BEING CONTINUED - 1734 - Gay Lesbian Bi Trans News

The first thing that Jason noticed about Zach was that the middle three fingers of his right hand were all the same length. He noticed as Zach was passing shots of JÃ�germeister down the bar as a mutual friend was paying for them. As they said "cheers" and knocked them back, Jason wondered if the fingers were the result of some prenatal hormone deal or just some individual quirk of nature. He didn't really care. This guy was cute. They had both joined a group gathered to celebrate the birthday of, as it turned out, someone they both barely knew. Zach was fairly new in town and Jason felt he needed to get out of the house, so there they stood as another round of shots began to make its way down the bar. After a swallow and a gasp, Jason introduced himself and Zach responded by starting a genuine conversation. They discussed the how-do-you-knows of the birthday boy and that led into the standard where-are-you-froms and so on. Before they had reached the what-do-you-do-for-a-living section of their opening dialogue, a third round of shots was heading their way. Jason said, "They are really trying to get him drunk aren't they? I mean it's not even ten o'clock!" Though this was directed at Zach, a guy walking by answered, "No, we are just loosening up! It's almost karaoke time, bitches! Pick out your serenade to the birthday boy!" A look of panic washed over both of their faces. Lost in their conversation, neither of them had noticed the large, black binders that were being passed around the room. It was obvious that this was an unknown to them both. Zach confessed, "I was the kid in music class and church who always mouthed the words because I have such a terrible voice. I'm so tone-deaf that I don't even try to do it in the shower or my car." Jason told him, "I actually have a pretty good voice, and I was fine in choir, but when I am alone on stage—any stage—I panic and I can barely breathe, let alone get a sound out." They looked at each other. Jason slowly pulled his coat off of the stool in front of him with a smile. Zach nodded and followed Jason as he quickly shuffled through the crowd and out the front door. Once outside, they both gave a sigh of relief. Snow began to fall as they stood on the busy Uptown street. Forgetting his earlier need to get out of the house, Jason said, "I live a few blocks away if you'd like to watch a movie or something." "Yeah," Zach answered, "I think those shots were all the drinking I need to do tonight." As they walked, they finished the conversation they started before their shared anxiety interrupted them. Once at Jason's they settled onto the couch and talked while they watched a documentary about how the planet is losing its gravity. It didn't take too long before they curled up side by side and fell asleep. It may not have been the most exciting first date, but sometimes that's for the best. Sometimes you don't need a public serenade to show someone your full attention. Sometimes you just need someone nice to hold you down for a minute so you don't feel like you are falling off of the Earth.

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985