Turning to stare at him in surprise, Jeremy asked, “What was that?”
“We should go to the club.” Harrison’s blood rushed in his veins as he said the words. He was nervous, but excited. Anxious, but happy. Doing something completely unexpected had become foreign to him and the part of him that wasn’t freaking out was eager to see what would happen next. “I want to see you dance,” he said, leering at Jeremy.
The other men laughed, whooping in agreement. “You have to come now, Jerry. No excuses.”
Jeremy stared at him in shock, though an enthusiastic smile played across his face. “Are you sure?” he asked quietly. “You have work tomorrow, what about your sleep rule?”
Leaning in close, he kept his voice low as he replied. “I’m tired of playing by the rules, even if they are mine,” Harrison told him. “Do you know how many times I’ve gone to work exhausted because I spent the night awake, trapped inside my own head? This time I want to do it because I stayed out late having fun with new friends. I’m twenty-seven years old. It’s time to live a little. In fact…” A waiter passed by their table at that moment and Harrison stopped him. “Could I get a copy of the wine list please?”
“Harrison,” Jeremy hissed after the man was gone. “What the hell has gotten into you?”
Wrapping one hand around the back of Jeremy’s neck, Harrison pulled him closer. “I’m feeling rebellious.” Harrison could feel the wide grin on his own face. “Break some rules with me.”
The smile on Jeremy face widened and he all but bounced in his chair. “I guess that settles it,” he announced, turning back to Travis and Noah. “We’re going clubbing.”
The other couple cheered in approval. “Our objective is achieved,” Travis said as he held out a hand to Harrison. “And you now have our seal of approval.”
Harrison chuckled. “I guess that means my objective has been achieved as well.” He turned to smile at Jeremy. “This is gonna be fun,” he said with a nod, despite the butterflies running riot in his stomach. “And we’ll be together, so everything will be fine.”
Jeremy wrapped an arm around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. “Don’t be afraid,” he crooned, “I’ll protect you, my feeble turtle duck.”
“Yes!” Travis cried, clapping his hands together. “There it is. He’s quoting shit.” He turned to Noah with a gleeful cackle. “I told you he’d be quoting shit before we got to the mains. You owe me.”
Noah rolled his eyes with a heavy sigh. “All right. I’ll do the cooking for a month.” He frowned at Jeremy then, “I thought you’d at least manage to contain yourself until dessert.”
“Contain myself?” Jeremy’s tone implied the notion was too bizarre to contemplate. “That will never happen!”
