Gay Sex in Dark Places: Part 1 (Gay Drama)

WARNING: This story goes to dark places – assault, substance abuse, alcoholism, depression. Everyone who deserves to turns out okay and love wins in the end.
CH 1
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It wasn’t that I hated bars. I just hated this one.
I pulled the beer to my lips and almost grimaced at the taste, or lack thereof. Whatever Bren had ordered me, it was little more than flavored water. This club was killing me with its 10$ cocktails and pulsing music, the press of bodies that I had no idea how to interact with. I wanted to be at home. I wanted to be reading. I wanted twelve aspirin and some fucking ear protection.
“Isn’t this great?”
I looked down at Bren, taking in his small frame and flushed face. He really did love this shit. “No,” I answered honestly, earning me a swift slap across my shoulder. I winced – the slap might have been playful, and Bren might be small, but he was also fucking strong and it hurt.
“Just go dance,” he shouted, as if it were an obvious solution. As if that would fix anything. “You’re so good at people. Go be good at people with your body.”
“No,” I said again, taking another drag of beer-water. I was perfectly happy here.
No. I wasn’t happy. I had my bookshelf full of old friends waiting for me at home, and they were a thousand times more interesting and a million times more understanding than this sea of strangers. No matter how good Bren thought I was at people, I was never going to be good at crowds.
Bren just sighed and reached around me to grab my beer. “Hey,” I protested weakly as he sucked half of it down.
“Sorry,” he panted, “thirsty.”
I let it slide. It wasn’t like I liked it anyway, and besides, he’d paid. I...