Carter
Nate and I stumble through the half-mile walk to Rainbow Pony, barely upright and laughing the whole way. The place looks like pure fun, with flamboyant energy. The sign is a bright pink pony with an impossibly long, sparkly rainbow tail. Each word of Rainbow Pony is written in a different color.
We step inside and, bam, everyone’s already inside chatting up a storm. The bar isn’t packed yet, the music’s still warming up, and our whole crew is scattered around, chatting and laughing. One by one, they come up to us with big smiles.
Evan’s the first, who takes one look at us and goes, “You guys are fucked up.”
Nate smiles and says, “You got that right. He’s already pretty belligerent. You should’ve seen him with our waiter.”
“Hey, he was a dick!” I defend.
Josh appears out of nowhere. “I’m sure you were probably the dick.”
Lisa, trailing behind him, gives me a light hug. Nate and I make the rounds, introducing people to one another. Josh, Lisa, Evan, and Christina start hitting it off, and Nate gives me a subtle nod, with permission to move on and say hi to the rest of the group.
We spot Paul, Mel, Marcus, and Becky laughing near the back bar.
Becky throws her arms out and yells, “Babe! How are you?! Miss you, boo!”
“Miss you, boo,” Marcus mimics.
“Don’t mock me!” she says, nudging him.
“Oh, you two are friends now?” I ask.
They both look at each other and say, “The bestest friends!” in total unison.
They’re lying, but I know they’ve kept in touch since that charity event.
Mel and Paul break away to hug us. “Long time no see, business partner,” Mel says.
“Don’t just look at me,” I say. “Nate’s your business partner, too.”
“Not fully,” Nate adds with a shrug.
“Yes, fully,” Mel snaps, smirking.
After some quick intros for the people who don’t know each other, I yell, “Let’s get fucked up! First round’s on me. Actually, make it two. We’re starting with shots!”
I head to the bar, where this good-looking middle-aged guy with a goatee and a tie-dye shirt greets me. “Ten vodka shots, please. Your most expensive vodka.”
My group of friends behind me starts oohing and ahhing. I turn and shout, “Shut it, or you’re getting nothing!”
The bartender grabs a large bottle of Grey Goose and starts pouring. I hand out each shot, then raise mine and yell, “To my fellow gays and my lovable allies!”
A few guys across the bar look over, probably confused or curious, but I don’t give a shit.
We all throw back our shots and wince in synchronized disgust. Then I take everyone’s simple orders: tequila sodas or vodka sodas all around. One by one, drinks are passed out.
Nate leans over and says, “How are you, babe?”
“Fucking fantastic. I love this crew. I want everyone to become best friends. Please and thank you.”
“I’m in need of some house music, though,” I say. “It’s already almost 9. Where’s the DJ?”
Josh and Marcus hear me and spring into action. “Did someone say DJ? We got it!”
They rush over to the booth. I love that they came out tonight, they are straight as hell, but totally unbothered being around a bunch of rowdy gays. They are clearly comfortable in their own skin. And for once, I finally get it.
A few seconds later, the bass drops. The music is intense: deep house, no vocals, a heavy beat, and loud; my favorite type of drunk music.
Nate gives me a what the fuck kinda music is this? Look.
I wink, grab his hand, and pull him to the dance floor, and everyone follows. Nate spins me around so I’m in front of him and starts grinding against me. I press back into his crotch, he’s wearing tight jeans, and still, I can feel him getting excited. Probably too excited.
I spin him around, kiss him on the lips, then join the others dancing like we’re the only ones in the bar. I catch a few flashes, clearly from people taking photos. These people are very conspicuous, with their flashes still on. What geniuses.
Becky screams over the music, “It’s getting packed in here!”
Marcus shouts back, “I know! I thought gays didn’t start the party until midnight!”
Paul laughs. “Hun, not all gays. Some of us start early and binge ‘til dawn.”
Evan and Christina glance at us, begging with their mouths, “Can we leave by midnight?”
Nate and I smile and mouth back, “Yes.”
I love a good party, but staying out past midnight sounds horrible. I’m already wasted, and I have practice tomorrow.
The next few hours are a blur. We drink more, dance harder, and switch off grinding and jumping with our friends. It’s like sex and cardio rolled into one.
By 11:15, the place is officially packed, and we’re all drenched. I look at Nate and say, “Step outside with me, I need air.”
He grabs my hand and leads me out like he can read my mind.
Outside, I exhale hard. “This is amazing, but I’m literally dripping everywhere. And I mean everywhere! That DJ’s insane though.”
Nate laughs. “I’d prefer something quieter. Maybe some rock music or a low-key bar. But…yeah, this is pretty fun. I can’t lie.”
“I wish we could go out with this group all the time,” I say.
“Well, most of them live in New York. We can,” Nate says.
“True. But I’m lazy as fuck.” I say, “How ‘bout this. Once a month, we rage our faces off and binge drink with this group of friends?”
“You don’t have to ask me twice.” Nate says, “But only once, any more than that and I will deteriorate.”
Nate gets quiet, then says, “I saw at least five or ten people come up to you throughout the night. All I heard them say was, ‘Are you Carter Elliott from the Hawks? Is this your boyfriend? Are you gay?”
I nod. “Yeah. I guess making out on a dance floor with a guy kind of answers that question for them.” We both burst out laughing.
“I don’t care, though,” I say. “This is the best I’ve felt in my entire life, and I don’t think it's only because of the intoxication.”
I reach for the door. “Come on, I’ve got thirty, maybe forty-five minutes left in me. Then we find Christina and Evan, and then make an Irish exit.”
Nate smirks. “Then we play at home. Quietly.”
I shoot him a side-eye and smirk back. “Obviously.”
We head back in. No more drinks; we’re belligerent enough. We dance our faces off for another forty minutes. Our entire group is sweaty and messy. And all over the place.
At exactly midnight, I grab Evan. Nate grabs Christina. We sneak toward the exit while everyone else is still deep in some trance, jumping up to the music.
Outside, Evan says, “We’re really not saying goodbye?”
I shake my head. “Does it look like I’m saying goodbye?”
Christina grins. “Smart. Last thing we need is them convincing us to stay.”
I stretch. “I agree, I can be easily persuaded. Let’s head home. I need to pass out.” Evan and Christina nod in agreement.
Nate looks over at me, with his eyes low, lips curled into a sly smile, and I know exactly what’s on his mind.
When all four of us stumble into my massive apartment, Evan and Christina immediately raid the kitchen for snacks and disappear into the furthest guest room with some bags of chips and pretzels.
I glance at Nate, grab his hand when no one’s looking, and pull him into my bedroom. I toss him onto the bed and grin. “Wait here. Give me two minutes.”
I rush into the bathroom to clean up and get myself ready for him. When I come back, his pants are already off, his underwear around his ankles, and his shirt tossed on the floor. His tight, cut body is on full display, and the sight of him sends a thrill straight through me.
I climb onto the bed and on top of him, kissing him like I can’t help myself. He flips me over and climbs on top, kissing me even harder, just as turned on as I am.
His hand reaches for my bedside drawer, pulling it open, and grabs the lube.
Nate nudges me to roll over, as he what feels like, empties the entire bottle of lube on my hole.
He begins to massage the area and slowly inserts one finger.
Not soon after, he slips his second finger in.
After only a few seconds, he stops and says, “Ready?”
“I’ve been ready, babe, but thanks for warming me up.” I snark.
He rolls me over to a spooning position and comes up behind me with his fully erect dick.
I feel both hands on my shoulders, as the pressure of his dick inside me mounts.
It feels so good, I can’t help but move my ass back towards him for more.
Nate starts slow, but gradually increases his speed and thrusts.
With each thrust, I let out a louder moan. Each time Nate slows down and whispers, “Shush.”
“I can’t help it; it just feels so good,” I groan.
After only two full minutes, I can feel Nate's body tense up. I take this moment to start stroking myself, knowing it's almost time for Nate to finish inside me. Right on cue, I feel Nate’s legs quiver and warmth spurts inside my body.
Nate, acknowledging that I haven’t finished, keeps thrusting for a few more seconds. After the third thrust, Nate covers my mouth with his hand, sensing I am going to moan. He is right, I let out a loud moan behind his hand, and release all over the sheets.
Nate slips out of me, and we both roll on our backs, next to each other. Nate looks at me and says, “We need to start putting a towel down.”
I smile and say, “That we do, bae, that we do.”
We are both so tired and discreetly rush to the bathroom for a quick shower. After our quick shower, we hop into our pajamas and get under the covers.
Nate looks at me with so much love in his eyes and says, “I love you. And I’m so proud of you.”
I smile at him, heart full, and reply, “I love you more. And bae? Thank you for being there for me tonight.”
Nate gives me one last sleepy smile as he starts to drift off, and I follow right behind him, feeling more at peace than I’ve ever felt in my life.
***
I wake up at 11 a.m., giving me about two hours before I need to head to the Hawks' facility for a light practice. My head is pounding, and I stumble my way to the bathroom, half-awake and miserably hungover.