Date Published: August 17th, 2021
Word Count: 1558

Virgil's night was not going very well. He had been stood up by his date, which wasn't really a big surprise to him. The guy had seemed to have been humoring him when he even agreed to meet him. Now he just wanted to drink a little in peace but was being chatted up by a guy who could not read his signals to save his life.

He side-glared at the man around the brim of his glass. Everything about this guy gave him the creeps. His hair held too much gel, his smile seemed too plastic, and his cologne was practically suffocating him.

"So you still haven't told me your name darling," he said, leaning into his space.

Virgil's skin crawled as he backed away. He blatantly glared at him now. "I don't remember wanting to give it to you in the first place," he said, trying not to snarl at him. "In fact, I don't remember wanting you to talk to me at all. I would appreciate it if you left me alone."

"Come now, don't play hard to get!" the man cackled. "I'm just being friendly, I think I deserve to know your name, or at least a drink with you."

"When hell freezes over," Virgil muttered under his breath, downing the rest of his drink.

He stood from his stool. The man was watching him like a predator as he moved, so he turned toward the bathroom. Once inside, he let out the shaky breath he didn't know he was holding. His hands trembled as he pulled out his phone to request an Uber to drive him home.

Moving to the sinks, he splashed a little bit of water on his face to steel himself. He just needed to play it cool until the Uber was close enough to leave.

Virgil swallowed and headed back out to the bar. The man was still sitting there, waiting for his return. He had two glasses of alcohol in front of him. As Virgil sat down, he pushed one toward him.

Yeah, no way in hell buddy, he thought venomously as he waved the bartender over.

"Hey, I ordered that for you!" his unwanted companion cried indignantly, scowling with barely concealed annoyance as the bartender took the glass back. "How rude to not only rebuff my kindness but now reject my drink!"

"A drink I didn't ask for, please leave me alone," he replied with a glare.

The man, however, did not leave him alone. He continued his attempts to flirt with Virgil for another ten minutes while he waited for his Uber. He was sipping a glass of water that never left his hand. His leg was bouncing nervously under the bar as he tried not to cause a scene.

When his phone chimed, he practically leapt to his feet. "Hey where you going?"

"I'm going home," Virgil snapped, ignoring him as he headed for the door with purpose. The man followed him and began offering him a ride as they stepped outside. He shook his head. "For the last time dude, I do NOT want to go with you! I'm not interested!"

"But I think you are and are just being difficult, so why don't we just go for a nice drive together?" he said with a grin.

The man was in his space and Virgil's breathing was getting uneven and felt like he was going to vomit. He cursed in his mind for not having the confidence to punch this man in the face hours ago. He squeezed his eyes closed and clenched his jaw as he fervently hoped the man would disappear.

"Hey, what are you doing?" a different voice asked.

Virgil's eyes snapped open as the guy stepped back. He turned his head toward the person who spoke, who was in a car that had pulled up beside them. His heart jumped with hope.

"Just chatting up this handsome man, that's all," the man replied, tone laced with warning.

The guy in the car narrowed his eyes. "Well, back the hell off, that's my boyfriend," he said. Virgil's mouth fell open as he looked at him. The driver flashed him a smile and a wink. "Here to take you home, Virgil."

Oh my god, it's the Uber driver, just play along and get out of here, Virgil's thoughts raced.

The man making advances stepped back very quickly, mumbling something that vaguely sounded like an apology as he retreated. Virgil hurried toward the car when the driver hissed. "Hey, he's still watching, go around to the passenger seat so he's not suspicious!"

"Oh," he managed to whisper in response. He quickly rounded the car and hopped into the passenger seat.

Once he was safely buckled inside, the Uber driver pulled away from the bar. Virgil heaved out a relieved sigh as his heart started to slow down. He turned to look at his savior. "Thank you so much, you're the Uber driver right?"

"Yep, my name's Roman, nice to meet you, Virgil Black," he said, offering one of his hands to shake while keeping the other one on the steering wheel. "Now let's get you home."

His savior was handsome, Virgil noticed. His hair was a warm brown that almost looked red under some of the passing lights. "Thank you again, how did you know it was me?"

"Well, I didn't really, but you were outside our meeting place, and I saw you and thought, 'Now he looks like a Virgil and he's being harassed so I'm gonna risk it' so I guessed and I was right," Roman explained with a charming smile. "I don't know what I would've done if it wasn't you, cause it would've been super awkward, but I couldn't just let that guy continue being a jerk to you, I mean, god did he even have any respect at all? How did you end up in his clutches?"

Virgil sighed and looked down at his hands. "My date stood me up and I was at the bar alone, so he made himself at home next to me and refused to take any hint I gave him."

The driver look absolutely stunned. "Wait you got stood up?" he asked. As Virgil nodded, he shook his head incredulously.

"What? It happens all the time," he pointed out.

"Yeah well then people don't have eyes, because anyone that would consciously choose to stand you up is an idiot," Roman said with a pout.

Virgil flushed, hiding behind his bangs. It was rare for people to compliment him in a way that didn't seem to have an ulterior motive behind it. The driver's words were still clear in his head: That's my boyfriend.

Several scenarios began to appear in his head. One: Roman could be a genuinely nice guy who was interested in men and thought he was handsome. Two: he was straight but an ally who was confident enough in his sexuality to compliment another man. Three: Virgil's luck had not turned for the better and he was about to be abducted by another guy looking for a hook up.

He looked over at Roman cautiously. They were heading in the direction of Virgil's apartment, so it was getting more unlikely that scenario three was going to play out.

"You're worried I'm gonna kidnap you right?" Roman suddenly asked, making him jump. He tried to stammer a response, but the other man laughed and brushed it off. "Don't worry, it's a valid concern in this day and age. Posing as an Uber driver has been a known way for predators to catch victims too. I'm not offended, also that's why I used your name when I pulled up. I hoped it would clue you in that I was actually an Uber driver and not some creep pretending."

Virgil allowed himself to smile slightly. "Well, it worked, and the fake boyfriend trick definitely got him to back off."

The driver let out a loud laugh as they pulled up in front of his apartment. "Well, if some asshole is bothering you like that again and you need a getaway, I'll be happy to fill in again," he said as he looked at Virgil.

"Well, um..." he started to say, feeling his cheeks grow warm. He swallowed his nerves. He liked this guy and he wanted to see him again. He pulled out a sharpie from his pocket and grabbed Roman's wrist. The man gasped as Virgil wrote the digits of his cellphone number in black ink. "There, in case I need a hero again."

It was Roman's turn to blush as Virgil stepped out of the car. He walked around to the driver's window as he rolled it down. "How much do I owe you?"

"Not a single dollar, but maybe a date sometime," Roman replied with a grin, flashing him a wink.

Virgil smiled to himself as he thanked him and turned to walk to his apartment. He smiled as he turned to see Roman waiting to make sure he made it inside. He lifted his hand and waved, which warranted the man to blow him a kiss as he pulled away from the curb. Virgil rolled his eyes.

The events of the evening felt almost fictional, but he wasn't going to complain.