A warm hand closed around his wrist.He looked down to see that Marin was grinning up at him enthusiastically, already swaying to the song throbbing over the speakers.
“Dance with me.”Marin mouthed, twisting their fingers together.His palms were still cold from holding the drinks.Next to them, even Ryan had started to dance, laughing at Celeste who was alternating between sipping their Zombie and screaming along to The Far East Movement.
Blake shook his head.Marin grinned at him.
“Relax!”he said and raised his arms, beginning to shuffle his legs.Blake watched as he started to cut shapes, limbs bouncing, feet gliding and tapping along to the beat.There was a passion, anenergy, to his movements that wasn’t reflected by anyone else in the club.A group of guys next to them turned to watch in amazement, shouting their encouragement.
“Hell yeah, get iiiiiit!”Celeste screamed, shaking their half-downed cocktail at Marin.
“Hell yeah!”Blake shouted in agreement.Even if he was too shy to dance, he wasn’t too shy to deny Marin the chance to get hyped up.
“You, too!”Marin cried, taking Blake’s hands and dragging him close.
“I can’t!”Blake laughed, starting to bounce in place despite his words.
“That’s fine!”Marin grinned.“Have fun!”
“You’re doing great!”Ryan chimed in—even he was only swaying and fist-pumping while Celeste clung to his front, grinding their hips together.
Maybe it was Marin pulling him closer, the beer lowering his inhibitions, or the sensation of sinking into the anonymity of the dance floor, but suddenly Blake wasn’t as self-conscious as before.He could feel the heat that Marin was putting off, the damp puff of his breath against his cheek as the music reverberated in his chest.
And for a moment, there was no pygmalion, no vase, no requirements to be met.There was Blake, his friends, and an attractive guy that was smiling at and holding onto him.Just the music and the movement and the fun.
?
A few hours into their dancing, Celeste reached over and started tugging on Blake’s coat sleeve.
“Hey!”they shouted.“Do you have any cigarettes?”
Blake reached into his pocket to fish around for the half-empty pack of Marlboros he kept on him for the rare occasion he chose to smoke.He handed it to Celeste, who instead gathered up a handful of Blake’s coat and started tugging him towards the edge of the dance floor.
“Come with me, I don’t wanna go alone.”
Blake turned to Marin and Ryan with a helpless shrug as he was dragged away by Celeste.Marin waved them off and Ryan laughed.
Blake allowed himself to be pulled through the throng of people and to the front doors where they wriggled out beside the line.
“We’ll be back,” Celeste informed the bouncer, flashing him the pack of cigarettes that they’d pilfered off of Blake.
Outside, the air was considerably cool for an August night—it probably had something to do with the fact that it was past two in the morning.Other than the sounds from the people queueing up in front of the club, the street was quiet and still.Blake and Celeste strolled down to an empty stretch of sidewalk between Star Lounge and a neighboring bar.The silence was exaggerated by the ringing pulse in Blake’s ears, echoing the beats of the music inside the club.
To Blake’s surprise, Celeste reached into their pocket and extracted a sleek vape pen, blowing a cloud of sweet-scented fog into Blake’s face.
“I thought you wanted to smoke?”Blake asked.He stared down at the vape in disdain while smacking his Marlboros against the palm of his hand.
“So, yeah, I kinda lied.”Celeste shrugged.They reached out to tug on the lapels of Blake’s coat.“Welllll?”
“‘Well’ what?”Blake replied, taking out his lighter.
Celeste scoffed, rolling their eyes.“Well, you think you’re gonna seal the deal tonight or what?”
Blake’s cigarette only made it halfway to his mouth before he dropped it on the ground.
“What?!”he balked.“Seal the—withMarin?!”
Celeste looked at him like he was an idiot, mouth agape and head jutted forward.“No, with Jeffery Goddamn Bezos—yes with Marin!He’s only been grinding on you for the last hour and a half!”
“We were just dancing!”
