Erwin wandered around his house with a corner of toast and a cup of coffee, occasionally pushing his still-damp hair back out of his eyes, fretting. How the hell was he going to contact Levi?

He'd gone through his pockets, growing increasingly more frantic. He'd met a man, an insanely handsome man, a nice man, and hadn't gotten his number.

Should he even contact Levi? He wondered what such a gritty, exciting man would want with him? He had seen and experienced nothing but school, and the law, parenting. Now his life had slowed to a crawl. Levi had traveled, probably the world, had lived in the glittering heat and excitement of New York City. Erwin was staid, mundane, boring.

He looked out of the big picture window in his living room onto the quiet suburban street. The houses all resembled each other, the grass was mowed on each lawn to approximately the same height. Each mailbox was identical. Boring.

Moblit Berner emerged from his house two doors down and walked down his driveway to retrieve his Sunday paper. Erwin watched with interest. He'd seen no signs of Ms. Zoe. Had Berner gone back home with them? Were they in his house right now? Perhaps having breakfast? Erwin sighed heavily. He and Berner were the only two single men in the whole subdivision. There were several divorced or about-to-be divorced women and their kids, but he and Berner were the only two bachelors.

What would the neighbors think if he brought Levi home? Or any man home, for that matter? What had they thought last night? Erwin cringed. He was pretty sure at least one person had seen. The neighborhood was pretty nosey like all subdivisions.

Oh, Hell.

Erwin had to make a decision. Either take a stand or maintain the status quo. No one in town knew that he was bi-sexual for sure except Mike, although there were rumors. He openly dated women and had taken several out, had even slept with a few, but his rare and very clandestine flings with men had all been orchestrated to take place out of town, away from prying eyes.

He watched Berner flip his paper open and scan the headlines as he walked back up his drive. Erwin was suddenly envious.

Erwin managed to lay low and avoid anyone for a week. He was distracted and preoccupied and clearly miserable and Mike noticed. He finally convinced him to go out to lunch on Friday. There was an excellent local Mexican restaurant, run by an immigrant family, that was very popular and that's what Mike had chosen.

Erwin got out of his Mercedes and was immediately glad he'd chosen to forego his sports coat. Even with a short-sleeved dress shirt on, he was hot. It was a bright, clear day, forecast to be in the 90's again and the roads were full of locals pulling their boats to the lake.

Erwin had found a spot a few doors down from the restaurant and he walked up the sidewalk toward it quickly, consciously avoiding looking at the bustling movie set that now took up the whole center of town.

Mike was radiant. He and Nanaba had hit it off big and were tentatively deciding to be an item. Mike couldn't stop gushing about her.

"And she's got this cute mole on her—"

Erwin held up both hands. "Stop, stop!" he laughed. "Show some sympathy! Here I am pathetic and single and you're just rubbing it in!"

Mike grinned and took a huge bite of his refried beans, chewing thoughtfully.

"So what about the guy you were with Saturday? You both seemed to hit it off, right.? What happened?"

Erwin shrugged and frowned. "I got drunk as a fool."

"You two didn't … uh, bang?"

Erwin was flooded with gratitude toward the younger man's tolerance. Mike was raised there in Ellway and had grown up with systemic homophobia. He had overcome it after he had met Erwin but still struggled with the actual mechanics of two men fucking.

"I don't think so. I don't remember much. I threw up. He brought me home."

"Shit that was nice of him. So call him up. Ask him out."

Erwin shook his head. "I didn't get his number."

"Erwin, you idiot."

"I know, I know …"

"Well, look, I work with the guy. He's on the set right now. We could just walk over there after we eat."

"I don't know, Mike. He hasn't contacted me either."

"Did you give him your number?"

"Well, no, but he knows I run the diner. He's been working with you. Has he … has he mentioned me?"

"No … but, then again, he's pretty professional about his work." Mike took an enormous bite of enchilada and Erwin pushed his rice around on his plate morosely. Mike swallowed his bite. "I don't want to give you any unasked-for relationship advice, but, did you make yourself very clear to him? About your … about what you want? Is he even gay? He's a pretty masculine guy."

"Mike, you know you can't tell a person's gender or sexual orientation by looking at them. I mean, look at me."

Mike nodded in understanding. "Yeah, that's true. Old stereotypes. You look like a real straight arrow, stuffy and conservative." He laughed.

Erwin huffed at that. "Gee, thanks … No, he told me he was bi-sexual."

"Well, that seals the deal then. Let's walk over there. It can't hurt to talk to him, right?"

Erwin chewed at his lip and Mike clapped a big hand on his shoulder. "Look, you sit here and finish your food. I gotta get back. Come find me when you're done. I'm parked out in front of Ritter's."

Erwin nodded and Mike stood, went to pay his bill, and left with a cheery wave.

Erwin pushed his plate away. He felt queasy. What should he do?

Standing, he went to pay his own bill and got a cup of ice water to try to settle his stomach. He stepped out into the bright day, eyes automatically going to the movie set where people moved around like ants on a nest.

He sucked in a deep breath and took a swig of the cool water. It wouldn't hurt to just walk over, would it? Pretend to say a quick hello to Mike then scoot off? Perhaps Levi wouldn't even be there.