"Look at him. He's so scrawny." I heard the voices coming from a few tables away but I ignored them. They were probably drunk, and besides, I wasn't gonna let some idiots ruin my night. I came to this bar every Friday. It's my place to unwind after a week of work.
However, unlike most gay guys, I didn't tend to go to gay bars. I went to straight bars, sometimes stag, and sometimes with friends. And as a result, despite my masculine tendencies, my slightly apparent gayness was not too welcome by some people. Unfortunately, those guys were right. I was pretty skinny, and they were pretty good sizes themselves. They looked a bit younger than me but that didn't mean anything.
I wasn't afraid to stand up for myself but I also knew how to pick my battles. This was just like high school except no teachers around to stop a fight. These guys were persistent, though. I was playing pool by myself, which probably didn't help any.
They walked up to me and started jeering at me with unnecessarily loud voices for how close they were to me.
"Just back up guys. I don't want any trouble." I said.
I could smell the alcohol on their breath as their viscous words fell out of their mouths. "Why's a faggot like you coming around our bar? Don't your kind got freak shows that you can go to instead?"
They bucked up to me and it took all of my pride to not back down. Before they could swing on me, a tall, bulky man came from around the corner where the bathrooms were. "Why do you think this is your bar?" he asked.
"Who the fuck are you?" one of them asked.
The man ignored the question and walked up to the guy who had gotten in my face. It was a sight to see, considering my savior was probably about 5 inches taller than either of us, and considerably bigger.
"Correct me if I'm wrong but you were about to hit this guy, weren't you?" he asked.
"What's it to you?" the man asked scathingly.
"Well, first thing's first. Where I'm from, we don't pick fights with guys weaker than us." he said.
"And where's that? Afghanistan?" the man asked mockingly as he looked the man over. He was wearing a black undershirt with camo pants and combat boots.
"You think you're pretty tough, huh? You really wanna disrespect a marine who just got back from overseas?" he said.
"Well I ain't gonna bow down and kiss your feet." the man laughed.
"Yeah? You will if I say you will." the marine sounded pissed.
"Whatever." the man said as he turned to walk away. The marine reached out and grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.
"We ain't done talking. Finish what you wanna say." the marine said.
"Is that an order?" the man smarted off.
"You better walk away while you have the chance." the marine took his hand off the man's shoulder.
"Actually you put your hands on me, so that makes you fair game."
"You threatenin' me?" the soldier popped his knuckles. "Come on, then. Hit me. I'll let you take the first shot."
"Really man?"
"Really. Hit me." he said.
The drunken man threw a clumsy punch at the marine's chest and I heard a loud `thud', but the soldier didn't stumble. He just laughed at the drunken man.
"Is that all you got? You think I've spent the last 7 years in the military sitting on my ass? That didn't hurt at all. Come on, you wanna try again and hit like a man this time?" he smirked at the man.
The man mumbled something unintelligible and the soldier just turned and looked at me. "Let's get out of here." he put an arm around me which took me completely by surprise. I felt butterflies floating through my stomach as his heavy, muscular arm rested on my shoulders.
"Hey, thanks a lot for helping me back there.. drunken guys can be assholes. Kind of embarrassing." I said, looking down.
"Hey, don't worry about it. Want me to go back there and make them apologize to you?" he asked.
"You're too kind. I don't mean to be rude but uh.. are you..?" I trailed off.
"Yeah, I like guys. Why don't you let me take you home? I'd hate for those guys to follow you." he offered, apparently concerned.
I kind of looked at him, a bit surprised. But I nonetheless agreed. Last thing I wanted was a rude wake up call by some drunks. Besides, he didn't look like the kind of guy who was gonna cut my head off or anything.
"Uh, but sir, you haven't even told me your name." I said bashfully.
"Sorry, where're my manners?" he said as we exited the bar. "My name's Cody." he extended his hand and I shook it. It was rough and calloused, and something told me he'd done a lot of physical work in his career.
I followed him to his truck, a Silverado 4x4. It was covered in dirt and it fit him well. Definitely a `rugged' truck if you could even apply such a characteristic to a vehicle.
"Sorry it ain't clean." he gave me a little sheepish smile as he spoke.
"Don't apologize. You just saved my ass. Besides, I don't mind getting dirty." I said.
"It's what any good person would have done. Besides, I've seen things a lot scarier than some mid-aged drunks who act like they're teenagers."
"No shit. So tell me more about your military career." I said.
"Well, long story short, I'm 25 and I've been in the marines since I was 18." he said.
"Do you come from a military family?" I asked.
"I come from the craziest, most redneck family you could think of. The military was my escape." he said. I couldn't tell if he was joking or not. "But to answer your question, yeah, all the men in my family at least four generations back have been jarheads."
"Oh. Well me, I don't think I'd be fit for the military." I said.
"Why's that?" he asked.
"Well, look at me. I'm scrawny." I kind of laughed.
"Haven't you seen army boys? The army is filled with scrawny guys. Besides, you ain't scrawny. You're slim. There's a difference." he said as he put an arm around my shoulders.
I laughed and without saying a word, I moved from the passenger seat to the center seat beside him.
"Don't get crazy now." I said to him.
"You sure? I'm used to just taking what I want." he flexed his arm muscles against my back and squeezed me gently.
"Watch it, I'm fragile." I said as I took his rough hand into mine.
"Moving a little fast aren't you?" he asked me.
"When I see a good thing, I go for it." I said.
"If I knew that all I had to do was intimidate some guy to get laid, then I would have been doing it all this time."
"You're kidding me." I said.
"Of course I'm kidding. Really." he laughed as he came to a stop in front of my apartment building. "I know how to treat a man." he got out of his truck and came to my side and opened the door. He stood on his mud crusted running boards and extended his muscular arms. I let myself in his embrace and found myself being carried to my door.
"So?" he asked.
"It ain't every day you get saved by a marine." I smiled.
"Guess not." He smirked as he extended his arms against my door on either side of me. "So you gonna tell me your name?" he asked.
"Why should I? It's not like I'm gonna call you." I said.
"Someone's a joker." he said.
"Me?" I asked.
"Yeah, someone's a joker." he said as he put his hands on either side of my ribs and lifted me up high off the ground.
"Hey, put me down!" I said although the butterflies were returning.
"Why? You ain't gave me a reason to!" he goaded.
"You know..." I started as I felt myself being easily lowered by him.
"What?" he asked as I looked up at him.
I stood on my toes to reach him and gave him a soft kiss.
"That's more like it. Can I get some more?" he asked boyishly.
"Careful, soldier. Why don't we settle for this for now?" I said as I pulled a loose piece of paper out of my pocket and wrote down my name and number.
"Alright.. Kenneth. This will do... for now." he said as he grinned down at me. "Oh and.. do me a favor. Don't get yourself in any bar fights. I wasn't a combat medic."
"Yes, Sir." I saluted him as he walked back to his truck. My heart quivered as I entered my apartment and heard the roaring of his truck as he drove off. I was mostly thankful to have been rescued from an otherwise sticky situation, but I wasn't planning on such a surprising encounter. It was pleasant, yes, but still a surprise. I wondered if he would even call. I knew how guys could be.. that would explain why I'm 24 and still single. Only time would tell.