Reggie was egging me on. He said, “Go ahead, Blake, take your shirt off. Show us the merchandise. Ian’s ready to take his off. Why should he have all of the fun?”

It was the 25th anniversary of The Toolbox being in business, and our crowd was spilling out on to the street. Claw was already shirtless and dancing with the customers. Sally brought in temporary bartenders just for the night, so the staff could join the revelers. I was on my third drink and feeling good.

I leaned in close to Ian and asked, “Do you mind?”

He laughed and said, “I want to see you have fun. I’ll take mine off if you take off yours.”

We joined a third of the customers in peeling off our shirts and dancing half naked with the sweaty midsummer crowd. I looked around at the group of mostly gay men packed tight enough that you couldn’t move without touching someone else, and I couldn’t believe how naive I felt just a year ago when I first kissed Andy Fitzgerald.

Reggie kept his clothes on even though we tried to tempt him into showing off the goods. Instead, he pointed toward the back of the bar and said, “Oh my God, look at that!”

I followed the direction of his finger and asked, “Who is it?”

Reggie said, “It’s a walking Nordic God. That’s who it is.”

Ian looked, and then he said to me, “His name is Sven.”

I gazed at the blonde hair and the smooth muscled body with impressive ab muscle definition and grunted, “Damn, and I thought I looked good.”

Ian reached out to me and rubbed a stiff nipple with his thumb. He said, “You look awesome, Blake. I’m the envy of the entire bar.”

I laughed saying, “I don’t really know about that.”

He stepped up close, stood on tip toes and placed his mouth close to my ear. Ian asked, “Are you happy?”

I said, “This is the fucking honest truth. I’ve never been happier!”

Then I spotted a man I’d never seen at the bar before. He was short but had a firm, muscled body. His hair was buzzed tight to his scalp, and he was wearing a black Toolbox T-Shirt.

Reggie danced up close to him and leaned over speaking directly into the man’s ear. They exchanged a few comments before the man moved on through the crowd.

I asked, “Reggie, who is that?”

He said, “That’s Mr. Claw. You’ve never met him before, Blake?”

I shook my head. “No, I’ve only heard Claw talk about him. They would look great together.”

Reggie said, “He’s a great guy. I think he’s the most devoted father I’ve ever met.”

Ian smiled and said, “Lucky kids.”

Then we all had our biggest surprise of the night. Ian pointed this time and he leaned in close to me saying, “Get Reggie’s attention.”

Reggie had drifted further into the crowd, but I could pick him out by his unique dance moves. He was sipping a gin and tonic while chatting up an older guy wearing a leather jacket in the heat. I did my best to push through the crowd and reach out to tap Reggie on the shoulder.

He looked up at me asking, “What’s up, Blake?”

I leaned in close and said, “Ian wants to see you.”

Reggie nodded at the older man and then gestured toward me with his head. The man smiled and turned his attention elsewhere.

Reggie said, “This better be good.”

“Hey! It’s not me. Complain to Ian if you’re upset.”

When we joined Ian again, Reggie asked, “What’s going on? I almost had a date with the leather man back there.”

Ian grinned and said, “I think your real date has arrived, Reggie.” He turned toward the door and we both followed his gaze.

Reggie mouthed the word, “Connor?”

Ian said, “I guess he got home early.”

I watched as Reggie did his best to dance through the crowd. Then he gave up and walked in the direction of a tall, muscular man.

I danced next to Ian and watched our friend from afar. Ian said, “Reggie tries to hide it, but inside he’s head over heels for Connor.”

I asked, “What did you mean about him getting home early?”

“He was overseas for work, and he wasn’t supposed to be back home until the end of summer or early fall.”

“Do you think they might start dating?” I asked.

“Well, look,” said Ian. He pointed in their direction just as Reggie slipped his hands up inside the hem of Connor’s T-Shirt and helped pull it off over his head. It revealed another seriously hot body. Then Connor wrapped his hand behind Reggie’s head and they kissed.

I said, “Hey, I can do that, too!” I turned to Ian, wrapped an arm around his shoulders and kissed him for the first time at the Toolbox. It was perfect. I had nothing left to hide, and I wanted the world to know that Ian was my man.