Latakia by J. F. Smith
Petey grinned like he was just learning how, sloppy and uncoordinated. “Yeah, he’s got it bad, dudden he?”
Travis dragged Petey back to their table, pointed his finger at Petey’s shoes and commanded, “Park it!”
Petey put his arm on Matt’s shoulder. “Whats-his-Mope over there said you’d buy me a drink.”
Matt held up the drink Petey had just put down a moment before and said, “Here you go, champ. You showed that faggot who’s boss!”
He smiled at Travis, who smiled back. Matt was feeling pretty mellow given the amount of alcohol he had tossed back, but even so, he could tell Travis seemed a little off. He pulled out his phone and sent a text message to him:
You know I’m here with you. I’m pathetic but I wanna kiss you so bad I cant stand it!
Travis checked his phone a second later when the text came through, smiled more fully this time and gave Matt a tiny wink. It sent a shiver through Matt.
“Is that dude wearing a fucking Florida Gators t-shirt in here? Those sons of bitches aren’t allowed in here!” Petey was getting riled up again.
Matt looked around but didn’t see anyone wearing a Florida Gators t-shirt. He did briefly notice a cute girl with curly brunette hair smiling at either him or Petey; he wasn’t sure which.
Matt leaned over and asked Travis, “Is he always like this when he’s drunk?” He put his arm on the table behind Travis so he could lean in to ask the question over the noise of the bar, touching his arm to Travis’ in the process.
Travis shook his head in resignation, “He’s the most belligerent drunk I know. He’ll be picking a fight with you any minute now, so be ready.”
Matt hated moving his arm when he stepped back. Even just that tiny touch made him feel like he was floating four inches off the floor.
He moved back next to Petey, wondering when Petey would finally focus his inebriated anger on him.
“I’m getting a water. You want one? Another drink?” Travis asked Matt.
“Nah, I’m ok right now,” he replied, and Travis wandered off through the crowd to chase down a bottle of water.
Petey turned to Matt and poked him in the chest. Matt braced himself for whatever Petey was angry about now.
“You like this, don’t you, Cornhole? I like this.” Petey asked, sounding for all the world like he was seeking Matt’s approval. This wasn’t what Matt was expecting.
“You like this?” Matt asked. “You mean hanging out with a queer? Going and buying some clothes and new sheets today?” Matt had seen how Petey lived and decided that if Petey was going to have a queer friend, he was going to make sure he put himself to good use.
“Yeah. Well, no. Don’t like that stuff very much,” said Petey, his arm back around Matt’s shoulder, Matt straining to keep Petey’s large frame upright. “Y’know, like, I like having you as a buddy. I’m knee-deep in assholes like Mope and Baya, Kennon and Wyatt ‘n Wasp alla time. I think it’s cool to have a buddy like you.”
Matt wasn’t sure if this was meant to be kind or offensive. He certainly wasn’t being belligerent to Matt like he had been warned about.
Petey leaned in close. Matt could smell Petey’s boozy breath, but his eyes seemed pretty sharp. Maybe Petey wasn’t as far gone as Matt had thought.
“I don’t have friends that make me buy better clothes, like these,” he said, indicating the new shirt and jeans Matt had made him buy earlier that day. “Or decent sheets. Shit like that. Makes me do something to improve myself. The pussy herd will appreciate it. Not my favorite shit to go do, but I need to, you know?”
Matt decided he meant it all nicely.
Petey was still leaning so closely against Matt that his nose was almost touching Matt’s face. “We’re good buddies, right, Matt? Like brothers? I never had a brother. I mean, the platoon’s like my brothers, you know? But it’s cool having someone like you. Jeez, I suck at explaining this.”
Petey looked at Matt a little helplessly, his extremely pale blue eyes locked onto Matt’s green ones.
Matt did like it. He liked Petey. Petey had actually explained it better than he thought he had. Matt did feel kind of like Petey was the brother he never had before.
Matt nodded at him and said, “Yeah, Petey. It’s good. We’re brothers. I like it, too, you know?”
Petey hovered up in his face a moment longer, making sure Matt wasn’t just saying so to make him stop being such a needy bitch. He stood back up a little straighter and said, “Good! I like that. Don’t hold out on me now. I don’t want my brother holding out on me. You can tell me anything, ya know?”
Matt wasn’t sure how to handle Petey like this. This wasn’t the Petey he was used to. It wasn’t the fight-picking Petey everyone else seemed to get.
“I mean it, Matt. You’re my brother now. You’re the brother I never had. I don’t want you hiding shit from me. I can talk to you about anything, and I want that from you, too. Got it?”
Matt said, “I know what you’re fishing for, Colorado, and I’m not telling you I want to suck you off. So forget it.”
Petey grinned and beat Matt in the chest a few times. “Yeah you do, but that’s ok. You can sleep with me in my bed again tonight. I’ll be drunk and passed out. I won’t even notice if you grind my axe for me.”
“Not gonna happen,” replied Matt. It never ceased to amaze Matt just how comfortable Petey actually was with him.
Travis had taken his spot back right across from them and was swigging out of a bottle of water. He was watching the two of them intently.
Petey watched Matt, put his hand on his shoulder and said, “Brother.”
Matt nodded in reply.
Matt looked at Petey’s clear liquid eyes and he could tell. He could see it. In the blink of an eye, their relationship had fundamentally changed. This didn’t feel like some mindless drunk-speak that would be forgotten the next morning. Petey had meant every word he said. Petey had chosen Matt to be his brother, his family. He may be all arrogant bluster and hard-shell around everyone else, but he had chosen Matt to be the one he’d open up to, to talk to about things he’d never talk to anyone else about. And he wanted Matt to do the same with him. Matt wasn’t quite sure why it was him, but he wasn’t going to question it. Maybe one day he’d ask Petey. And it felt good to know, really know, that Petey would give him an honest, no bullshit answer. For the first time in his life, Matt had a brother, and he didn’t think he could pick a better one than Petey.
Matt got caught for a moment trying to understand the steps that had led him to this place right here, right now. He was an only child, and his mother and father had already passed away, but suddenly, he had a brother. Settled and done. No take-backs. No second guesses. Petey was one of the strangest, most amazing bastards Matt had ever met. He was now his family. In a way, Matt felt honored. He was honored by it.
He glanced up and saw Travis trying to read his face, but all he could manage was a what-the-hell-just-happened look.
Petey leaned over to Travis and asked if he could have a little of his water and held out his empty glass.
While Travis was pouring some for Petey, the pretty brunette girl showed up in front of Matt and said, “Hi!”
Matt smiled at her and she asked, “So, are you one of the Navy guys, too?”
“Nah, these guys are shiprats, but I’m just a friend.” He pointed to Petey and Travis. As he glanced at the two of them, he noticed with amusement that Travis suddenly looked jealous. Matt floated four inches off the floor again.
“The haircut looks Navy, but the goatee doesn’t. I couldn’t figure it out.” She reached up to touch Matt’s fuzzy chin lightly. Matt wasn’t used to getting hit on, and definitely not by women. Travis looked like steam was about to come out of his ears.
Matt said with a smile, “It’s a long story, but the short version is that these guys are assholes and they have clippers. I’m Matt.”
The brunette said, “I’m Claire” and they shook hands.
Before she could answer, he heard Petey say, “Fucking Gators fans!” as he started off towards the unsuspecting guy with the orange t-shirt and Gators logo on the back. He was rolling up the sleeves again on his new shirt, ready to start something. Travis was busy glaring a hole in Claire’s back.
Matt said to Claire, “Whoops, hang on one second.”
He took a step or two and grabbed Petey by the belt and pulled him back. He said, “Go Vols and all that, Petey, but there’s no law against being a Gators fan in here. Kinda neutral ground, you know.”
Petey let Matt drag him back and he finally noticed cute Claire standing there.
She looked up at the tall Petey towering over her, her eyes smiling at the both of them.
Her eyes shifted back to Matt, amused by what she saw. “Norfolk, actually. Here with friends for the weekend. You?”
“I’m from Richmond, but here babysitting.” He nodded over towards Petey with a grin.
Petey was staring at Claire and said, “Wrong tree, honey!” Matt realized that Petey suddenly didn’t look or sound nearly as drunk as he did just a few seconds ago.
Claire looked confused.
Petey slapped his hand on Matt’s shoulder and explained it for her in very simple terms. “This one’s a bigger flaming faggot than Elton John in a pink satin dress.”
Claire looked horrified at what Petey said. She shifted her glance to Matt, her mouth hanging open.
Matt looked abashed and scratched at his forehead with his thumb, but laughed, too.
Petey made it even simpler. “He’s as gay as my dick is long.”
Matt laughed out loud now. Claire’s expression shifted to a confused smile as well, but looked at Matt, questioning.
Matt nodded and said, “Yeah, I’m gay.”
Claire looked at Petey, truly offended, and said, “That’s a terrible way to describe your friend!”
Petey ruffled Matt’s head. Matt smiled and leaned against Petey and said, “He’s just horsing around. He’s a good friend, one of my best. He’s a good guy.”
Claire seemed to relax a little, finally feeling good that the two of them were just kidding around.
Petey put his arm around Matt and pulled him close. He leaned over and planted a big, sloppy kiss on Matt’s forehead. “This guy… this one… more than a good friend. He’s my brother.”
Matt caught the look that Petey gave him, the one that said absolutely nothing less than “brother” would do from now on. Matt fully accepted that.
As they chatted, Matt noticed how Claire shifted her attention slightly more towards Petey. It was fine with him. Petey, now that there seemed to be a chance he might hook up, suddenly didn’t seem nearly as messy drunk. Claire asked what him what he did in the Navy and Matt heard the usual line they gave about filling in here and there where needed, the same one Travis had given Bret and Jim.
Matt decided to help out a little. He asked Claire, “Hey, you’re running low and I’m about out of cash. You mind if Petey here buys you another?”
Claire happily nodded her approval and Petey sauntered off to buy the lady a drink.
Claire turned back to Matt, concerned, and asked, “Does he always treat you like that? Calling you faggot?”
Matt laughed and shook his head, “Usually? Way worse. He’s behaving tonight. But, the big rascal, he’s good, really. Once you get past that… spectacularly… offensive exterior, he’s got the heart of a lion. Petey’s right… for better or for worse, he’s my brother. Hell, he even made me sleep in the bed with him last night so I didn’t have to sleep on his couch.”
“Really?” Claire bit her bottom lip like she thought that had to be the sweetest thing she had ever heard. Or maybe she thought the sound of both of them in bed together sounded like something she wanted to be in the middle of.
Matt pushed just a little further. “Nothing happened of course, but between you and me, Petey does have one really amazing body.”
“He does look pretty good. Especially that fire red hair and smooth skin next to that cream colored shirt.”
“You have me to thank for the clothes. He can’t dress himself for shit, so I made him go shopping today and picked a few things out for him.”
“Awww… that’s just the cutest thing!” Claire seemed to eat up the whole image of the big Navy guy with his best gay friend.
Petey returned with a fresh drink for Claire, and Matt was relieved to see that Petey had switched to a bottle of water for himself. She started to ask Petey about his shopping trip with Matt, and so Matt excused himself to go check on Travis.
He leaned up against the same tall table Travis was against, their arms pressed together. Travis was talking to someone on his mobile phone.
He was saying, “Just don’t make a decision you can’t take back.” There was a pause as he listened to whoever was on the other end.
He looked frustrated and said, “I think we need to talk more about this first. You’re the only one that’s hung up on this, and I understand why, but you’ve got to hear me.” Travis’ strong shoulders slumped and he glanced at Matt next to him.
While he listened to the other end, Travis’ eyes opened wide and he said, “Look, I want to talk in the morning, ok? You promise to give me until then?”
He listened a moment more and said, “Ok, tomorrow morning,” and hung up.
Matt didn’t feel like he should press about the call, so he said, “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you maybe didn’t want me talking to that girl.”
Travis looked distracted for a moment, before realizing what Matt had said. “Fuck! I’m not used to this! I wanted to punch her in the back of her curly-haired head!”
It gave Matt shivers to hear Travis say that. “Relax, Trav, it’ll be ten years before that happens again. I never get girls coming on to me.”
Travis pushed up a little closer against Matt possessively. It was easy to do in the crowded bar without attracting any attention. And just like that, Matt was floating again.
“You and Petey seemed pretty deep in conversation there for a second,” said Travis. “Has he not tried to pick a fight with you yet? That’s his thing when he gets drunk. He’s been a hair’s breath away from being banned from The ‘Sides for a year now.”
Matt said, “No. No fight. Actually, it’s strange, not like Petey very much. He’s decided I’m his brother now. He didn’t seem to be kidding around, but it’s probably just crazy liquor talk. He’s pretty drunk.”
Travis looked confused momentarily. He told Matt, “Huh… that doesn’t sound a lot like Petey. But he usually only seems drunker than he really is. And he definitely likes you a lot, Matt. Who knows, maybe he really means it. I hope you wanted a brother, because I think you’ve got one now.”
Travis added through a smile, “Ha ha! Good luck with that!”
“You jealous?” asked Matt, halfway joking, halfway serious.
A wry smile spread over Travis’ face and he said, “If it had been anyone else, I would. Jesus, I’m totally not used to having jealous feelings like this about anyone. But with Petey? Nah. I’m glad. You know how much I like Petey, despite him being… Petey. I like how he is with you. It’s funny, but I can totally see you two as brothers. I’ve seen Petey take a liking to people here and there, but Matt… nothing like with you. Beats anything I’ve ever seen. I think that if I was going to trust you in anybody’s hands other than mine, it’d be Petey’s.”
Claire had stepped away from Petey to go back to her friends, and Petey came up behind Matt, thumping him in the ear.
“Hey Cornhole, she wants to go back to my place! You wanna come? We can tag team her! You’d like that, right? You can pick whichever hole you want and I’ll take the other!” Petey was a kid on Christmas morning before his parents let him rush the living room.
“Colorado, didja ever stop to think for a minute that maybe she could be more than just a hole to fuck?” asked Matt.
Matt rubbed his eyes. Petey wasn’t going to be led anywhere other than where he wanted to go.
“Hey, you wanna suck my balls while I’m fucking her? That’d be kinda cool!” said Petey, his imagination and his face lighting up.
“Gee, Petey. Hot red pepper balls. That’s sooooo tempting… No.”
Petey feigned indifference. “Meh. Your loss. You gotta key to my place, so get Prudy McPissyDaddy here to drop you off whenever you guys are done drinking.”
Suddenly, Petey’s eyes narrowed and he poked Matt in the chest. “But if I find out Mope here hooks up and you wind sucking his balls while he’s banging some chick, there’s gonna be problems.”
Matt glanced at Travis out of the corner of his eye, almost feeling a blush across his face.
“But I ain’t gotta worry about that,” corrected Petey. “Mope never hooks up. It’s those radar-dish ears.”
Claire came back and Petey put his arm around her and they made their way through the crowd. Matt and Travis watched as he held her small hand in his and led her out of the bar.
The grin that appeared on Matt's face was epic, and he said, “God, that worked out great! So, Trav, do you think I could maybe crash at your place tonight?”
“Maybe. I gotta see if I can score one of the leftover bitches in here so I can get you to eat my nuts while I’m porking her. How about the one with the tattoos and nose-ring over there?”
~~~~~
When Matt set foot in Travis’ apartment for the first time, it wasn’t quite what he expected. But that was only because he didn’t know what to expect. It was a small one bedroom apartment, but very close to the beach. It was sparsely furnished and a little messy, but it wasn’t anywhere nearly as bad off as Petey’s. Petey’s place looked like he shared his apartment with four or five feral hogs. Travis had a nice TV hanging on one wall, surrounded by bookshelves on either side with movies and books filling them.
Travis immediately apologized, “I didn’t think I’d be able to get you home with me, so I really didn’t clean up any.”