“Okay, let’s not forget that that is my uncle! I might joke about him, but I don’t want the details of what they do together.” Paxton took her drink, something clear and bubbly. Wright had ordered a mocktail, fruity. He was trying hard not to think about the others drinking. They didn’t know as much about his past as Xander, Patrick, and Tracy. William knew the most out of them and he’d already made sure that Wright needed to tell him if he needed a break.
They all settled down and Wright sipped his drink while they talked. Paxton pulled her phone out once more and texted someone. She was supposed to meet up with a friend or someonetonight. Wright tried to listen to the others, but the music was loud and the lights were too dim for him to attempt to read lips. He decided to people watch instead.
There were all sorts of people around them. Girls, guys, theys. Two women near them were dancing close, barely any clothes separating them. He was almost positive they were wearing some type of pleather. Another group was standing just on the edge of the dance floor. It was like the scene Wright described to Xander earlier; two larger men with a smaller guy between them. Instead of kissing each other, though, the guys were giving all of their attention to the one in the middle. One had his lips on his and the other seemed to be kissing his neck, all while they grinded against each other.
“Wanna go dance?” Wylon asked, pulling him out of his stare. His cheeks heated, wondering if he realized that he was staring instead of just idly watching. He took another sip of his drink before answering.
“I’m good to do whatever,” Wright said. “I don’t want to embarrass y’all out there.”
“Nonsense,” William said. “You can dance with me and Clark. We’re pretty much pros at this point.”
“Do I need to tell him the story of the time you literally tripped over my feet and took out another couple on your way down? You hadn’t even had a drink yet then.” Brett laughed telling the story. William shoved his shoulder but joined the laughter. Wright smiled at the interaction. He liked the guys, although they were a little older. He stood, promising himself that he would give this a fighting chance. He’d have fun tonight. And then he’d go home to the man he loved and maybe get fucked to sleep. Or something like that. He took a shallow breath and tried to block out the smell of alcohol on the dance floor.
The music was playing something hip-hop. The perks of growing up not watching TV, he knew a lot of the songs playing.At least he could sing along and knew the tempos. He started out dancing with Paxton, but soon she had someone take her attention. Before he could feel awkward as a fifth wheel to the rest of the group, an arm snaked around his waist and he looked back to see Clark behind him.
“Having fun?” he asked, bending down to talk to him so he could hear over the music. The dance floor was crowded, the temperature high enough from body heat alone to make him start sweating. His shoe was sticking to the floor in one spot. Wright nodded and continued to sway his hips with the music. Wylon and Brett were nearing an NSFW type of dancing. They looked like they were having fun. Something he was sure they needed due to having a baby at home. Wylon’s mom was watching him this weekend. Wright had mostly been swaying back and forth, not really moving his feet. “Just go with it. Trust me, there is no way you can embarrass yourself here. People are cool.”
Wright turned in Clark’s hold and looked up at him. Clark’s other hand rested on his hip and he let him lead him for a few seconds. The song was an older one by Kesha and had a decent beat to it. Clark smiled when he started moving a little more, still feeling a bit awkward dancing with him. But then he looked around and realized that no one was watching him. Everyone was in their own little worlds, dancing with the people they came with or they had already met.
“Get it, Wright!” William’s voice was beside him on his other side. He looked to see William and Wylon sandwiching Brett in the middle. William kept a few inches between him and his best friend, but Wylon had him pressed close. The way they were watching each other while they danced was a familiar sight. It was the same way Xander looked at him most days. “Move your feet some more. Feel free to put your hands on my husband. It’s hot watching him dance with someone else.”
“He’s totally lying,” Clark said. “He gets extremely jealous when someone we don’t know tries to dance with us.”
“But we do know Wright. And we love Wright. So it’s cool. Dance on, my friends!” William adjusted the hat on his head as the song switched to something newer. Wright didn’t immediately recognize it but it was a faster pace and there was excited shouting around the club for it. The energy picked up and Wright did as William said.
“You wouldn’t believe that two years ago William was the shy one,” Clark said only loud enough for Wright to hear. “We’ve totally corrupted him and you’re next, I guess.”
He had fun after that. So much, in fact, that he didn’t pay attention to the hours slipping away. They took several breaks for water or more drinks. Wright danced with all of them. At one point, they crowded in a circle around Wright and they danced in an awkward six-way. Paxton danced with both guys and girls until her friend showed up. Wright had seen her around the ranch before, but never really spoke to her. She seemed nice enough. Wylon made sure she had her location turned on and shared with each of them before they let her wander off. She wasn’t allowed to leave the building and no drinking. She needed to check in every fifteen minutes or they were pulling the plug on her being there and calling her dad. That threat alone did the trick, not that Paxton was a deceitful person. Paxton rolled her eyes at their rules, but Wright liked that they were taking her safety seriously. It helped ease more of the anxiety low in his gut.
He was surprised to see it was already past midnight when they found a new place to sit down. It was up on the balcony, in a corner where you couldn’t see much of the dance floor. He sunk down into the seat and groaned. His feet were killing him and he was sweaty. Clark had already taken his shirt off. William ditched the hat. Brett unbuttoned his shirt fully. Wright wasgrateful for the mesh so he didn’t have to take his off to stay cool enough.
“So, how is your first experience so far?” William asked. It was just the two of them right now. The other three had gone down to both check on Paxton and get a last round of drinks. They wanted to walk down the street a bit to cool off, grab some late night food to sober up, and then head back to the ranch. They were going to drop Brett and Wylon off and then Clark and William were crashing in the guest room at the ranch. Paxton had offered to drive back since she hadn’t drunk. Wright didn’t feel comfortable enough to do that. Xander had taken him only a handful of times to get him used to driving. He wasn’t quite ready to drive on a main road with other civilians around.
“I’m glad I did this,” Wright said honestly. “I’ve had a lot of fun. Thank you.”
“No problem,” William said. He rested a hand on Wright’s leg. Him and Clark both, he noticed, were touchy people. It wasn’t ever anything inappropriate or suggestive but comforting. “We needed a night out. It’s been all work since we got back from the honeymoon. I love Texas and my job, but I miss when the most I had to do was walk the fifty feet from my bed to the beach each morning. We had a private beach area and I’m pretty sure I went a solid four days without ever putting so much as a sock on. There was sand in every part of my body.”
Wright laughed at that. He had the tendency to just stay naked when they were in the guest house too, so he understood the joys of a clothes-less lifestyle. “I never did apologize for that. For kind of ruining your wedding.”
“You didn’t ruin anything,” William said quickly and sternly. He seemed to sober up on the spot and sat up straighter. Wright mimicked his position. William leaned closer to him to continue talking so he didn’t have to nearly shout to be heard. “I don’t like how it came about, but I’m glad you showed up. We wereworried about you when we saw Xander kneeling next to you after the truck sped away, but this is what we do. We help those that need it. We still don’t know how your dad thought we were a camp or anything, but it was the best mistake he ever made. You’re part of this family, Wright. You know that, right? Right, Wright?” William laughed at his own joke. Wright rolled his eyes. He was relaxed, learning more that alcohol didn’t equal pain. For Xander, it was cuddles. Apparently for William, it was funny sayings. “You have people rooting for you that you don’t even realize.”
Wright wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but the guys came back with drinks and Paxton. She was smiling and her hair looked mussed. “Found this one pinned against a wall.”
“And he promptly unpinned me,” Paxton added with a grumble. But she was still smiling. “Ran some clitorference.”
“Some what?” All of them asked in near unison. They all looked at each other and then back to Paxton who was now doubled over laughing.
“Oh my god! That was the best moment of my life. You all were just the definition of gay friends.”
“Pansexual representing, here, thank you!” Wylon shouted back. “But please, explain what you just said.”
“It’s the female version of a cock block, idiots.”
“You are so not having sex on my watch,” William said, suddenly serious. “Your dad would kill me. Then feed me to the bulls or something.”
“They act like we’re virgins,” Paxton said, looking at Wright. He felt bad for her. Not in a literal sense, but in a ‘we’re younger but not innocent’ way. Granted, Wright was younger and innocent two months ago but he didn’t say that out loud. “I’ve probably had more experiences than all of you before you settled down.”
“Who says our experiences stopped after we got married?” Brett asked.
