“I get it,” Dane said. “He seems cool.”
“But when I get around him…” Gabe groaned. “Fuck, I can’t stop myself from touching him, flirting with him.”
Dane shrugged. “He’s hot.”
“I know. But what makes him anyhotterthan the other guys around here? I don’t want to obsessively make out with them.”
Sipping his drink, Dane said, “It isn’t always just aboutlooks.Physically speaking, do you think I’m better looking than Cole?”
“Well… yeah.”
“But you’d rather make out with Cole than me, right?”
Gabe sighed. “Yeah, I suppose so.”
“See?” Dane smiled. “Not just about looks. You connect with him on some level, and that makes all the difference in the world.”
“Yeah,” Gabe mumbled. “But doesheconnect withme?Or am I just pushing myself on him?”
“Again,” Dane said. “From my perspective, he’s veryintoyou. I mean, shit,” he laughed. “He was practically humping your leg on the dance floor. That was all him.”
Gabe shivered, and a small smile flickered across his mouth.
“If he didn’t like you, he wouldn’t be here. He wouldn’t keep going out on the floor with you or agree to take dancing lessons. Nothing isforcinghim to be here.”
Dane was right; Cole could have walked away last night, not texted, and not come back today. That would have been the end of it. Easy peasy.
But he did text last night, and he’s here today.
And he definitely wasn’t “fighting” Gabe on the dance floor.
Gabe exhaled slowly and tried to settle his nerves. It helped for about two seconds—then Cole sat down next to him.
The heat ignited on the dance floor was still burning hot inside Cole when he took the stool beside Gabe. He was sure that if Gabe touched him just then, he might spontaneously explode. Or, at least,onepart of him might. Cole was confused by the effect Gabe had on him. He’d met attractive, fun men over the years, but whenever things started to get sexual or too intimate, Cole decided it was time to move on.
Instead of running from Gabe, though, he couldn’t seem to stay away from him. The idea of sex wasexciting, not unsettling or uncomfortable. Maybe he was just tired of running, tired of being alone all the time, and he just wanted tofeelsomething... if only physically.
Cole didn’t understand the “phenomenon” and lacked the mental fortitude to analyze it. Maybe it was as simple as just beinghorny. He was a young man in his prime who constantly denied himself the company of men. His hormones were probably going crazy.
The bartender slid a cold beer to Cole. He took it eagerly and sucked down a third of it, savoring the cool sensation that spread through his chest. If only it would reach all the way to his fiery crotch.
“Are you alright?” Gabe asked, his tone seeming sincere.
“Yeah.” Cole cleared his throat and took another drink. “I’m good.”
Gabe gave him a lingering look. “Still up for some lessons?”
Was he? Could he handle a man’s touch right now? Sitting so close to Gabe, the warmth of his body seeping into Cole, he didn’t have the willpower to say no and walk away. So what if he stayed and things got a little… crazy? It wouldn’t be the end of the world. Maybe heneededsome crazy in his life—somegoodcrazy… not the bad crazy he’d been running from for years.
“Yeah,” he murmured. “I’m still… up.”
Gabe glanced at him for a moment before laughing. Dane chuckled along with him. Cole pressed his lips together, trying to hold back his own laughter.
“You definitely belonghere,”Gabe grinned, squeezing his shoulder.
Cole trembled beneath his touch, the casual gesture fueling the fire between his thighs. He hadn’t come down from thehighhe’d been riding on the dance floor, and Gabe’sproximitycontinued to heighten it.
Removing his hand a bit abruptly, Gabe cleared his throat. “Maybe your first session should be with Dane.”
