Isaac was still staring—at everything—but he seemed to be actually enjoying himself now.
For a brief moment, Julian stood there like an idiot, not sure what to do in this specific situation. Then he remembered that he was supposed to be showing Isaac what this was like.
Julian was starting to think this whole thing was an elaborately-disguised experiment. That Isaac had questions he wanted answers to.
He’d wondered before, but dismissed it as wishful thinking when they were younger. Having Isaac come back to him as an adult, though, made him think that maybe he’d known better than he thought. That Isaacdidhave questions, after all.
If that was true… Julian was happy to answer them.
He stepped closer to Isaac, partly to save him the embarrassment of being grabbed by someone else, partly to mark him out ashis.
Isaac’s eyes widened, but he went with it as Julian grabbed both of his hands—not the world’s most intimate touch, but he didn’t want to send Isaac running.
This was just dancing. With his friend. He knew how to do this.
Except most of his friends fell firmly into one of three categories: exes he didn’t want to screw again, people he’d never wanted to screw in the first place, and people he wanted and was free to pursue.
He knew what to do with all of them. He knew to twirl the first two away at arm’s length, laughing and dancing for the hell of it.
The third, he knew to get close to, grind his hips against, murmur in their ears even though neither of them could hear him talking. Anything to make it clear that he was available and eager.
Isaac fell into a category of his own. Julian wanted him, but he knew he couldn’thavehim.
“You gonna stand there staring at me all night?” Isaac shouted, apparently used to projecting his voice in places like this.
Julian’s cheeks heated up. He had to make a decision.
He took a deep breath, and then stepped forward. Close enough for their chests to brush together, to breathe in the scent of Isaac’s cologne, to feel his warmth seeping through the couple of layers of clothing between them.
Unexpectedly, Isaac put both of his hands on Julian’s hips. Julian swallowed, but followed his lead and forced himself to relax.
The last thing he wanted was for Isaac to walk away from this thinking hecouldn’tdance.
Julian closed his eyes, letting the sounds and bodies around him trigger muscle memories of exactly how to do this. He finally felt himself moving, some amount of rhythm returning as he forgot that this was Isaac and let himself pretend it was just an attractive stranger.
This feltgood. Isaac was warm and solid, and Julianwantedhim, and he could pretend, just for a moment, that he had him. That they were going out dancing now, and then they’d go home, strip off, and then go through all these moves again, grinding against each other and kissing until they were breathless, high on adrenaline and just tipsy enough for the edges of the world to be soft.
Heat blossomed in Julian’s stomach at the thought, and at that moment, he decided it was best to justgowith it. He could jerk off later, and have this memory forever.
Laughter bubbled up in his throat, his chest swelling with joy. Helovedthis, the way his pulse beat to the music, the way another body felt against him, the anticipation of getting to know a new body on the dance floor before getting to know it in bed.
Isaac’s body moved with his, matching him, making the whole thing seem fluid and easy. He was impossibly, suffocatingly close, but Julian wouldn’t have given it up for anything.
Isaac could dance. Everything about the way he moved felt good, and Julian had no doubt that he looked good doing it, too.
How couldanyonenot want him?
Julian forced himself to open his eyes again, curiosity getting the better of him.
It shouldn’t have been a surprise that everyone was staring at them. That they’d even cleared a little space around them to watch. Or even that Isaac was grinning, obviously having the time of his life.
He liked attention, and he was getting it.
Julian on the other hand, ignored it. All he could see was Isaac, feel the heat of him, his stomach swooping at how close they were, at the way Isaac looked at him.
He gasped as Isaac pulled him in close, grinding against him. Heat rushed to his face, as well as other places he’d rather it didn’t.
Isaac obviously didn’t notice, though, squeezing Julian’s hips and finally, as though he was actually trying to kill him, resting their foreheads together.
