Chapter Thirteen
Hollen
He still couldn’t believe he was going back, even if George seemed absolutely livid about the whole circumstance.
“Just chill, okay?” Hollen swept his hair back, debating whether gel or spray would be best to tame it. He settled on neither, wetting his hands in the sink and running his fingers through the strands. The bits that had been sticking up with stubborn humidity finally lay flat.
George scoffed and Hollen could have sworn his eyes flashed yellow in the mirror for just a moment. “ I will not. Somebody has to make sure you’re taking care of yourself, and you’re doing a terrible job of it. One would think you’re trying to get eaten. ”
Hollen leaned closer to the mirror, pressing a fingertip to the bruised-looking bags beneath his eyes. After a touch of coverup, he looked well-rested again. “I’m not gonna get eaten. ” Hollen rolled his eyes. “This isn’t Jurassic Park .”
“ Munro is old enough to be a dinosaur ,” said George. There was that flash again, the green draining from his eyes as George spoke. He couldn’t remember that happening before—or maybe he just hadn’t noticed.
Hollen laughed, dabbing a bit of color on his pale cheeks before turning away from the mirror. “Now I know you’re just being pissy. He can’t be more than a few hundred years old. He doesn’t wear velvet suits or ruffles like those other guys. And he’s stylish.”
He flushed, ducking his head as warmth rose to his cheeks.
George laughed. “ I can’t believe this. You’re completely besotted with him. I yanked him out of your mind once, but he’s still there, curdling your thoughts .”
“Ew.” Hollen wrinkled his nose. “There’s no ‘curdling’ going on, thank you very much. He’s just very handsome…and possibly a little bit rich.”
“ Unbelievable .” George rolled in his chest, his presence stretching until it tingled beneath his skin. “And now you’re dolling yourself up for him. Put some lambs blood on your neck. That’ll be sure to lure him in.”
Hollen rolled his eyes before grabbing his keys and heading to the door. “If you were paying attention, you’d realize that we’re going to Adair’s dance competition. Even if he’s not talking to me yet, we aren’t going to miss it.”
“ Adair? ”
Hollen nodded, locking the door behind him and sliding his keys into his pocket. Luckily, George quieted, seeming to retreat to that part of his chest that he always did when he was pouting. Months together and Hollen was finally starting to figure him out. He would come around…eventually.
“What would happen if I decided to be with Munro?” Hollen squinted at the sun as he shuffled through the main door, the light cutting straight across the sidewalk and into his eyes. The warmth of it was soothing after so much time indoors either sleeping or working.
George pulled out of the depths, itching under Hollen’s skin. “ I don’t think we should have this conversation .”
Hollen lowered his head when he spotted his landlord leaned against the front of the apartment building. He was smoking cigarettes and scrolling through his phone, his saggy eyes trained on the device. He was balding, with a potbelly that snuck out from under his shirt. His fingers were tainted yellow, and holes were spotted along the front of his shirt where ashes had fallen.
Hollen shuddered, turning away. There had been a time when he was almost desperate enough to offer the guy a blow job in exchange for rent. Luckily, George had stopped him with a stern talk about STDs.
“Now who’s avoiding the topic?” asked Hollen, ducking around a corner before he could be noticed. The dance studio was across town somewhere, and he was already tired from the short walk downstairs, sweat prickling over his skin. I must be coming down with something.
“ I don’t want to scare you ,” said George.
Hollen snorted. The bus was at the stop, a few people in line and slowly starting to get on. “That didn’t stop you when you explained the pros and cons of medieval torture methods.” He scanned his pass when it was his turn, finding a spot at the very back.
Over the rumble of the engine, he could barely hear his own voice, so he didn’t have to worry about anyone overhearing his little chat. If they did, it didn’t matter. There was a guy halfway up the bus staring at the pole and muttering under his breath, while one lady held an actual chicken in her lap. Its head stuck out of the bag slung over her shoulder, its comb wobbling as it looked around, clucking.
“ That was different ,” said George. “ If you really want to know, I’ll tell you, but I have to warn you first. Munro is not who he seems to be .”
Hollen nodded at the person who decided to sit next to him, turning his face to the window and shuffling to the side. “So, he’s not a vampire?”
“ He is .” George’s voice dropped, thickening as his presence strengthened.
“Then he doesn’t own a tea shop?”
“ He does—but .”
Hollen cut him off, thudding his own head against the solid glass. He wasn’t sure if it bothered George or not, but he fell blessedly silent in response. “Then he’s what he seems. I don’t know much about him other than that. If there’s anything else, then he’s probably just waiting for me to find out.”
“ He’s not a good man .”
Hollen let his eyes fall shut, the roads passing so slowly. “Are any of us?” The man beside him shifted away before standing and heading for another seat. He couldn’t bring himself to care—not this time. “I broke my best friend’s heart, and I haven’t made it up to him in weeks. I’ll crash this competition by being there, and that probably just makes me selfish. Just…don’t interfere.” Hollen took a deep breath to steady himself. “Any other time I wouldn’t care, but Munro—? I like him. It’s okay if you don’t understand, because this is a decision I’ve made on my own. Let me have that.”
George didn’t answer. He didn’t even respond as Hollen signaled for his stop and made his way to the front. He was the only one getting off, barely hitting the sidewalk before the driver closed the bus doors and headed down the street.
“ You should know something— ”
“George, don’t.” Hollen cut him off again, nearly stumbling on the street. There were a few people dotted around, but no one spared him a glance.
George didn’t grumble or put up any of his usual fuss. “ If you’re sure .”
Hollen nodded. “I am. I’m so, so sure”—he glanced up at the studio—“about everything except for where we are. Is this the right place?”
Adair had described it so many times before as looming and black—an old office building that had been turned into an upscale school and studio. Hollen still hadn’t expected…this.
It was three stories of solid black brick that seemed to ooze the color. If Hollen was a betting man, he would have waged a hundred bucks that it wasn’t painted at all but made of some sort of lava brick. The windows of the main floor were shuttered and dark, while the floors above were thrown wide open to let the sun and air of the city in. Music filtered out with a steady beat.
Huge block numbers at the entrance were nearly taller than Hollen, guarding the entry where a group of young women were slipping inside. They were pulling bags behind them that were only a slightly smaller version of hockey bags, chattering away as they disappeared through the door.
“ I like it ,” said George, seeming to perk up. “ It’s so rare to see such a nice design in buildings nowadays. Why haven’t we been here before? ”
“It’s out of our price range.” Hollen stuck his hands on his hips. “Adair can really only afford to go here because of all those scholarships. He’s the best dancer I’ve ever seen. He’s invited me a few times to open houses, but I’m always working.”
George scoffed. “ We need to get you out in the world. Your little friend has nothing on the way the ancient Egyptians used to dance. Their gods themselves couldn’t have done better .”
“You just keep thinking that.” Hollen lowered his voice as he stepped inside. It seemed even bigger in here, his voice carrying further than he intended against the stark walls. “You’ve never seen Adair dance.”
“ I don’t need to ,” said George.
Hollen looked to each side for any hint of a sign or indication of which way he was supposed to go. The girls had already disappeared, leaving an empty entrance and four hallways. “You’re going to regret it. There’s a reason I work my ass off so Adair doesn’t have to. He’s going to go places one day.”
The sound of laughter echoed along one hall. Hollen ducked that way, slowly creeping along. He let out a sigh of relief when he found two doors pinned wide, an array of voices coming from within.
The last thing he’d expected appeared before him. It must’ve been a warehouse of sorts in its last life, but it had been converted into a massive gymnasium and stage. There was a graduated seating area along with a floor that was illuminated with flood lights from above.
The lights were hardly needed with the sunlight streaming through the upper windows along one side, the sounds of the street completely obliterated. Voices and laughter reached him, along with that same wicked beat, one rhythm fading out for another.
Seats everywhere were packed, some people holding signs and others homemade banners that had been scrawled with permanent marker. There were even a few with Adair’s name, one particular woman in her forties holding a sign gleaming with sparkly red hearts. The poor girl probably didn’t realize that Adair was even gayer than he was.
Hollen made his way up the stairs, looking for any unoccupied seat. As soon as he would spot one, others like him would zoom for it, filling the empty spot before he could claim it.
George huffed. “ Would you like me to ask them to get out of our way? I’m sure they would listen to me . ”
Hollen glanced at his hand as his fingertips tingled, covering it with his shirt when dark markings suddenly scrawled across his knuckles, his nails lengthening with dark tips.
“George,” Hollen spoke through his teeth, his eyes wide. “Not here, okay? There’s like two-hundred people.” His hand tingled with numbness as George pulled back, leaving a hollow emptiness behind.
Shaking his hand out, Hollen took one last look around, almost resigned to turning back for the bus and heading homeward. There, at the very top of the seats was a single unoccupied seat. Above it was both a speaker and a light, a beam set right against the back. As he approached, he wrinkled his nose.
There was a full six inches of leg room less than any other seat around it, the beam forcing the builders to shrink it in place. Even with his shortness, it was still a squeeze to fit into the spot.
The view, though… It was breathtaking. He could see the stage perfectly as the black curtain shifted and a row of men and women stepped out. They were all in matching costumes, the women in dazzling pink and the men in a muted blue.
As a new song began, they started to move, weaving intricately as the music picked up. Each movement was solid, only one lady slipping until her partner caught her, and they twirled into the next movement.
“ Is this what you were boasting about? ” George’s voice thudded against the inside of his ears. “ I could do that…Hell, you could— ”
“Shhh.” Hollen poked himself in the middle of his own chest where George beat the strongest. “Just wait.”
As the group wrapped up, yells of encouragement hit the air, the crowd roaring with excitement. The round of applause faded, the curtain shifting again before a single man stepped out and the others disappeared. There was an instant of shining recognition when a sudden nervousness curled in Hollen’s belly.
Adair was so fluid as he moved, perfect and elegant before the music even began. His eyes were sharp, casting over the crowd with a frown on his lips. Hollen could have sworn he hesitated on him for just a moment before he looked away.
The music began, and Adair started to dance. A hush fell over the crowd, words leaving Hollen’s lips and sputtering to nothing. If music was movement alone, then Adair had captured it all, each muscle responding to the notes and undulations of the song.
“ Your friend—is he— ”
“I said shush.” Hollen winced when his voice came out much louder than he intended. No one seemed to notice, too enthralled with the show.
As the beat amped up, Adair followed suit, moving as if it took no effort at all. After a particularly difficult series of intricacies passed, a cheer broke out at the front, followed by more. Hollen had to hold his hands to his mouth so his shout would carry further, pure joy spiking through him as the dance ended on an abrupt note.
The signs with Adair’s name on them rattled with how fiercely they were shaken.
The first sign of a smile touched Adair’s face, a flush moving over his cheeks as he regarded the crowd. His gaze shot straight to where Hollen was sitting, his smile going even wider as his eyes sparkled.
George let out a sigh as Hollen waved, standing on the chair when Adair waved back, his laugh disappearing into the crowd. “ I think I’m in love .”
Hollen spluttered, moving from his seat and back to the main doors. Another single person had started to dance, their style so different from Adair’s that it was almost jarring.
“We’ll have to rush to get to work on time.” Hollen glanced at his phone, biting his lip at the time. “Hopefully, Munro has a new uniform for me because I kind of destroyed the last one.”
“ Munro? ” George scoffed.
“Yep.” Hollen ducked out the door, lowering his voice as they hit the echo of the hallway. “And I don’t want to hear another word. I’m working there, and that’s final.”
“Hollen!”
Hollen paused, turning toward the sound of Adair’s shout. His friend was standing at the far end of the hall, his face flushed red and his chest rising and falling fast. “You came.”
Hollen glanced at the floor, his own heartrate picking up. “Of course. You’re my best friend…” He trailed off. “I’m sorry—”
Adair threw his arms around him, the smell of sweet cologne and sweat enveloping him. “Thank you so much.”
He felt so good, the warmth of his skin enough to soothe the terror that had been haunting him for weeks. Hollen hugged him tight, pressing his face into Adair’s shoulder. George hummed beneath Hollen’s skin, sinking into the embrace as tears rolled over Hollen’s cheeks.