middle of the crowd.

  The background noise of the TVs was suddenly muted, and an electronic feedback squeal cut through the remaining chatter, causing Darwin and everyone else to flinch.

  “That’s one way to get your attention!” From her spot on the small stage in the front of the dining area, a drag queen in a golden Victorian gown and a pile of yellow curls towering over her head leered at the crowd and readjusted her microphone. “Sorry about that, boys. But I do wish you could’ve seen your faces! Looked like each one of you had a tiny orgasm.” She motioned to the woman at the host stand. “Pat, can you get someone to mop up real quick? We don’t want all these men to get stuck to their seats.”

  The woman didn’t miss a beat. “You sure about that, ManDonna?”

  “Oh, honey, you know me well.” The drag queen turned her attention back to the crowd. “There are several of you that I’m more than okay with being stuck right where you are. Don’t you worry. I’ll make sure you enjoy your stay.” She motioned toward a couple of muscle boys wearing nothing more than barely there Andrew Christians, who walked up to the stage as she’d been talking. “You two, go get me six of the hottest men in the room. We’ve got some Family Feud to play.”

  “God, I fucking hate drag queens.”

  Darwin glanced back over at Mark, missing ManDonna’s next words. “What? How can you hate drag queens? They’re awesome.”

  Mark’s expression made it clear Darwin had dipped on the ten-point scale he was certain Mark used on every guy he saw. “Seriously? They’re so cliché. And offensive. They make gays look bad, like we’re all a bunch of nelly, prissy girls.” He leaned closer, the thin fabric of his T-shirt straining, and his voice took on a condescending tone. “Just because we’re gay doesn’t mean we can’t still be men. Drag queens are only living up to all the femmie stereotypes people say about gays.”

  Darwin couldn’t help himself. He truly couldn’t. “Aren’t your eyebrows waxed?”

  Mark flinched, a flush instantly rising in his cheeks. “That’s not the same thing. Being well-groomed and taking care of our bodies is—”

  “You are gorgeous. Come up on stage with us.”

  Mark’s expression darkened at the interruption. He turned and came face-to-face with the cotton-clad bulge of one of the drag queen’s tall model boys. “I… ah….”

  Darwin couldn’t hold back his laugh this time at the look on Mark’s face. Not that Darwin could blame him. It was an impressive bulge. Impressive everything. “Yeah, Mark, go play Family Feud.”

  The model squatted down, bringing his face even with Mark’s. “Come on. I’ll make it worth your while after.”

  Mark spared Darwin a glance, which was more than Darwin would have predicted.

  “Go, Mark. Have fun. And take him up on his offer. You’ll get a lot more from him than you will me tonight.”

  For a moment, Mark looked offended. Then he turned back toward the nearly naked man and apparently decided he was getting the better deal. He half glanced at Darwin as he stood. “Thanks, dude. I’ll chip in for half of the nachos when the show’s over.”

  He was gone before Darwin could reply.

  Chip in for half of the nachos. Never mind the three beers Mark drank. Darwin sighed and leaned back in his chair. He was going to have to write ManDonna a thank-you note for getting him out of such a horrid date. No more online dating. At least not for a while. In the three months he’d lived in Denver, he’d taken dating nearly as seriously as his new job. Hell, he’d treated it like a job. A different date almost every night. There’d been a couple of second dates, and a few more that ended with naked time, but he hadn’t made a true connection with any of them. Which if he just wanted sex would be fine. But he didn’t. It was time for a relationship. A real one, with marriage as the goal. Every other thing on his list had been marked off. College, check. Grad school, check. Mo
ve out of the Midwest, check. Get a good job, check. Find a husband… yeah, not so many checks.

  Maybe he was just trying too hard.

  That’s what his dad kept telling him. That he needed to focus on himself. On his career. The right man would show up at the right time. Not at all what Darwin wanted to hear. Though it still blew his mind that he got relationship advice from his father. He never would have dreamed.

  His mom, on the other hand, was the one encouraging him to get on every dating site available. Of course, he was certain she’d change her mind if she realized what most of the sites were for, but still. He knew she wanted him happy, but more than that, she wanted grandbabies. Which was the next thing to check off his list. But he couldn’t get to that one without checking off the married thing first. He could, he supposed, but he didn’t want to.

  A catcall broke him out of his thoughts and drew his attention back to the stage. “Oh, be still my heart… and my groin. You might not understand how to play Family Feud, but this makes up for anything lacking up here.” ManDonna had Mark’s T-shirt hiked up and was running her three-inch nails over the ridges of his eight-pack as she tapped Mark’s temple with her other hand.

  Darwin was willing to bet Mark’s smooth stomach was as waxed as his eyebrows. So much for his heteronormative spiel. All well and good until a drag queen gives you a chance to show off how pretty you are.

  “Would your boyfriend like another beer for when he gets back?”

  Darwin jumped, which caused the waiter to flinch. “Oh, sorry. You startled me.”

  “It’s okay.” The waiter grinned as he jutted his chin toward the stage. “Sorry I interrupted. If my boyfriend looked like that, I wouldn’t take my eyes off him either.”

  “My boy….” He glanced toward the stage where Mark was now shirtless and facing off with an opponent from the other team. Darwin refocused on the waiter and shook his head empathically. “He is definitely not my boyfriend.”

  “Oh. Sorry. I just assumed you were on a date.”

  “Well, we were. Until about ten minutes ago. Now, we are officially not. Thankfully.” Darwin smiled up at the man—or the boy. Wow, the kid seemed young. And pretty. How had he not noticed that before?

  The kid didn’t seem to know what to do with the overshare. “Uhm, then do you want something? Another rum and Coke?”

  “No. Thank you.” Darwin searched his memory. “What did you say your name was again? Sam?”

  “Cody.”

  “Oh wow. Not even close. Sorry, Cody. I’m Darwin. And I’m probably ready for the check. No reason to hang around and watch the show.”

  Cody’s dark blue eyes widened. “Oh, you should. ManDonna is the best. People love her so much. This was her original event, Family Feud, but there’s also Drag Queen Bingo, and she hosts karaoke night as well. Which, I hate karaoke, but when she’s hosting it, it’s pretty great. When there’s a bad singer, she joins right on in. Somehow making everyone laugh and making the singer feel good all at the same time. She’s one of the nicest people in the world.” Cody gestured around Mary’s. “Actually, everyone here is. Nicest people I’ve ever met. Didn’t even know there were this many nice people anywhere. I just….” A flush bloomed over Cody’s pale cheeks. He glanced away and swept a heavy fall of black hair away from his forehead. “Sorry. Sometimes I talk too much. I’ll get you your check.”

  Without a thought, Darwin reached out and grabbed Cody’s wrist, stopping him. He instantly let go at the flash of panic in the young man’s eyes. “Sorry. I….” What? He what? Didn’t want the boy to walk away? Yeah, but he couldn’t say that. Talk about creepy. But he didn’t. Cody’s little speech about Mary’s had been the best thing about Darwin’s evening. There was something so sincere about him. And new, somehow. Though the thought struck Darwin as strange, it seemed to fit. Like Cody had recently emerged from an egg and found himself in the large, scary world. “How old are you, Cody?”

  Great. Because that wasn’t creepy. How many rum and Cokes did he have? Not enough to account for weirdness, he was sure.

  The crowd let loose a bomb of laughter, causing both Darwin and Cody to flinch again. Neither of them looked toward the stage.

  Cody’s words were barely audible over the miked voices from the stage. “I turned twenty-one a few months ago. Why?”

  “You grow up here?”

  Seriously? What the hell? When exactly did I turn into a creeper?

  “Sorry. You don’t need to answer that. None of my business. It’s been a long night, or something. I’ll take the check and stop the interrogation.”

  A smile played over Cody’s lips, and he visibly relaxed. The change made him even more beautiful. “I’m from a little town in Kansas. Ransom. No one’s ever heard of it. Moved to Denver on my twenty-first birthday.”

  No wonder the kid seemed like a newly hatched chick. Darwin was willing to bet he’d had the same look when he first started at the university. “I’m from a little town in Missouri. No one’s ever heard of it—El Dorado Springs. We’ve only got about three thousand people there.”

  Cody plopped down into Mark’s empty seat. “Really? You’re from the Midwest too?”

  Darwin nodded.

  “I’ve never heard of your town either, but it’s huge compared to mine. We didn’t even have three hundred people there.” He leaned forward, the wonder in his huge eyes making him seem about ten years younger than the twenty-one he claimed to be. “Don’t you love it here? So many people and lights. Everything stays open late. There’s movie theaters.” He glanced around. “And gay people. I’d never even met another gay person till I moved here. At least, not really.” His face darkened for a moment before his smile returned. “I used to dream of moving away to a city, any city. Well, not Kansas City or Joplin or anything. I’m sure they’re great, but I wanted to be out of the Midwest, you know. Thought maybe here there’d be more people like me. Truly like me.” His face fell again. “Well, the people haven’t been exactly like me, but there’s other gay people. And everyone here at Mary’s has been great, you know. It’s not quite what I pictured. But some things, like here, are even better than I imagined. I….” He blushed again. “Oh crap, I’m doing it again. Sorry. I talk too much.”

  Inexplicably Darwin’s eyes burned like he was on the verge of tears. He knew this kid. Hell, in high school, he’d been this kid. “You don’t talk too much, Cody. And I know what you mean. I always wanted to escape it all too.”

  “Excuse me.” A handsome, bearded, fortyish man placed both hands on the table, gave a furrowed look at Cody, then smiled at Darwin. “Everything okay? Is there anything I can help with?”

  Before Darwin could answer, Cody hopped out of the chair. “Sorry, Steven. I just got busy talking.” He darted a glance at Darwin. “I’ll get your check,” he said and then walked away.

  The man turned his attention back to Darwin. “I’m Steven, the owner. You sure everything is all right?”

  “Yes, it is. Sorry, I didn’t mean to keep Cody from his job. It was my fault.”

  Steven’s expression grew serious. “He’s a good kid.”

  Darwin wasn’t sure, but he felt a threat implied in there somewhere. “We discovered we grew up in the same area.” Not exactly a lie. “Kinda reminds me of myself at that age.”

  The man laughed, his affect softening once more. “His age? You don’t seem much older than Cody.”

  “I’m twenty-four.” Darwin tried not to bristle at the comment. He’d always looked younger than he was. Hadn’t even hit his growth spurt until college.

  Steven laughed again. “Exactly. Twenty-one and twenty-four. Same thing. Talk to me when you’re pushing forty-five.” He started to walk away, then paused. “Haven’t seen you in here before. New to town?”

  This was probably how he’d made Cody feel with all his questions. “Yeah. Just moved here from Missouri a few months ago. Got a job at CU.”

  He wasn’t sure why he’d felt the need to drop that tidbit. Pro
bably to give him a little more credibility.

  It worked. Steven instantly looked less wary. “Oh, a professor?”

  “No. I’m there on a grant to help with cancer research.”

  Steven nodded, seemingly impressed. “Awesome. That’s a good thing. Hope to see you around here more. And welcome to our new location. Just opened a few weeks ago.”

  “Oh cool. I didn’t realize it was new.” Darwin glanced around, like he hadn’t noticed it all on the way in. It really did feel like they were in a home. One with art nouveau pink wallpaper and vintage homoerotic sports photos around the bar. “I like it. It’s a fun place… er, restaurant.”

  “It’s actually three old Victorians made into one. We’ve been happy here so far. In fact….” He studied Darwin a moment longer. “Sorry. I’m a bit excited about the move.” His voice lowered conspiratorially. “The crowd typically dies down after ManDonna wraps up Family Feud. In case you were planning on hanging around to… talk to anyone.” He gave a wink and walked away.

  Darwin stared after him, taking a second to decipher the implication. Hanging around to talk to anyone? Cody, obviously.

  Not a chance. He needed to get home, and there was something about Cody that pulled at him a bit too much. He brought his attention back to the stage. ManDonna was grabbing the crotch of another contestant, but Darwin’s gaze fell on Mark. His pants had gone the way of his shirt, and he stood there in all his sculpted glory. He was gorgeous—and about as interesting as the gray boxer-briefs he wore. Darwin shuddered. No more Match.com. No more endless dates that might as well be interviews.

  Cody plopped down a purple-and-green stiletto on the tabletop, shattering Darwin’s thoughts.

  Darwin stared at the shoe, then lifted a quizzical brow to Cody.

  “The bill’s inside.” He blushed again. “They’re supposed to be Mary’s shoes.” For a moment, Darwin thought Cody was going to sit down once more, but then Cody glanced back toward the bar before addressing Darwin again. “Sorry to have taken so much of your time before. It was really nice to meet you.” He left before Darwin could reply.