Falling for His Best Friend

Chapter 1-2

Pablo stripped off his shirt and tied the sleeves around his narrow waist as he got behind the counter to assist his bartenders, both of whom were overwhelmed by the number of patrons on that early Friday evening. He noticed some of the customers checking out his muscled upper body, but he ignored them for the time being. The customers could ogle him as much as they liked. He didn’t mind. After all, it wasn’t as if they were touching and groping him in inappropriate manners.

As the owner of The Overrated Llama, most of his duties at the bar revolved around taking care of the financial and operational sides of things. Granted, he had two managers on varying shifts throughout the day, but he was aware of how busy the bar could be on Friday. Saturday was even more hectic than Friday, and he had a strong feeling he would also be helping out with some other tasks the next day. Not that he minded. The more paying customers he had inside the bar, the better it would be for his business.

“Hey, boss,” one of the shirtless bartenders greeted Pablo while preparing the drink for one of the customers.

Pablo grinned and nodded at the bartender before dealing with a different customer. He never demanded for his bartenders to take their shirts off, but The Overrated Llama was a bar that catered mainly to gay customers. There were also some straight women and the rare few straight men in the midst, but the majority of the customers in the bar were gay men. Naturally, shirtless bartenders were excellent for the business. However, none of his employees were permitted to have s*x with one another or any of the customers if they were on the clock. Other than that, he couldn’t care less what their personal lives were like. He simply preferred his employees to separate their personal lives from their professional lives.

“What can I get you, sir?” Pablo asked the next customer when he was done with the previous one.

“Beer. Whatever is on the tap,” the customer replied before shooting Pablo a flirty smile. “Maybe your phone number, too, if that’s cool.”

“Sure,” Pablo said before writing down the number of the bar on a piece of napkin and handing it over to the customer along with a glass of cold beer. “Enjoy.”

The customer stared at the napkin before glancing up at Pablo in confusion. “But this is—”

“I own this bar, so the phone number for the bar is technically my phone number, too,” Pablo cut the customer off midsentence and winked at the man before moving on to the next person in line.

For the next several minutes, he was kept busy with one order after another. He and the other two bartenders had to be fast and agile as they worked seamlessly all around one another behind the counter as the number of customers grew larger with every passing second. The servers also had plenty of drink orders from some of the customers who occupied the tables and couches all around the bar. The servers also had to deal with those customers who were inside the private rooms. By the time Pablo was able to take a breather, it was nearly seven o’clock in the evening. He had been standing behind the counter for almost two hours now.

He rubbed his lower back and massaged his shoulders a little as he got out from behind the counter. He had just put his shirt back on when someone bumped into him. He yelped and toppled backward because he lost his balance. However, he didn’t land on the floor. Instead, he felt a pair of warm palms against his lower neck and back before he was pulled upright. Then he gaped as he gazed into a pair of blue eyes. Those eyes looked kind of familiar, but he couldn’t quite remember where he had seen them before. Moreover, the man in front of him had the sexiest lips. Pablo would never forget those lips. He just couldn’t recall where he had seen that face before. It took him a moment to realize the man was asking him a question.

“…you okay?”

Pablo blinked at the stranger before nodding and trying not to slap his own face for acting like an infatuated teenage boy. “Yeah. Peachy.”

The unknown man laughed, and Pablo cringed at how lame he must have sounded like. Then he did his best not to blush when the man beamed at him, but he failed. He could feel the warmth suffusing his neck and cheeks, especially when the stranger shifted even closer to him. He jumped a little in surprise when the unknown man clasped his shoulders and squeezed them gently. He wasn’t timid and shy, but this unknown person was standing way too close to him. He had to tilt his head backward to stare up at the man. At five feet, nine inches tall, he wasn’t that short, but the stranger was at least six inches taller than him. The stranger’s build was also intimidating. The unknown man’s broad shoulders were impressive. It was obvious to Pablo that the stranger had plenty of muscles to spare.

“You used to be so adorable and cute.”

Pablo was confused now. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The unknown man snickered while shaking his head. “You’ve forgotten me, haven’t you?”

Pablo studied the man more carefully for the next several seconds. Then he gasped.

“Kee…Keenan?”

Keenan chuckled. “Took you long enough, you asshole.”

Pablo laughed before pouncing onto Keenan. He was amazed and more than a little turned on when Keenan didn’t even budge from where he stood. Instead, Keenan simply placed one arm around Pablo’s back and put the other hand over his butt cheeks. Pablo hugged Keenan tightly as he wrapped his thighs around the other man’s lower back.

“Holy s**t! I can’t believe this. I’ve missed you so f*****g much.”

Keenan chortled. “Yet you never bothered to keep in touch over the last few years.”

Pablo pulled back slightly and arched his left eyebrow at Keenan. “Neither did you.”

Keenan grinned. “I’m sorry. When we drifted apart, I—”

Pablo shook his head and waved one hand in the air to dismiss the apology. “It’s cool. I understand. I’m sorry, too.”

Keenan nodded. “Anyway, are you busy now?”

Pablo thought about all the paperwork piling up inside his office, but he didn’t want to miss out on the chance to hang out with Keenan. Besides, the paperwork wasn’t urgent anyway. He could always come in a little early the next day to finish them all.

“Not really. I have ample time to catch up.”

“Awesome. My friends are waiting for me at one of the tables. You should join us.”

“They won’t mind?”

Keenan smiled at Pablo before putting him back down onto the floor and slinging one arm around his shoulders. “Not at all. Come on.”

Pablo walked next to Keenan, and when they got to the table, he was pleasantly surprised to see the familiar faces. It turned out Keenan’s friends, who were also his colleagues, were some of Pablo’s most frequent customers. There were David Lee, the IT Junior Manager, Joshua Wallace, the Social Media Specialist, Vincent Yang, the Finance Junior Manager, Javier Gisbert, the Marketing Manager, Justin Wong, the Human Resource Manager, and Calvin Maxwell, the Junior Manager for the Research and Development department. Keenan himself was the Sales Manager at the pharmaceutical firm.

“Small world,” Justin spoke up a few minutes later when Pablo explained to him and the other men at the table how he and Keenan used to be really close when they were much younger.

Pablo shrugged. “Yeah. We had quite a few sleepovers at each other’s houses back then. At least twice a month. I miss those days.”

“I bet Keenan won’t mind you sleeping over at his apartment,” David muttered out rather softly. “Preferably naked—s**t! What the f**k, Kee?”

Pablo noticed David rubbing his left ankle and wincing while Keenan had an innocent expression on his face. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” Calvin replied. “Don’t mind those two. They’re both overgrown toddlers. Just ignore them.”

Pablo wasn’t sure how to react next, but he let it slide. Besides, all the other men at the table seemed amused by something. He figured maybe Keenan and David always behaved that way with each other. If no one else appeared to be concerned, he should loosen up, as well. He also didn’t get the chance to linger on his own thoughts because Keenan’s best friends bombarded him with many questions about what their childhood together was like. They were also curious about what Keenan was like as a child. He ended up spending almost two hours with Keenan and the other men at the table. He was more than a little disappointed when they decided to call it a night. However, he was delighted when Keenan’s friends embraced and patted him on his back one right after the other. Then he grew rather bashful when it was Keenan’s turn.

“Your friends are incredible.”

Keenan beamed at Pablo. “Thanks. I can tell they really like you.”

Pablo nodded. “I enjoy spending time with them.”

Keenan mock-pouted. “What about me?”

Pablo rolled his eyes. “What are you? Three years old?”

“No, but I’m jealous.”

Pablo snickered, both amused and pleased. “Don’t be. You’re the best.”

Keenan grinned widely now. “Thanks. I think you’re the best, too.”

“I know that.”

“Whatever, man,” Keenan said while scratching the back of his head. “Anyway, do you have to work tomorrow?”

Pablo smiled at Keenan. “The bar will only be closed from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day. It doesn’t close on any other days. Why?”

“I thought maybe we could have lunch together. Or dinner. Or both.”

Pablo chortled at Keenan’s reddening cheeks. “I’ll make time for you, Kee. Always.”

Keenan’s expression brightened up considerably. “Awesome. Give me your number. I’ll send you a text message tomorrow morning.”

“Okay.”

Once they finished exchanging numbers, Pablo tugged Keenan close to him and hugged the other man tightly before bidding him farewell. After that, Keenan made his way out from the bar. Pablo had been miserable the last time he had to say goodbye to Keenan. This time around, he was also rather sad about it, but he would get to meet up with Keenan again the next day. Granted, he would be hanging out with Keenan only as a friend even though he wished they could be more than that, but Keenan didn’t seem to feel the same way about him. He would just have to ignore his unexpected infatuation for Keenan and bury it deep within him. He didn’t want to make things awkward between them and lose his best friend all over again. It wasn’t worth it.