Somebody To Love

Story Excerpt
The Corner Pub was crowded for a Thursday night and several large TV sets were tuned to baseball games. Sam Warner loved baseball. He decided to take a break from his flower store up the street and
wandered in. Settling into one of the comfortable seats to watch the game, he couldn’t help notice the dark haired man tending bar. He wore a black t-shirt with the bar’s name emblazoned onto the front. He
must be a new guy because Sam didn’t remember seeing him before.
One of the other patrons sidled up to the bar and asked, “Hey, Matt, give me another beer, will you?”
Matt, so that’s his name, Sam thought not able to keep his eyes off him. Something about him made Sam want to go over and say hello. He needed a refill, and seeing that as an opportunity to speak with
him, he got up and wandered slowly over to the bar.
“Come on, hit a home run!” A burly guy yelled at the screen and jumped up just as Sam arrived at the bar, his beer landing all over the front of Sam’s green polo shirt.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry.” The man grabbed some napkins and dabbed the beer. “Let me buy you a drink.”
“It’s okay, don’t worry about it.” Sam smiled reassuringly, and the guy disappeared back into the crowd. Sam looked over at the bartender. He could tell Matt was trying to hide an amused smile as he
offered him a roll of paper towels.
“Here, use some club soda.” Matt handed Sam a glass filled with the bubbly drink. After getting most of the stain out, Sam put the wad of paper towels on the bar counter. The bartender threw them into the trash, leaned over and said, “I’m Matt Doyle,” held out his hand
for Sam to shake.
Sam accepted and looked down at their clasped hands, his blond hair falling down, partially covering his eyes. Sam raised his head, his brown eyes looked back up into Matt’s blue ones.
“Mine’s Sam Warner.” He managed to get out without embarrassing himself. He could feel his palms sweat. Something about being near Matt made him nervous.
“Pleased to meet you Sam,” Matt took a glass and poured some beer from the tap and placed it on the counter in front of him.
Sam looked up and smiled. “You must be new. I’ve never seen you before.”
Something was going on between them, and Sam hoped it wasn’t wishful thinking. Not that long ago he’d been in a serious four-year relationship that had ended badly. Ever since then he’d been reluctant to date again.
“Yeah, I just started a week ago. I used to work at Daffy’s over on Second Street.”
“I’ve never been there.”
“You’re not missing much. The drinks are watered down, and the pay was lousy.” Matt restocked the shelves behind the counter. “So you’re a baseball fan?”
“Oh, yeah been a fan ever since my dad took me to a game when I was seven years old.” He didn’t know why he was telling this man his life story. Maybe what they said about bartenders being like your father confessor was true. Matt certainly was not only easy to talk to, he was easy on the eyes as well.
“Who do you like?”
“Don’t laugh but I like the Mets.”
“Those guys? So you like rooting for the underdog.” Matt chuckled.
“Hey, what can I say? My dad got me hooked on them, couldn’t stop telling me enough about when
they’d won the World Series.” Sam gazed at Matt over the rim of his glass.
“I’m not knocking it. I think showing support for your favorite team is very admirable.” Matt’s smile lit up the room, and it made Sam’s heart skip a few beats.
“Really?” Sam asked shyly.
Matt smiled back. “Sure is.”
Sam glanced at his watch and noticed how late it was. He decided not to stay to watch the end of the game. A good night’s sleep is what was needed before he started filling more flower orders in the
morning. “Well, I better get going.”
“So soon?” Matt sounded disappointed. “It was nice meeting you, Sam.”
“Same here.” He turned around and walked toward the door but stopped when he heard Matt’s voice.
“Hey, there’s a game here on Sunday afternoon. Think you can make it?” Matt asked him.
“Nah, I’m busy, but maybe sometime next week?” Sam was reluctant to tell Matt he was a florist. He
didn’t want Matt to think he was less of a man because of his choice of jobs.
“I’ll catch you another time.” Matt said.
“I’ll be back,” Sam walked back to the bar and leaned in close to Matt and met the blue eyes with his own. “Count on it.”
“Night, Sam.”