8. Two Can Play That Game
8
TWO CAN PLAY THAT GAME
Gabriel
A few minutes after the dance class was due to start, I turn down the gangway towards the ballroom. I don't know what's wrong with me since I stepped on-board. Normally, I value punctuality.
Maybe I'm dawdling because I’m dreading the damned class.
Or maybe because getting that close to your tempting roommate is getting you hot and bothered, my subconscious adds.
On that thought, I'm arrive at the ballroom door. Just as I slip through it, The Raven claps his hands loudly and the murmur of conversation falls silent. So I don’t draw any more attention to myself than necessary, I pause next to the door and scan the room.
After my early morning gym session, I expected to have a clear mind and a relaxed body. Neither happened. My back is still fucked up — those recliners really aren't made for spending a night on — but I did get in a good cardio session at least.
I spot Susan, Klaus, and Magnus standing to my right, near the grand piano. Magnus is looking nervously around the hall, and it crosses my mind that he’s worried I might not show up. Even though I’d rather be anywhere else, I’d never leave him hanging like that.
While Ernesto de Vale launches into a detailed explanation in rapid Spanish while demonstrating the basic steps we learned yesterday again, I use the time to stare at Magnus unobserved.
He looks fantastic again. Today, he's wearing a short-sleeved turquoise shirt with yellow shorts that look like they could double as swimming trunks. I was still so sleepy this morning that I can’t remember if that’s what he had on when he woke me up.
Magnus spots me then, and I raise my hand in acknowledgement. The gesture is so awkward that I cringe, and he doesn't seem too enthusiastic about it either, because his expression darkens.
Is he mad at me for being late, or because I didn't join everyone for breakfast? I’d like to defend myself by yelling “I had to train!” but it's not strictly true. The three-hour gym session I did, from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m., wasn’t necessary. One or two hours would have been more than enough. If I'm honest, I deliberately stayed out of their way — one of them especially. And since I assumed they’d be together ...
Maybe I should apologize to him.
Before I can make a decision, the dance instructor stops talking. The couples turn to each other, and Magnus storms over to me.
Magnus
"You're late," I growl at Gabriel, as I grab his right hand and pull him into position.
Gabriel just raises one of his dark eyebrows laconically. "So, you're leading again today," he replies, completely side-stepping what I said.
"Don't push me!" I grumble back. I know I'm overreacting, but I’d thought Gabriel had stood me up and left me standing at this stupid dance class like a third wheel. Apparently, my reaction only makes Gabriel grin wider.
"What would you do if I did?"
Why is he flirting again? Does this guy run on ambiguity? Well, two can play that game.
"You'd prefer not to find out."
Gabriel leans forward. Our bodies might be close, but the dancing posture we’re in means our heads are tilted sideways. Then, when his mouth is as close to my ear as he can get, he whispers, "You don’t know me yet, Magnus, but you’ll soon find out I'm an intensely curious person."
His nearness threatens to take my breath away. Why does he have such a powerful effect on me? I’m so distracted that it takes a moment for his words to sink in.
Just how curious are you, Gabriel? I wonder.
As much as I try to hide my physical reaction, he can’t be completely unaware of the effect he has on me. No matter how embarrassed I am, I have to admit that Gabriel is far too observant for that. But what does he mean by teasing me in this way? And more to the point, how does he expect me to react?
Before I can solve this particular riddle, De Vale comes over, clicking his tongue impatiently. We dutifully begin to move — forward, forward, slide, change weight, back, slide, and close. After doing virtually nothing else for two hours yesterday, this has already become second nature to me. I think I even dreamed about it tonight, and that's probably why the dance offers only the briefest distraction.
Even with The Raven still standing next to us, I can't prevent my gaze from wandering to Gabriel's face. I find him grinning broadly, and there’s no doubt about it — he’s watching me out of the corner of his eye.
This time I only hear our instructor’s tongue click, but he sounds even more dissatisfied than before. The next moment, his gnarled hands are on me. First, he turns my head into the right position — a position that will prevent me from keeping Gabriel in view. It has the unhelpful side effect that I become hyper-aware of his body against mine. And certain parts of my body like that way too much.
Pain comes as a welcome distraction when Ernesto de Vale pulls my shoulders back so far that my shoulder blades feel like they’re touching. There’s no natural way to achieve this position, plus the pain isn’t enough to distract me from the glorious feeling of Gabriel's body flush against mine.
I can’t help it … my cock has its own timing, and it twitches joyfully.
"You haven't answered my question," Gabriel murmurs so quietly I can barely hear him over the music and the clack of The Raven’s shoes as he moves to the next couple.
"I don't remember you asking one," I reply between clenched teeth while trying to get my libido back under control — I’m having little success.
"Oh, don't be like that!" The words are spoken softly but the flirtation in them is clear. "I may not have phrased it as a question, but you're smart enough to know it was one."
My brain must have started to short circuit at that moment, otherwise I can't explain what I do next. Instead of tilting my hips back as far as I can, like I did yesterday, to avoid Gabriel noticing my "problem" down below, I tilt them forward. Now Gabriel can’t help but feel the semi that’s building in my shorts turn rock hard as soon as our hips meet.
"I'd bend you over that grand piano and fuck you until you learn some manners."
Gabriel
What?
My head was in that rigid sideways position the tango requires, but now it whips round to finds Magnus' eyes. There is a fire in them that makes the heat rise to my face. He pushes his stiff cock provocatively against mine, ensures that my face isn’t the only place blood is collecting.
I can't believe what he’s just said!
I can't believe I'm getting hard from another guy's stiff prick.
My mind screams, I want you! And the image of doing exactly what he just said springs unbidden into my mind. Just the other way around. I’d love to bend him over the grand piano and bury my cock in him. I've never had such a strong need to get inside another human being in my life.
And the thought is so raw, so unadulterated, so honest, it scares me.
And I have no idea what to do about it.
The challenging sparkle in Magnus' eyes winks out. But it’s more than that. It's as if a shadow falls over him.
"I'm sorry."
His words are said so softly that I sense them more than hear them. Then he pulls his hips away and loosens his handhold on my spine. He puts as much distance as he can while trying to maintain a halfway decent tango stance.
I should be happy that he’s given me some space.
And I am. Kind of.
But at the same time … I’m not. Not at all.
I don't know what I want anymore.
I don't know who I am anymore.
It's as if Magnus had torn off a mask I’ve been wearing all my life — in one brief moment. It may have started to crumble yesterday, but it’s a mask I didn’t even know I was hiding behind. It’s a mask that has not only hidden me from the world, but hidden a part of me that I’ve refused to acknowledge until now.
Only, after so long, how do I deal with it?
The rest of the dance lesson passes in a haze. I hear the music and the voices around me, but I don't really process what’s going on.
Magnus suggests I should take the lead several times, but I refuse. There’s no way I could concentrate, and being led is easier. Not that I’m doing such a good job at that either. I step on Magnus' toes repeatedly, and forget even the basic sequences far too often. I’m a total disaster. I’ve never felt so awkward in my life, but I don't know how to dig myself out of the fug either.
When The Raven claps his hands, announcing the end of the dance lesson, I could kiss him — I just want to get out of here! Be alone. Maybe then my brain will start working again.
Of course, I didn’t factor in my sister.
The ship docked in Casablanca while we were dancing, and without giving me a chance to squeeze out of it, she’s roped me into a sightseeing tour.
We spend hours ashore, and I remember almost none of it. The city, which is imprinted in everyone’s psyche as the location of the film with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergmann in it, leaves no impression on me. I haven’t seen the film either, so ...
I notice Susan giving me increasingly worried looks, and Magnus has hardly taken his eyes off me. At some point, someone asks if I’m okay, and I mumble something about not sleeping well. It’s a true enough excuse.
When we go back aboard the ship, it’s the late afternoon and I run off to my cabin. It’s only when I get inside and see the two beds that I realize how stupid that is. It’s not only my room. Magnus is sharing with me.
My best option is to grab my gym clothes and head to the health suite. Magnus hasn't followed me there yet — except in my thoughts — but I can't find my gym bag. I fall onto my bed in frustration, and realize I haven’t slept in it yet.
This is the opposite of how I’d imagined my vacation going. I’d expected pretty women and martinis by the pool, doing nothing but lazing about — that was the plan. And what do I have instead? Endless dance classes and a roommate who’s thrown me for a loop.
A surprisingly delightful male roommate ...