Chapter 20 #2
His best friend composed himself as Josh approached him where he sat at his desk.
“I know so,” he said with certainty, spinning in his desk chair until he was facing Josh.
The lust in Riley’s gaze became apparent, and Josh took advantage of it by sliding onto his lap, causing Riley’s breath to hitch.
Riley’s hands flew to Josh’s hips, steadying him as he straddled his lap.
“Is this okay?” Josh asked, drawing closer to Riley’s lips.
“It’s better than okay,” Riley whispered as he sat up straighter and pulled Josh against him, softly meeting his lips in short and sweet kisses that left Josh wanting more. Riley pulled away before he could take it further.
“If we keep kissing, we’ll never make it out of here, and our friends are expecting us.”
Josh whined as he climbed off Riley’s lap. “Can’t we skip it and keep experimenting with all the new gay things we haven’t tried yet?”
Riley grunted, adjusting himself in his jeans. “You’re killing me.”
“You know I’d never do such a thing.”
“Not on purpose, no.”
“Fine, let’s go out to see our friends, but you’re taking me on that dance floor,” Josh asserted, marching out of Riley’s bedroom with him hot on his heels.
“You can bet on that,” Riley said, smacking Josh’s ass as he passed him on the way to their front door, each of them grabbing their wallets and keys from the counter.
Josh would have to research how long it would take for blue balls to kill a man.
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PJ Shanahan’s was packed from wall to wall, but they managed to find their group easily thanks to Hunter standing out like a tall sunflower in the middle of a meadow. The guy was huge, in every direction.
As Riley and Josh navigated their way through the crowd to reach Hunter and Garrett, Josh wondered why he had never been attracted to Hunter.
He was gay now, right? So why didn’t Hunter’s blond man bun and his bulging muscles ever make him curious?
Or Garrett’s runner’s physique and movie star smile?
They seemed to be surrounded by good-looking men all the time.
He turned to look at Riley, wondering if he was thinking the same thing as they held each other’s hands through the club so they wouldn’t lose each other. When their eyes connected and Riley gave him that sweet smile of his, it all made sense.
How could he ever look at another man when Riley was right here?
Sure, Hunter was pretty much a Thor look-alike and Garrett tended to attract every gender in his orbit. But maybe Josh liked his men leaner, closer to his height and, most of all, Riley. Maybe it wasn’t men he was attracted to; maybe it was Riley.
Did that still mean he was gay? Or probably bi, since he was legitimately attracted to women before. He’d have to do some research, or maybe ask Cole. He was their unofficial sexuality guru.
Of course, Josh forgot to turn around from staring at Riley and crashed into another couple on the dance floor.
He apologized profusely, and the lithe woman he ran into shook him off, but the death stare from the guy attached to her prompted Riley to step between them and continue their walk toward Hunter and Garrett.
Riley was always there to defend him. Josh couldn’t count high enough to tally the number of times Riley had had to step in to save him, sometimes from himself.
He was Josh’s protector. His savior. His everything.
Yup, Riley was in a league all his own.
When they finally reached the guys, Josh was trying to control his heart. He felt like a puppy let loose in a room full of toys and treats, but he only had eyes for Riley.
Hunter and Garrett smiled at them, but their smiles turned mischievous when they glanced lower. Josh worried he had a drink spilled on him, or his fly was down, and he didn’t notice, but he realized he was still holding Riley’s hand like a vice.
When he looked at Riley and saw his nervous smile and the flush rising in his cheeks, he let go of his hand. It almost hurt to let go, like everything in his body was willing him into Riley’s grasp, where it was safe and secure.
He covered the moment by hugging Hunter and Garrett hello, Riley following with the same.
Hunter was in a tight T-shirt that looked like it shrank in the wash, drawing attention from everyone walking by. And Josh meant everyone. Men, women and everyone in between.
Garrett was in a button-down navy shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, his dirty blond hair perfectly coiffed like he’d stepped off the set of a Hallmark Christmas movie. As a detective, he was a serious guy, but when he smiled he did it with his whole face.
Both of them had drinks in their hands. Garrett nodded toward their hi-top table, where two beers were sitting there for Riley and Josh.
Riley and Josh shouted thanks as they grabbed the drinks and toasted their friends.
They shot the shit for a while as they drank, taking advantage of the great spot for people watching. The blaring music made it hard to have a conversation, though.
Josh could barely hear Riley over the music when he shouted, “You guys have your eyes on anyone tonight?”
They were both good looking and probably had their pick of anyone they wanted. Except Riley. Riley was… taken?
Wait. Was he?
Josh was sick to his stomach as he realized they hadn’t talked about exclusivity at all. They’d agreed to give this a try, but did that mean they’d still try to hook up when they were out, like they usually did?
Hunter’s boisterous laugh cut off his thinking.
“The DJ is pretty hot, but he’s kind of busy,” Hunter shouted, and they all turned toward the DJ booth in the corner of the dark room.
Strobe lights flickered across the open space in front of the wide mahogany bar.
The DJ was the complete opposite of Hunter.
Glasses, skinny, tall but still nowhere near Hunter’s height.
“You love nerdy guys, don’t ya?” Garrett shouted, a twinkle in his eye as he poked Hunter in his beefy bicep.
“They’re so adorable. I’m a big spoon looking for my nerdy little spoon.”
“You mean like Carson?” Riley teased, and Hunter’s gaze snapped toward him.
“Ugh, I wish,” Hunter cried, throwing a hand to his forehead and falling against the wall behind him like he was swooning. “That man drives me crazy.”
“Why don’t you ask him out?” Josh asked. He’d noticed the spark between them, usually leading to Carson getting flustered.
“I have!” Hunter wailed. “He thinks I’m kidding every time. One of these days though, he’ll know I’m serious.”
Riley offered him a pat on the back. “Yeah, he will.”
They finished their drinks and finally made their way onto the dance floor.
Hunter found a twink in the crowd to dance with, or, more accurately, one landed in his arms without any work at all from him. He was like a magnet.
Garrett approached a woman in a slinky dress with long brown hair, but when she turned around, Josh realized the person was a he. Or maybe a they? Garrett was pansexual, so everyone was on the menu for him.
Once Garrett and Hunter were distracted, Riley pulled Josh into his arms in the middle of the dance floor as a sultry beat played. A smoking hot blonde woman tried joining them but Riley kindly shook her off, and Josh couldn’t help but beam at him.
Maybe this was exclusive after all, and Josh was delighted.
As Josh wrapped his arms around Riley’s waist, Riley settled his around Josh’s shoulders, and they began to sway to the beat.
Josh got lost in the rhythm, moving to the music with Riley as if they’d been doing it for years.
And, technically, they had. Even before they started feeling attracted to each other, they’d danced together for fun, and to improve their skills.
They had learned long ago that a lot of women loved a man who’d dance with them, and when they didn’t have girls to practice with growing up, they practiced with each other.
The memory of their first time trying to figure out the whole “grinding on the dance floor” thing popped into Josh's head and he couldn’t help but laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Riley said, close enough Josh could feel his breath on his ear. It sent a shiver down his body.
“Remember when we tried to learn how to dance together to get all the girls’ attention at school dances?”
Riley laughed, and Josh felt it more than heard it thanks to the loud music.
“I couldn’t forget it if I tried.”