Monochrome: 26

It was late in the afternoon. The sports bar buzzed with chatter. Kieran, Finn, and Gavin met after work. Finn was at the bar, ordering their drinks.

“So, how did you guys meet?” Kieran asked, leaning against the half-wall across from the bar.

“Huh? What, me and Finn?” Gavin asked.

“Yeah.”

“We went to the same college. Shared a few classes. We both thought, ‘hey, you seem pretty cool.’ Good story!” Gavin said, laughing at himself.

“Pft, a jackass like you?” Kieran joked.

“Well, he seems to have no problem with you,” Gavin retorted.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, man, you’re like, the Jack of Asses. That’s how much of a jackass you are,” Gavin rambled.

“That college education sure paid off.”

“You see? This is what I’m talking about!”

“What are you two going on about?” Finn said, handing them their drinks.

“This kid’s embarrassing himself,” Kieran said, taking a sip from his glass.

“Haha, shut up,” Gavin said.

“Nice to see you two getting along, in whatever weird way that is,” Finn said.

“How old are you, Kieran? Calling me ‘kid’. We’ve gotta be the same age,” Gavin asked. They started walking towards their table.

“Twenty-seven,” Kieran responded.

“What? No way. I’m twenty-four,” Gavin said, surprised.

“Heh. Kid,” Kieran joked.

“Three years difference isn’t that big, you know.”

They sat down at the table, placing down their drinks and watching the hockey game. Gavin took his phone out of his pocket.

“Oh, damn. I gotta head off, already,” Gavin said. He threw some money down on the table. “Jenny’s out early. That covers me, and I threw in a little extra. I’ll see you guys next time!”

“Alright! And, hey, by the way; don’t forget to return my book.”

“Oh, yeah! I’ll get that back to you. Seeya, Kieran!”

“Bye,” Kieran said. Gavin left the table and walked to the exit.

“Those two are pretty much inseparable,” Finn said. “Been dating since high school, apparently.”

“Huh… are they getting married?”

“Gavin said he wants to, once they’re more financially secure and they know what they’re doing. It’s sort of weird to see that, to me. I’ve never had a girlfriend for more than three months.”

“Ah, yeah,” Kieran agreed.

“What about you?” Finn asked.

“Huh? Oh. I’ve… never dated anyone, actually.”

“What? You’re kidding!”

“No,” Kieran said, staring at his hands while he crumpled up a straw wrapper.

“Didn’t expect that. You’ve at least liked someone, right?”

“…not until… recently,” Kieran said. He stared at the table.

“How‘s that going?” Finn asked.

“…I don’t know,” Kieran responded, taking a drink from his glass.

“Hm… well, hey,” Finn said, raising his glass. “Here’s hoping you have some success.”

“Yeah,” Kieran said. They both took a drink. The bar lulled for a moment, and Kieran overheard a man speaking, “What a couple of fags.”

“Wow, what an asshole,” Finn spoke up, taking notice of the man’s comment.

“I’ve gotta head off,” Kieran said, getting out of his seat.

“What?”

“Here’s my part of the bill.”