It had been a few weeks since Greg started working. Greg spent the first couple of days learning the ropes of bartending again. He caught on pretty fast but he always was quick on picking things up. Once he got used to the job's hours, he felt better about it. He had been having issues with sleeping but after working so much in a real job again, he found he got tired easily after work.

He came home one morning and saw Nick standing outside talking to a new neighbor that just moved into the house next to them. The man was the same height as Nick. He had curly, dark blond hair and was not bad looking. Greg didn't notice anyone else living with him yet.

Greg was tired so he was about to just go inside without saying hello but Nick called him over. He wasn't in the mood to meet anyone else today. At the bar, all he ever did was meet new people. Most of the time he felt they were sizing him up, yet he knew that was to be true as it was a bar mostly geared towards gay males.

He sighed and walked across the lawn to the new neighbor's house. Nick smiled at him and then looked at the new neighbor.

"Greg, this is Joe. He's our new neighbor. I was just telling him we both work nights and usually get home as the sun rises," Nick grinned at Joe.

Greg forced a smile at Joe and held out his hand. Joe took his hand and shook it. He got a better look at him and noticed he was really good looking. He had nice blue eyes but was not his type. He thought his smile seemed forced.

"Nice to meet you, Greg. Nick tells me you two are together," he said to him with his smile fading.

Greg glanced at Nick, wondering why he would tell this guy he barely knows so much already.

"Ah, yes we are," he replied. He felt something off about this guy but he didn't know what.

Nick seemed oblivious to it as he carried on the conversation. "Joe was jogging when I came home. I introduced myself. Joe just moved from Chicago here. He works for Hilton and will be working here now at the one on the Strip.

Greg just nodded and said "that's nice." He was really tired and just wanted to take a shower and go to sleep. He was not up for conversation, not even with Nick.

Nick gave him an angry glare, in which Greg responded with a frown. "Look it's nice to meet you but I'm really tired and just want to get to bed. If you want to keep chatting Nick, go ahead but I am heading inside." With that said Greg did just that. He walked away leaving Nick feeling a bit angry.

Ever since he started working, it seemed Greg was always tired and never wanted to do much. Nick often worried that he was back on drugs but that was not typically how his behavior was before. Greg didn't talk much about his job to Nick. He would simply say he was just serving drinks to people. Nick was starting to believe that he was not really happy with his job but took it just to have a job. He knew that to be partially true too. It was the first job offer he had since he had been clean.

Nick turned to Joe. "Look, I am sorry about him. Apparently he is just grumpy today. I promise he is usually friendlier than that." Nick felt stupid having to apologize for Greg's behavior.

Joe smiled at him though. "It's okay. I think your personality has made up for his. You have been just as kind as I heard Texan's can be." Nick smiled, feeling better already. "Well thanks for that. I guess we do kind of have a reputation."

"Yeah, just don't date guys from New Jersey. They can have major tempers at times," Joe said to him. Nick caught that he said guys and wondered. "Um, so you have firsthand experience with them, I assume."

"Yes, my last boyfriend was a total jackass to me. Luckily I left him behind in Chicago. But we had broken up prior to me getting the new job anyway," Joe told him.

Nick's eyes showed interest. "So you are gay also?" Joe laughed. "You sound so shocked. But yes I am. I guess you didn't expect to get a gay neighbor."

Nick shook his head. "No, not really. We are the only gay couple I know in this neighborhood."

Joe's smile remained. "Well now you have a new gay neighbor. Although I am not currently dating anyone since I am new in town. Hopefully you can tell me the places to hang out to find someone since you both seem to have lived here a long time."

"Sure, I can do that. There were several years there I had to do the scene before Greg came back into my life, so I know a few places," Nick told him. He didn't know why, but he felt really comfortable around Joe.

Joe noticed he said that Greg had come back into his life, so he assumed that meant they had dated previously and broke it off and got back together. He wondered what their story was. He liked Nick already but his first impression of Greg was very off putting. He guessed he could give him the benefit of the doubt by what Nick said and that he had a bad night at work. God knows he had some bad days at work and often came home grumpy.

But when it came to appearances, Nick was definitely more his type; dark hair, handsome and muscular. Greg was their height but he seemed rather skinny. Joe often wondered what others saw in their partners. So often they were so different looking together and yet they worked.

"Well I look forward to getting to hear what places to check out. In the meantime, I better get inside. I have a lot more unpacking to do," Joe told him.

"Good luck with that. I guess I will be seeing you around then. Perhaps we can have you over for drinks soon," Nick said to him. Joe smiled brightly. "I would like that. Get some sleep and have a good evening at work."

They waved goodbye before Nick headed back to his house. He walked inside and his mood turned when he remembered how rude Greg had been to their new neighbor. He tossed his jacket on the coat hook and walked into the bedroom, where Greg had just crawled into bed. He always took really quick showers. His hair was still damp. Knowing he was still awake, Nick decided to have a few choice words with him.

"What the hell was that back there? You were really rude to him. He was just trying to be nice," Nick laid into him. Greg sat up in bed and looked lazily at Nick.

"Come on, I was tired. I didn't expect to have to come home and be all nicey-nice to our new neighbor. I just wanted to get inside and get ready for bed. Can't we have this discussion when we wake up?" Greg groaned. He was not in the mood for an argument.

Nick came over closer to him and stared down at him. "What has gotten into you since you started this job? You've been moody and irritable. I would almost think you are on drugs again."

That angered Greg who was fighting so hard to stay clean all these months. He glared right back at Nick. "Fuck you, Nick. You just keep waiting for me to go back to drugs, don't you? I thought you had so much faith in me. I'm seeing otherwise now. You want me to pee in a cup? Go get me one and I will prove to you I have not taken anything."

Nick stepped back and closed his eyes. He knew he shouldn't have said anything about drugs. He knew it was not a smart move. He opened his eyes and saw Greg staring daggers at him. "Look, I believe you. I'm sorry, that was out of line. But I do want to know why you have been the way you have been lately."

Greg relaxed his posture and looked down. He couldn't bring himself to tell Nick the truth. "I just wish I had a job that was more satisfying I guess. Bartending is not my dream job. I lost that job years ago."

Nick sat down on the bed next to him. He softened up as he knew what he was talking about. "I know it's not but think of it as a stepping stone. If you can stick with this for a while perhaps something better will come along that is more of what you are truly capable of. I know you will never have your dream job again here but I am sure there is better than bartending in your future."

Greg felt a deep sadness inside of him surge that had not in some time. He knew his future was not bright anymore and tonight his past reared its ugly head. "Yeah…someday. Can I get some sleep now?"

Nick frowned but got up. "Sure, I'm going to hop in the shower and then I will join you in bed. We can talk more when we get up later about our new neighbor."

"Okay sounds good." Greg waited until Nick was in the bathroom before sinking under the sheets again and thinking back to work this evening.

He was serving drinks up when he heard his name called at the other end of the bar. He picked up his head and looked to who called him. When he recognized the face he felt a little sick. It was one of his old clients when he worked as an Escort and was heavily on drugs. He was the only bartender on duty, as his partner was on break so he could not ignore the customer. He moved down to that end of the bar and casually asked what he wanted to drink.

Frankie, as he knew him, shook his head. "My, it has been a long time since I have seen you. You look great G. Is this your 'new' job?" He asked him with a smirk. Greg leaned closer so only he could hear him. "Look I'm not into any of that shit anymore and I want it kept that way. I am just a simple bartender now." He leaned back. "So what do you want to drink?"

Frankie grinned. "I would like a Blow Job." Greg cursed under his breath knowing perfectly well he didn't drink those and was using that as a metaphor. "Are you sure that is what you want, because I will make one for you." Greg asked him one more time, hoping he would get the hint.

"Fine, give me a Long Island Iced Tea," Frankie said with a slight pout. Greg turned his back on him as he set to prepare the drink. He was gritting his teeth the whole time. Frankie was one of his regular clients, one who was not always so nice to him. He liked to get rough at times, especially when he had been drinking too many Long Island Iced Teas or doing too much coke. He prayed he would just leave him alone.

He turned around and served him his drink. Frankie stayed there and took a sip right away. "Not bad but then I know things you are better at," he told him with a glint in his eyes. Greg, furious, leaned in one more time, "Leave me the fuck alone," he seethed.

Frankie finally backed off. "Chill man, I was just having some fun with you but I can clearly see you are not fun anymore. Must be that drug-free lifestyle making you all uptight. It must suck to be so unhappy." With that said he got up and left Greg alone.

Greg's mind was reeling and he needed a break. He was grateful when Terry came back so he could take his break. "I'm taking my break now." Terry just looked at him as he walked off.

Greg went out back of the bar and paced back and forth. He wanted so badly to punch someone, that or really wanted a hit of some heroin. He stopped pacing and leaned back against the wall. He closed his eyes a moment to try to calm down and focus on other positive thoughts like he was taught to do by his drug counselor.

"Greg?" He heard his name and it sounded like a familiar voice. He opened his eyes and saw yet another former client. He wanted to sink down into the earth and disappear this moment. It was not his night.

"Greg! I thought that was you at the bar, but I was not sure. You look good," said the well-dressed man. Greg looked at him and said thanks. Luckily this was one of his favorite regulars, someone who always treated him decently and paid well. His name was Shane Barnes. He was taller than Greg by a few inches and had a nice build on him. He had almost black hair that never looked quite in place and piercing blue eyes. He was about the same age as Greg and perhaps that was why he always treated him decently.

"So I have not seen you around. I guess you got your life straightened out then," Shane shrugged and then ran his hand through his hair to make it look even messier. Sometimes it was hard to believe this man was rich, except when he came from work because he wore a suit then. Greg was more familiar with his causal look because that was how he usually came when he was with him.

"Yes, I have and it's been tough trying to get back to a normal life. Finding a job was hard with my history and all," Greg said to him. He realized he was more relaxed around him already than he had been with Frankie. Perhaps it was because he had not come onto him immediately.

"Yeah, I saw that Will really pulled you down with him in the press," Shane said quietly. Greg looked at him more sternly. "You knew that creep?"

Shane shrugged. "Yeah, only in business though. His tech company helped with one of my companies websites. We had some meetings and attended some of the same parties but I wasn't friends with him or anything, if that is what you mean. He was a jerk when I did work with him. But he knew his stuff when it came to work. Still can't believe he was a major drug dealer."

"What about you? Are you clean now too?" Greg asked him, knowing Shane often hit up on heroin himself. He just smirked. "Nah but then again I know how to control my addiction. You lost your way with that. It's all about not overdoing it. You were totally overdoing it. But that made you fun too." He smiled.

Greg shrugged. "Perhaps I was overdoing it but I had a lot of shit on my mind that was driving it. I'm better now."

"That's good to hear. Although I must say, I miss your company. You were always one of my faves. The others are not the same. You were smart and I liked that. Most are a bunch of dumbasses on top of being super doped up."

Greg smiled. It was nice hearing one of his old clients tell him he appreciated him for being smart and not just the sex. "Thanks, I guess." He chuckled.

Shane smiled again. "Well I know you are out of the game but if you ever are wanting a fun time or looking to make some good money, here is my new number. You never know." Shane handed him a business card. Greg hesitated in taking it but then looked at Shane's gorgeous smile and figured why not. Maybe they could just hang out without having sex involved. He almost laughed to himself, knowing he had to be crazy to think that.

"I doubt it, but thanks anyway. I better head back inside. Nice seeing you," Greg said as he smiled before turning to go back inside. He noticed Shane did not follow him in.

Once back inside he was able to get back to work without thinking too much about Frankie and more about Shane instead.

Greg knew that if he told Nick he ran into two old clients of his in one night and the conversations they had, he would want him to quit immediately. But that would only put him into a deeper depression by having to look for a job again. Since nothing came of either conversation, he figured he was safe to keep them to himself.

He was almost asleep when he heard Nick crawl into bed. Nick often wrapped his arms around Greg but he didn't this time. He knew he was pissed at him for how he treated their new neighbor. The problem with Greg was that he was jealous Nick was able to make friends so easily, something Greg used to be very capable of but lately that was not the case. He guessed it was his lack of self-confidence that caused it, but ever since his past two years living life pretty much in the gutter, that changed his outlook.

He had stopped going to regular sessions with his counselor a month ago and only saw him now when he felt the need. With his recent moods, he knew he probably should schedule an appointment but had not. He tried not to think of all these things and get some sleep but once again his mind was too busy to let him sleep. But he stayed in bed, making it seem like he was sleeping so Nick would not get worried. Last thing he needed was Nick breathing down his neck again.

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