Author’s Note: Missed yesterday, ruining my streak. Whatever was bugging me Saturday pretty much took me down on Sunday so sorry about that. Anyway! Today’s prompt looks a bit redundant considering how I handled the mixtape one, but let’s see if we can do something different with it!

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“I’m hungry.” Sylus grimmaced.

“Then go get something to eat. I’ll park the car and-“

“For a burger.”

“Oh, well, that’s not exactly-“

“Efficient, I know, but I can dream, can’t I?”

“I’m sure you know a good place for a burger. Let’s just-“

“No drifting.”

“Right.”

He thrust his head back dramatically. “What I wouldn’t give for a juicy burger and some hand-cut fries.”

“Your not usually this,” I motioned to him as he threw a hand across his forehead, “theatrical. Something else on your mind?”

“A lot is on my mind, but at the forefront is the very intrusive thought of eating a grilled burger dripping with meat juices.”

“That’s it?”

“It’s that or I start shutting down from the welling anxiety hanging out on the other side of it.”

“Then I guess I have to find us a burger place.”

We drove a bit further down the empty road until a light rose in the distance. I slowed down as we approached.

“Douggy’s Dive…” I read aloud. It was a small, single-story building surrounded by trucks and motorcycles. Neon beer advertisements hung in the windows along with a marquee “OPEN” sign. Loud music poured out from inside. It looked dark and dingy and-

The passenger door slammed shut and I watched, jaw dropped, as Sylus made his way past the front of the truck.

I rolled down my window. “What the hell are you doing, Sylus?!” I hissed.

“Gettin’ a burger.”

“Here?!”

“Why not?”

“I mean… look at it!” I thrust an arm out the window.

Sylus glanced at the building then back at me. “What about it?”

And then I remembered he’d probably eaten in places even worse than this one.

“You really think they’ll have a good burger?”

“100% sure.”

I sighed as I parked the truck across the street and met him where their parking lot met the road.

“Just act like you belong.” Sylus spoke as he reached for the door. “Sure you might get pegged as a traveler, but there’s nothing wrong with that.”

The smell of smoke and beer instantly smacked me in the face as we entered. Sylus was beaming as if it didn’t smell like a thousand cartons had be lit up at the same time. Probably helped he didn’t have to breath in the first place.

Stained glass lights hung from the ceiling casting light through a fog of tobacco smoke. Everything, walls, tables, chairs, ceiling, was wood. Across from the entrance was a small stage with a jukebox and microphone on it.

“Evening!” He shouted to a waiter over the music.

“Sit wherever!” The waiter shouted back.

“Sounds good to me.” Sylus looked around for an open table. “Seems a simple two-seater’s our only option.”

I stood beside him, arms clamped to my sides. There was a very particular kind of person that filled this place and I was trying very, very hard not to let my low-boiling fear get the better of me.

Sylus turned to me. “You okay?”

“There are a lot of burly white men here.”

“Jeron.”

“Yes?”

“I am burly white men.”

“Oh my god.” I leaned into him. “You know what I mean.”

“I’m not sure I do?”

I leaned in close. “Bikers” I whispered in his ear.

“What about em?”

“Skinheads?”

He scanned the room.

“I don’t see any particularly worrisome iconography anywhere.”

“Sylus…”

“Look, if someone gives us shit, they die. Simple as.”

“You’d just kill a guy in public?”

“Jeron, love, I could take down this entire establishment and have room for seconds. Let’s not tempt fate, shall we?”

I sighed as I took his arm and he led me to the open table he’d spotted.

As soon as we sat down, a glass of water appeared before both of us along with menus. We looked up and the waiter was already gone.

It was a single laminated sheet covered in bar food. Sylus flipped it over and found his burger almost instantly.

“Says hand-cut fries too!”

I pursed my lips as I browsed the greasy offerings.

“I guess I’ll have a burger, too. And some fried pickle chips.”

“Excellent choice!”

“How do you want them cooked?” The waiter appeared again.

“Mooing, but still a consistent patty.” Sylus replied.

“Rare.”

“Uh, pink?” I replied.

“Medium rare. Good with fries?”

We nodded.

With that, he vanished again.

I kept looking around the room at the clientele, but not a single one of them was looking at us.

“Stereotypes exist for a reason, Jer.” Sylus said. “But they’re not good for judging character.”

“Y-yeah…” I sighed.

“Besides, orders are already in, so we should be out of here in half an hour. Tops.”

I felt almost bad for assuming the worst, but I couldn’t help it. Terrible people came out of the woodwork during the Sand-Sea War. I hated thinking about it, but it was a fact of reality.

“Here we are.” The waiter returned with three plates, put them down and was about to step away again when Sylus grabbed his wrist.

“Can I get another?” He pointed at his empty plate.

“I, uh, s-sure?”

Sylus released him and the waiter made his way back into the kitchen.

“What the hell did you do with it?!”

He swallowed. “You know how it is.”

“The whole thing?”

“I’ll taste the second one.”

“Keeper help me.” I muttered as I turned to my own meal.

It looked and smelled fine. I poked everything on my plate. Felt fine, too. I took a deep breath as I picked up the burger. A single bite told me I didn’t have to worry anymore. It tasted so much better than I could’ve hoped for.

The music quieted down.

“Alright everyone!” One of the burlier of the men had gone up onto the stage and now held the mic. “It’s Tuesday so you know what that means!” He had a bit of an accent to him, but as with every other accent I’d encountered, I had no idea where it was from.

A roar of cheers filled the room.

“Oh my god.” Sylus snorted.

“What?”

“Karaoke!” The man cried out.

“Oh my god.” Sylus snorted as he folded his hands on the table and lowered his head into them.

“It’s not like we have to, Sy.”

“Leather vests? Chaps? The hats? Studs?” He rolled his head on his arms. “We’re surrounded by bears.”

“B-bears?” I looked around. Not everyone in the room was a massive guy, but there was a stark lack of any women. “Wait…”

“Sing a song, get a beer! That’s the Douggy Guarantee!” He spoke with an affluent swagger and flicked his wrist over the mic.

Another round of cheers.

“Don’t all come clamoring up at once!”

Another guy stumbled up onto the stage and took the mic. He pressed some buttons on the jukebox and started singing an incredibly off-key version of a song I’d never heard before.

Sylus sat back and burst out laughing.

The waiter returned with his second burger.

“Is a gay bar, yeah?” He choked out between laughs.

“Sure is.” The waiter smiled before walking away.

“Oh for the love of- Of course I dragged us into a gay bar.” He laughed.

Several songs were butchered, and Sylus was on his fourth burger, before the announcer returned.

“How about you two!” He pointed to us. “Yer new ’round here! Come on up!”

“I-I can’t sing.” I choked out over a fry.

“Neither can I.” Sylus stood up and made his way to the stage.

“Syyyluuusss…” I creaked as I slid down into my chair.

He and the announcer mumbled back and forth as they rummaged through the discography for something.

The man burst out laughing. “That’ll do it!” He cried out before handing over the mic and stepping off the stage.

Music started playing. Sylus looked me in the eyes from across the room and winked.

I think I died inside. I was mortified until the crowd started roaring.

He sang flawlessly in a voice I’d never heard come from his lips and gyrated his hips like a lunatic.

At the end he hung up the mic and threw his hands in the air. Cheers all around.

The announcer picked up the mic. “That has GOT to be the best Presley impersonation I’ve EVER heard! You sure you’re not from pre-Logos times?”

“I’m not that old.” He paused for a moment. “Well maybe I am, but that’s another story.”

The announcer shook his hand and patted his back before ushering him off the stage for the next act to follow. A beer was placed in his hand and he bolted it in the blink of an eye.

“You’re psychotic.” I mumbled.

“No shit. You’re only just figuring this out?” He gave me a quick kiss on the lips.

“What did you say to him up there?”

“That I wanted something to both embarrass and impress my date.”

Flustered, I shoved him back into his seat. “Finish your damn fries.” I spat.

“Gladly.”

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Author’s Closing Note: Maybe that was a bit lazy, but that’s the song that came to mind so I figured I may as well just link it. Hope you enjoyed the read and hopefully I can stay on track until the end! 14 stories will happen either way!