Chapter 23

XXXXXXX

Rick's Tiki Lounge was decorated in what could only be described as tacky kitsch. The wall was lined with bamboo, Christmas lights, and palm fronds. The music was loud and the crowd was young, hip and entirely male. Martin followed behind Paul and Mike, bumping elbows with the loads of other people in the bar. At one point he felt someone grab his ass but when he turned around to find the culprit, six pairs of eyes looked back at him and smiled. So he decided to just find a place to sit as soon as possible and not get up again until he had to leave.

Paul and Mike led him to a booth smack dab in the middle of the bar marked 'Reserved' and the three sat down. From where they sat they could see everyone coming and going. Martin was very pleased that he managed to hook-up with two men who would obviously know a lot about the bars regulars; the perfect people to get information about Jeremy a.k.a. Mark.

A waiter dressed in a grass skirt and a coconut bikini walked up to table and gave quick kisses to men before looking over at Martin. "So, who's your friend?"

"This is Marty." Martin gave a small smile and waved hello. "He's boyfriend was being a beast tonight so we have temporarily liberated him so we can load him up with daiquiri's and convince him to leave, what's your man's name, Marty?"

It took Martin a moment to process the 'your man' line but he finally replied, "Um, Danny."

"I once dated a Danny. There must be something about that name because my Danny was a total critical control freak too." Paul sighed heavily before continuing, "So, Kiki, we need three daiquiris pronto. We have forty-five minutes to bring Marty to his senses."

"You got it." Kiki gave Martin a quick wink and disappeared into the crowd.

Paul and Mike started making comments about who was in the club tonight and what they were wearing and especially how they looked. Martin tried to line up the names with the comments in case they would have to line up potential suspects later.

Kiki returned with their drinks, complete with pineapple slices and little umbrellas. Martin took a drink and had to admit that while he was by no means a frozen fruity drink man, they were delicious. His face must have reflected that because Mike chimed in and said, "Aren't they to die for? Rick makes the best daiquiris in the world."

"They are the best I've ever had." Martin smiled as he took another drink.

Paul looked at Martin, put his elbows on the table, folded his hands into fists putting them under his chin and with a voice full of sympathy said, "So, Marty, talk to me."

"Um…" Martin murmured, unsure of what exactly he was supposed to say.

Mike and Paul glanced at one another before Mike spoke, "He means, tell us about you and Danny. How'd you meet, etc.?"

Martin smiled and took a long drink of his daiquiri. F.B.I. training teaches you how to deal with hostage situations and terrorists but not how to handle being interrogated about your fictional boyfriend. Martin's mind raced to come up with a story as he suddenly missed Danny's quick thinking. "Oh, you know how it is….you meet a guy and there's this instant attraction. You're friends for awhile and then one night everything changes." Martin paused as Paul and Mike continued looking at him with wide expectant eyes so he continued, "He makes a move and while you're worried about what it might do to the friendship, you risk it and it's great in the beginning; better than you ever could have expected. But then he starts to change, he's worried about people finding out about your relationship, like he's ashamed of what you have."

Mike gasped and said to Paul, "See, this is why I stopped dating men who are still in the closet."

Martin just nodded his head in agreement. "So you end up fighting all the time and you hate it. All you want is to not have to walk on eggshells all the time. To let people know how happy this other person makes you. Is that asking too much?" Mike and Paul shook their heads in agreement. "I certainly don't think so. So, you keep fighting and sh…he keeps pushing you away until finally you can't take it anymore and you just have to end it before you completely lose your mind!"

Martin couldn't believe he just spilled his guts to two complete strangers but it felt so good to say it out loud.

"Wow. That's a much better story than I was expecting." Paul turned to Mike and said, "You owe me twenty dollars."

Martin sat up straight and asked, "Excuse me?"

Paul turned to Martin and said, "I bet Mike here that you F.B.I. guys can come up with fabulous stories on the spur of the moment."

Martin shook his head, inwardly ticked off that he blew his cover so early in the night, and began, "What? I'm not…"

"Please sweetie, Nate called Rick to tell him all about you guys going down the gym and asking questions about Mark."

Mike interrupted, "He's name's Jeremy remember."

"Oh, yeah, my bad, I mean Jeremy." Paul must have seen Martin's expression fall because he leaned over and patted Martin's hand and added, "Don't worry sweetie. We figured that you guys would show up tonight to get information about what we know about Jeremy. It wasn't you, per se, that gave you away. I come here every night, I know all about how this place works. No newbies come on a Tuesday night. It's a night for regulars."

Martin, feeling a little bit better, took a long drink of his daiquiri and asked, "So, since you know why I'm here can you tell me what you know about Jeremy?"

"Absolutely, first let's order another round of daiquiris, I'll tell you everything I know and then," He smiled devilishly. "We can think of a way to mess with your partner when he finally gets in."

Martin smiled widely and toasted to that idea.