Eliot grinned at him briefly, then leaned forward to rest his head on Danny’s shoulder and started swaying them side to side, forcing Danny to step back or sideways every so often.
Once he got the hang of it, learned to anticipate Eliot’s moves, it was kind of nice.
He could feel the heat of Eliot’s body seeping into his own, and the movement was gentle enough that his knee wasn’t bothering him. Danny’s shoulders relaxed, the tension he’d been carrying in his stomach melting away after a few moments.
He tried not to think about Eliot naked or in the shower again. This was embarrassing enough without getting a hard-on in the middle of it.
Eliot chuckled. “There we go. Admit it, you’re having fun.”
“I am,” Danny said. “But only because no one’s watching.”
“Someone’s always watching you, aren’t they?” Eliot said, as though he’d just realized.
Danny never really thought of himself as a celebrity—he’d gotten used to increasing levels of fame the way a frog gets used to boiling water as long as you heat it slowly. It hadn’t happened overnight. Looking back, though, there was a time when no one had known his name.
Now, he had to hire a fake boyfriend because everyone did.
Most people didn’t live like that. Eliot didn’t live like that, but he’d agreed to so he could help Danny out.
Danny wouldn’t have done the same for five hundred dollars a month.
“Yeah, they are,” Danny admitted. “It’s hard.”
Eliot made a soft, sympathetic noise that hit Danny square in the chest. When he shuffled a little closer, gripped him a little tighter, Danny didn’t even try to stop it. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Eliot, splaying his palms wide across his back.
Danny had given as little thought as possible to what was going on between them, but this was good. This was something he wanted, and while he still didn’t want to examine his reasons for that, he also didn’t want Eliot to move away. Not at the end of the song, not for a good, long while after.
“You’re not as bad at this as you think you are,” Eliot murmured, rubbing his cheek against Danny’s shoulder.
“You think?” Danny asked. They were really only swaying side-to-side, but even he had to admit that it felt nice.
Eliot hummed, looking up at him. Not just looking—staring into Danny’s eyes as though if he looked hard enough, he’d be able to see his soul.
Danny wasn’t entirely sure he couldn’t.
He also wasn’t entirely sure who moved first, but he knew a moment later thatsomeonehad, that Eliot was closer than he had been, that their lips were suddenly an inch apart and he wanted to close the gap between them.
Eliot beat him to it, sealing their mouths together with a surge forward. His glasses pressed into Danny’s cheek again, like they had last time.
This wasn’t like last time, though. Last time had been for show, in front of hundreds of people.
This was just for them. It was softer at first, more hesitant, Eliot’s lips exploring Danny’s own, feeling the shape of them, pressing closer and closer as the kiss deepened.
Danny’s mouth fell open, and he could taste red wine on Eliot’s tongue, but they hadn’t been drinking enough to be doing this. Eliot had only managed half a glass so far.
He wasn’t kissing Danny because he was drunk. He was kissing Danny because, for whatever reason, he wanted to.
Danny’s heart swelled in his chest, and he moved a hand up to cup the back of Eliot’s skull, his fingers tangling in the other man’s hair. He didn’t want Eliot to go anywhere. Right now, he wanted to do exactly this, for as long as Eliot would let him.
Of course, the moment he thought that, it was all over. Eliot broke the kiss and stumbled back, his glasses askew and his hair a mess, his cheeks flushed a dark red.
They both stared at each other for a few agonizing moments.
The horror written all over Eliot’s face broke Danny’s heart. Whatever he wanted in this moment, while he was lonely and vulnerable… he couldn’t have it. They couldn’t do this.
Eliot didn’t actually want him. He’d just been caught up in the moment.
Danny didn’t even know if he really wanted Eliot. He just wantedsomeone. Anyone. Someone to take all the loneliness and the pain away for a little while.
