“A gorgeous silver fox who likes a twink bouncing on his balls,” Nally said with a sly look. “And a porn star martini.”
“Porn star it is, then,” Jude said, half to Nally and half to the beefy bartender. “And I’ll just have a gimlet and a bear, please.” He wiggled his eyes at the bartender.
It was exactly the sort of nonsense Nally needed after the attention of the premiere. He downed his drink faster than he should have once he had it, as did Jude with his, then the two of them tied their jackets around their waists by the sleeves like the wonkers they were and made their way out onto the dance floor.
It was freeing to let go of everything and to just enjoy himself. He and Jude never had any problem attracting attention from men at clubs, and that night was no exception. The two of them stuck close together, though. For some reason, Nally didn’t want to let Jude out of his sight, and Jude stayed close to him, even when he found exactly the sort of muscular, hairy guy Nally knew he liked.
Nally danced with a couple of guys, one of whom had silver in his hair and knew how to move like a pro. In other words, exactly his type. On any other night, he would have checked in with Jude before sneaking off with the guy to whatever hotel room or flat was nearby to blow off a little steam, or whatever the guy’s name was. But for whatever reason, he just wasn’t feeling it, no matter how perfect the guys were.
“You’re a great dancer.”
Nally whipped his head back around from where he’d been watching Jude twerk against a different bear only to find Quentin from the alley right in front of him.
“Thanks,” he shouted over the music, his smile uneasy.
“Wanna dance?” Quentin asked, moving stiffly in something that might have been a dance move.
“Um.” Nally didn’t know what to do. No, in fact, he did not want to dance with Quentin. It was odd that the man was at thesame club as them in the first place. But the dance floor was too packed and the music too loud to tell the man to go away. “Okay,” he said, then moved jerkily back and forth in something that definitely wasn’t dancing.
Quentin seemed happy enough. He was a terrible dancer, which probably saved Nally in the end. He swayed closer, maybe trying to grind and definitely trying to reach for him, but the floor was packed enough that all Nally needed to do was twist slightly to the side and he was dancing with someone else. He made it seem like it wasn’t personal as much as he could and even gestured for Quentin to get into it a little more with any number of guys moving and sweating around him.
Another shift and turn, and Nally found himself face to face with Jude, who was no longer bumping against any partner. Jude had a sharp look in his eyes and jerked his chin toward Quentin.
Nally shrugged, but Jude must have seen his true feelings in his expression. “Come on,” he said, barely audible over the thumping dance music.
Jude reached out a hand to Nally, and when Nally took it, the two of them started dancing together. That was exactly what Nally needed to loosen up a little and get back into the groove. Jude threw his arms around Nally’s shoulders and cleverly maneuvered him farther from Quentin, who didn’t seem to be happy dancing with the other guy who now faced him. And because Jude was Jude, he pulled Nally close so they could grind up against each other.
It was a move they’d done a dozen times before, and the older guys on the floor loved it. Two twinks who moved like they were super into each other always got the type of guy both of them liked going. But instead of peeling away from each other so they could have their pick of men for the night, Jude endedup grabbing Nally’s hand and rushing him suddenly toward the club’s door.
They were outside before Quentin or anyone else realized they were gone, or so Nally hoped.
“Your biggest fan definitely wants to get with you,” Jude laughed, his voice a little too loud as Nally’s ears rang from the club.
“No, thank you,” Nally said, walking fast down the sidewalk in no particular direction. He just wanted to get away. “To be honest, I’m just not feeling it tonight.”
“Neither am I,” Jude admitted.
“You want to just go back to Hawthorne House and call it a night?” Nally asked, heart beating fast as they reached the nearest intersection. He didn’t know where he was going or where he needed to go.
“Sounds divine,” Jude said with a smile. He grabbed Nally’s hand and tugged him off to the side, pointing at a nearby parking garage.
Nally let out a breath, feeling safe again. He wasn’t entirely certain what had just happened, with the premiere or the club or Quentin, but it felt wrong. Fleeing the scene with Jude, however, felt incredibly right.
FOUR
It wasthe strangest night of Jude’s life. Not because of the things he and Nally did. Attending a film premiere with full press and several mega-famous stars felt completely natural to him. Skipping out on a posh party to go to a club was relatively ordinary for him and Nally as well. They were regulars in London’s club scene. Driving home to Hawthorne House on his Joymax in the dead of night, taking back roads because it couldn’t keep up on the highways, and having to scramble to find someplace where they could get petrol that was open at two a.m. almost felt par for the course as well.
It was the way Jude’s insides seemed to jump around every time someone praised Nally and the pride he felt in seeing his best friend achieve so much that felt somehow new and raw. Maybe that had something to do with the obsessive fan who had shown up twice in the evening to pester Nally. It was probably just a coincidence. Anyone would feel a touch of possessiveness if their friend was receiving that sort of unwanted attention.
Something else was nagging at him, but it was the very last thing Jude wanted to dwell on.
He took a deep breath and rolled over as he woke up, throwing an arm over Nally’s torso, and snuggled closer to him. He didn’t know why, but sleeping in Nally’s bed always meant he slept like a rock. Even though Nally’s mattress definitely needed replacing and his own back home was one of the most expensive on the market. Nally was still asleep, so Jude kept his eyes shut and spooned his friend from behind, trying not to think about why the previous evening had felt so…different.
He should have posted more on social media. His followers had probably clogged up his DMs asking how the night had gone. The last time he’d checked, while they were still at the afterparty, he’d had over a hundred comments on his selfie with Nally in the theater. He needed to follow up on that.
Needed to, but he didn’t actually feel like doing anything but lying where he was, snuggled up under the duvet with Nally. They both wore pajamas, so it wasn’t like anything inappropriate was going on, but his morning wood hadn’t received that message. It didn’t really matter. Morning wood just happened. It wasn’t like he’d spent the night with a hot date from the club or anything, just with Nally.
Just with Nally. Jude grinned at the thought. Everything always felt better when he was just with Nally. Hawthorne House felt like home to him. It was one of his guilty secrets that the reason he hadn’t sought a flat of his own yet was because taking that step might mean he spent fewer nights sleeping at Hawthorne House. Nally’s body was as familiar to him as his own. It wasn’t the first night they’d crashed out together. Not by a long shot. They’d been spending the night in each other’s beds since they started having sleepovers when they were ten.
