"Quittin' time?" Alec asked his buddy as he wiped sweat from his brow. It was a hot September day in Brooklyn, almost 5:00. Alec and his construction buddy Joey were finishing their work for the day.
"Yeah, we better," Joey gestured over towards an older gentleman about sixty feet away. "Before the boss man comes by."
"Happy hour?" Alec smiled as he moved a few boxed around. He knew that Joey was going to agree to it.
"Obviously," Joey quipped, patting Alec on his sweat-soaked shoulder.
Alec and Joey had been working construction together on the job site for almost three months. Ever since he'd joined the team, Joey had become Alec's little buddy, emphasis on the word little. Alec was a pretty big dude, standing at 6'6" and had a bit of bulk to him. In contrast, Joey was a much smaller and slimmer 5'6". Despite the size disparity, Joey and Alec got along swimmingly since the day the met. Joey was only 23 and Alec showed him the ropes around the construction site and the two had become fast friends. It had become a routine for the two of them to hit up happy hour once their shift was done.
The unlikely pair headed to their lockers to change out of their sweaty clothes. Alec was drenched, his shirt underneath his vest was almost transparent, clinging to his skin. He was carrying about 215 pounds on his large frame, in fairness. Alec removed his tight and wet shirt, before opening his locker. Alec was a confident guy, not shy about walking around shirtless or even pantless at times.
Joey looked over at Alec and smiled. The two of them were so opposite, he thought.
"Ready for bottomless wings, bro?" Alec smacked his wet hairy stomach in excitement. Joey just smiled and gave him a thumbs up as he fumbled with his shirt.
Joey was much shier than Alec about his body, though he had no reason to be. He was a trim 155 pounds which was perfectly average for his height. He had a bit of lean muscle but was far and away the smallest guy at the construction site. Joey wasn't even really sure how he ended up there considering he wasn't exactly your big, strong guy like his buddy Alec. Despite that Joey was a hard worker and could actually do more than most expected from him. Some of the guys would give him a hard time about his size, even Alec. It didn't bother him when Alec made comments though because they were legitimate friends.
"I'll try to keep up with you," Joey replied as he watched Alec squeeze into a fairly tight tank top, his furry belly peering out of the bottom before he tugged it down.
Alec laughed. He knew that was not going to happen, but he liked trying to push Joey outside of his comfort zone.
Joey quickly slid into his clean shirt. He was a hairy Italian dude, and was not really a confident person, so he changed in a much more subdued way than his big, confident buddy Alec. He even dressed more conservatively.
A few of the other guys walked into the locker room as Joey and Alec headed to their happy hour spot. "Goin' to McNulty's?" one of the bigger guys asked as he saw them headed out. It was well known that was Alec's favorite post-work spot due to the cheap beer and the bottomless wing specials for happy hour. Alec would always try to get out of work early to catch it when he could.
"You know it," Alec replied. Joey just smiled with his mouth closed. Everyone at the site respected Alec, perhaps they were intimidated by him, but Joey often felt put down or ignored. He didn't let it get to him, and Alec always made him feel better about it. He thought that if someone was loved as Alec was his closest friend that everyone else would follow suit and think he was just as cool.
"Catch you later, big guy," one of them said to Alec as he punched him on the shoulder. "You too, little guy. Almost couldn't see you back there", he added as he saw Joey from behind Alec. Joey suspected he was just messing around.
At the bar, Alec ordered his usual beer of choice along with the bottomless wings. He wasted no time digging in. Joey tried to keep up but would almost always end up stopping several rounds before Alec. He also took his time more with his beer while Alec really packed it in.
"Try to keep up with me tonight, bud," Alec said, playfully nudging Joey beside him. Joey knew it was unrealistic but something in him really wanted to impress and make Alec happy.
"I'll see what I can do," Joey said as he started eating and drinking at a more Alec-like pace.
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