[For Bridge] Closing Time

[one__song]

After five months of staring into the crowd at the Catscratch Club and its brother the Willows Room, he could pinpoint exactly who left the biggest messes, who was prone to getting drunk and spilling their beer in an emphatic sweep while arguing the closed door policy that had once been adapted by China, who sometimes passed out on their tables

Comments

[spd_green]

Bridge was used to working for no pay and didn't mind it at all. He knew that those were the kind of jobs that paid you in other, better ways than just a salary. When it was a job that people genuinely wanted to be at, not because of the cash flow but simple desire, the job usually offered a fun atmosphere, a rewarding experience and really cool people.

Like Roger. Bridge didn't know Roger all that well, but he did know he was from New York, liked to play guitar, was a rock god and owned some particularly amazing plaid pants. He knew other stuff too, from the times they'd chatted during and after hours, but those were the pertinent highlights. That and his friend Dean knew how to handle a firearm

[one__song]

Bridge was a pretty cool guy himself. He was some kind of... Ranger... something. Twenty-two, from the future, and his shirt was almost never tucked in. Really, he was fucking adorable, and Roger couldn't imagine him ever actually hurting anyone. He figured if anyone tried to bum rush the door, Bridge would ask them politely not to do it again and the perpetrator would take one look into his puppydog eyes and grow a tail just to retreat with it between his legs.

All-in-all, Bridge was fucking adorable. A specific kind, though. He could see a kid a lot like Bridge finding himself in Alphabet City and therefore winding up at one of Mark, Roger, and Collins' landmark shindigs and there Mark would be, shooting the doe-eyed newcomer and experiencing his charm from a safe distance behind the lens, while Collins lectured him about the atrophying brain muscle of the modern American teenager and Roger schemed quietly on how to get the guy to do a kegstand or two.

And that's kind of what he did at the club.

"One day, I will get a hard

[spd_green]

"How about we compromise on a soft drink?" Bridge offered with a charming smile, one that said he was pleased he was clever and pleased to maybe be making someone happy. "You can do whatever you want with it as long as my abilities aren't impaired."

[one__song]

As annoyed as Roger attempted to look, the naive charm of the kid was not entirely lost on Roger despite his hard knock education, and Roger smiled through an eyeroll.

"Yeah, yeah, you're fucking smart," Roger intoned, snatching up a taller glass. "Tell me what you want the soft drink to be and I'll make it harder." At that, he did smirk.