22 #2
Sky was absolutely not good at giving comforting advice or saying the right words, so there was really nothing more to expect from him.
“I’m not drunk, Sky Granger! I’m not even tipsy yet!” Jude raised his voice, yanking his hand free from Sky’s grip. “If you want to go home, then go home yourself!” he snapped before pushing back into the crowd once again.
Damn it!
Sky let out a heavy sigh and planted his hands on his hips, his patience wearing off.
His gaze never left Jude, who tipped his head back with eyes closed, swaying effortlessly to the music as if nothing else in the world existed.
It was not even something he was doing on purpose.
Even with sweat on his skin and bruises and marks on his face, nothing could take away from how striking he looked in that moment.
Sky jutted his jaw, resisting the urge to do something reckless as jealousy and frustration burned through him.
Jude was immediately surrounded by a group of guys, completely exposed and unguarded.
Even if he did not seem to care, it still chafed Sky to the point where he could barely stand it.
Sky gritted his teeth, almost crushing the nerves beneath them.
When Jude opened his eyes and flashed a smile at them, that was the final trigger for Sky.
He stepped in immediately.
“What the hell is your problem, man?!” one of the guys snapped.
“Back off and stay the fuck away,” Sky growled, every word spoken with grit and conviction, shoving him square in the chest as he stood his ground, looming over the group.
In an instant, the people around them turned their attention toward the commotion.
Sky fixed his glare on the guy, his eyes dark and piercing. Fear immediately flickered across the man’s face.
He quickly raised both hands in surrender.
“Sorry, brother,” he muttered.
Sky shoved him in the chest once more, and the group of men immediately backed off, retreating from him. With Sky’s towering, muscular build, tattooed body, fearsome expression, and intimidating presence, anyone who dared stand against him quickly backed down in defeat.
Sky pushed through the others blocking his path, then grabbed Jude’s hand again and pulled him away from the crowd of lingering stares.
“What are you doing?!” Jude whined.
Sky did not answer him until they were far enough from those assholes. He took a deep breath and raked a hand through his hair. He did not look at Jude for a moment to somehow calm his nerves, a hand on his hips and a tongue pushing the side of his cheek.
“What did you think you were doing?”
“Please…” he begged. “Please don’t smile like that to other men,” Sky murmured helplessly, his voice low and strained as he looked into Jude’s eyes, hurt flickering through him for reasons he could not fully explain.
He had never begged anyone in his life, but if it meant protecting what he felt for Jude, he would do it without hesitation.
Jude did not seem to hear what Sky had said.
The jealousy radiating from Sky was starting to get under his own skin in a way he absolutely hated.
You never smiled at me like that for the past five years since the start of class in seventh grade, and you gave it up easily on them? Sky thought bitterly.
Sky wanted to say it out loud, but decided there was no point anymore.
“I should go back to them. We’re having fun, while you’ve just been sitting there the whole time. You’re no fun, Sky Granger!” he yelled stubbornly, already turning on his heel when Sky suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him back to face him.
“Then dance with me,” Sky said firmly, loud enough for him to hear. “Only with me.”
Jude stopped his unsteady steps and looked up at Sky in disbelief, his beautiful grey eyes wide and searching.
Sky’s chest tightened as Jude suddenly broke into a smile. His lips curved so softly, revealing his perfect teeth, his eyes disappearing into the warmth of it. It was not like the smiles he gave to others earlier. It was gentler, more genuine, something pure that Sky could feel deep in his chest.
“Okayyy, let’s dance, Sky!” he said excitedly, grabbing Sky’s hand and tugging insistently as Sky tried to resist, pulling him back toward the dance floor.
Sky made sure to steer them away from the group of men from earlier.
“I haven’t seen you dance. Come on!”
Sky did not dance. Ever. He never did. He hated it.
But slowly, almost against his own will, he began to loosen up, moving his head subtly up and down in response to Jude’s request.
Sky thought that no one here knew him. He just wanted this moment alone with Jude, especially while he was drunk. He wanted to hold onto it, to remember him like this, because he did not know if he would ever get another chance again.
Jude’s messy hair, his smile, the way he moved, and just him. It was enough to make Sky unconsciously smile as he watched him.
Sky’s hand seemed to move on its own as he helplessly lifted it to gently brush some strands of hair away from Jude’s forehead.
At that moment, it felt like they were the only two people inside Smirnoff’s, completely oblivious to everyone around them.
Their eyes locked as they swayed to the music, neither willing to look away while the distance between them slowly disappeared.
“You have a beautiful smile,” said Jude.
Jude slowly wrapped his arms around Sky’s neck, and Sky instinctively leaned down so he could reach him more easily.
The feeling was unreal.
Sky could not even begin to put it into words, but it was the most overwhelming and beautiful feeling he had ever experienced, and at the same time, it terrified him.
Jude leaned his forehead against Sky’s chest as they both stopped dancing.
“Thank you for staying with me tonight,” Jude whispered, while Sky was still caught off guard by the realization of what had just happened between them.
“I don’t know what would’ve happened to me if you weren’t here with me,” he continued, and every word past his lips sent shivers down Sky’s spine and thunder erupting violently inside his chest.
Sky felt deeply touched because he had assumed Jude was too drunk to even recognize him, but he did. He did recognize Sky.
Sky knew he was slightly tipsy himself, but nowhere near drunk. Jude, on the other hand, was completely wasted.
The only reason Jude was acting this way—hugging him, smiling at him, not being afraid of him, even thanking him, forehead against his chest—was that alcohol had taken over every wall he usually kept up around Sky.
And Sky hated himself for realizing he was taking advantage of it.
Because once morning came, everything would go back to normal.
Jude would probably forget all of this. He would return to barely speaking to Sky.
He would go back to fearing him like he was some predator waiting to devour him.
He would avoid looking at him as if meeting Sky’s eyes would burn him alive.
He would distance himself again, as if Sky carried some contagious disease.
Everything would return to the way it was supposed to be between them.
So, while Jude was still here in his arms, while he still had the chance, Sky held him a little tighter.
“Please don’t hate me when the sun rises tomorrow, Sky…” he mumbled softly before eventually falling asleep in Sky’s arms, right there, perfectly in his cage, beneath the blaring music and crowded dance floor, as if the rest of the world had completely disappeared around them.
Just the two of them.
Sky’s breath hitched.
Every beat of his heart dominated his eardrums.
Even swallowing suddenly felt difficult as he stared at the sleeping boy resting under his embrace.
After a long moment, Sky finally spoke in a low voice meant only for him.
“I never hated you, Jude…”