When Alexei still didn’t say anything, she leaned forward, chin propped on her fist, phone forgotten.
“What?” Alexei said, feeling strangely exasperated.
“You are…interesting,” Carolina said, her voice filled with a sense of curious wonder. At least, that was how Alexei was going to interpret it.
“Come on.” Ben pulled Alexei to his feet, leading him away from the table and Carolina. “Youmustdance with other gays whenever Whitney’s on,” he said over his shoulder as he marched Alexei to the dance floor. “It’s in our bylaws.”
“You’re drunk,” Alexei noted, smiling as Ben finally stopped and twirled around to face him.
“Maybe a little. Comeonnnnn. Dance with me, Lex.”
And feeling helpless to refuse, Alexei did.
He felt a little drunk himself, from the happiness radiating from Ben, from the silly bop of the song. And so he danced. It all seemed to happen rather quickly. Alexei had no ideahowto dance, wondered at this moment if he had ever actually danced in his entire life, but a quick assessment of the dance floor proved none of these other people knew how to dance, either, so he didn’t think too hard about what his body was doing.
Ben reached out his hand during a chorus, and while Alexei willingly took it, he still found himself surprised to be tugged so violently toward Ben’s chest and then flung outward again. Ben lifted their twined hands and twirled underneath them, encouraging Alexei with another push to do the same. Ben never stopped shouting-singing along the whole time, and Alexei couldn’t quite meld together in his brain how this was both endearing and hot. And then Alexei realizedeveryonewas singing along, and he realized he was laughing. That his face almost hurt from it.
He leaned in to shout over the music into Ben’s ear.
“You said the rule was to dance with other gays.” Because suddenly Alexei had a vision. That he and Ben were dancing this exact dance, just like this, but in a dark room where everyone else was like them.
Swipe-right number two had offered to take Alexei clubbing sometime, two years ago, but even the word,clubbing, had practically made him break out in hives.
Right now, though, the idea sent a lick of electricity all the way up his spine.
“My cousin Martim is bi,” Ben shouted back, pointing across the dance floor to a tall man with curly dark hair, who flashed a smile and waved at them like he knew exactly what Ben was saying. Alexei blushed and looked back at Ben.
“And we’re pretty sure Ana is a big lesbo, but, you know, I’m trying not to pressure her too much. I’ll find more gays for you,” Ben added as he danced in a circle around Alexei, “next time.”
Alexei laughed. “This is good,” he said. “This is enough.”
And as he kept jiggling his hips and jerking his arms, he realized the song had changed. But no one had stopped dancing, and he didn’t feel like stopping, either. So he didn’t.
Someone walked by and plopped the burger hat on Alexei’s head.
“I can’t tell if your sister hates me or not,” he shouted at Ben.
“Oh, Alexei.” Ben smiled, his shoulders jumping, his body loose and in constant motion. “I can’t think of a single reason why anyone would ever hate you.”
***
Hours later, Ben and Alexei wished Carolina and Ben’s parents a good night after they all tumbled through the front door. Alexei watched Iris, so much taller than her husband, lean down to plant a kiss on Luiz’s cheek before they ambled up the stairs side by side, Luiz’s arm curled around her waist. Alexei knew his parents loved each other. But they had never shown such casual physical affection. He stared after them a second, entranced by it, before Ben tugged at his arm.
As they walked downstairs, stopping near Ben’s bed to take off their shoes, Alexei was filled with a deep, soothing sense of relief at it being the two of them again. Even though he had ended up having a surprisingly good time at the party, it had still been quite the day. Being alone with Ben made him feel normal again, his nerves settled.
Plus, the Caravalhos also did their laundry down here. Ben’s bedroom smelled like fabric softener, and it made Alexei feel like he was wrapped in a warm blanket every time he entered it.
He was about to collapse onto the bed to sleep forever when Ben’s arms circled around him from behind, flat palms running up Alexei’s chest.
“Not to be dramatic about it.” Ben’s voice was at his ear, his breath hot on Alexei’s cheek. Automatically, Alexei’s back curled, falling back against him. “But if I don’t fuck you right now, I might die.”
“Oh,” Alexei said, heart thumping, watching in a daze as Ben’s fingers made quick work with the buttons on his shirt. “Dying would be bad.”
“Hard agree.”
Within seconds, Alexei found himself on his back on Ben’s tiny twin bed—not even close to a king, but it would do—his shirt on the floor, Ben’s tongue inside his mouth, while Ben’s fingers worked at Alexei’s pants.
“Ben.” Alexei broke away for long enough to breathe. “Your family.”
