The Madhouse

Rubbing his eyes, Oliver walked out of his room into the kitchen of his shared apartment. It had been a late night at the Madhouse, the queer bar he was working at while applying to grad schools. Oliver shared his cozy apartment with two of his long term friends. Alex, a nerdy and softspoken college senior still on his parents credit cards, and Tori, a bright and fiery woman paying the bills as a barista before her art takes off. Alex and Tori couldn't be more different in personality, but between them and Oliver, the three were thick as thieves. Alex was of medium height, with curly dirty blonde hair. His bright eyes and questioning mind made him an excellent conversation partner, but he'd been down in the dumps since being heart broken by his cheating ex-boyfriend Jerry.

Tori wasn't a natural redhead but regularly stained the shower dying her hair a vibrant orange-red. Covered in a mix and match of tattoos and piercings, Tori had "manic pixie dream girl" energy that she knew full well how to to her advantage. Tori's long term boyfriend, Aaron, spent just as much time at their place as his own cramped studio apartment a few blocks away. Oliver wasn't sure if Aaron was around today, but didn't mind his company. Tall and lanky with short brown hair and a perpetual stubble, Aaron had a classic rock climbers physique and an easy charm. Tori was certainly obsessed with his body, she was definitely on the louder side, and the walls of the apartment were paper thin.

Oliver grabbed one of the iced coffee's Tori liked to stock in the fridge, and adjusted his loose sweat pants hanging around his waist. Dressed in only his beat-up sweatpants with nothing underneath, Oliver’s lean muscled torso covered with only light fuzz of his chest hair. Oliver didn't have the height of someone like Aaron but stood on the taller side. Long brown hair eternally tied up in a bun, Oliver knew he was pretty good looking, but kept on striking out on relationships. He wasn't a big fan of dating apps, and despite a slutty streak in college full of one night stands with more women than he remembered, Oliver was currently extremely single.

Maybe it didn't help that his current workplace was one of the gayest bars in the city, but broke grad school applicants with no savings can't turn their noses up at the tips of thirsty and flirty patrons. Oliver had occasionally wondered if his love life would be a bit more exciting if he gave in to the incessant propositions of the clientele of his bar, or even one of his fellow bartenders named Simon. Simon, an extremely flamboyant troublemaker who loved to flirt with Oliver, took personal pleasure at sharing intimate details of his sex life with Oliver. Oliver had a sneaking suspicion that Simon's personal mission of the summer was to turn the pretty straight boy.

An unexpected "morning Ollie, sneaking past you here- gotta get on my way pretty quick this morning" snapped Oliver out of his reverie. Clad only in form hugging briefs that accentuated his impressive tool, a smiling Aaron brushed past Oliver to get a coffee of his own. Skin touched skin, sending a tingle down Oliver's spine. Shaking it off, Oliver mumbled out a quick "hey Aaron, yeah no worries" before heading back to his room to get the day started.