Ander’s attention was caught by someone behind me, and he lifted his hand in greeting. I twisted in my seat to see JJ bounding towards us, a red knitted hat pulled low on his head and a matching chunky scarf wrapped around his neck and the lower part of his face, just leaving his eyes showing, framed by his glasses.
“I don’t know about bronchitis,” Ander said as JJ reached us, and JJ raised a brow, unravelling his scarf and sinking into one of the two free seats.
“Am I interrupting something? Because if you need a medical opinion, I know nothing. My suggestion is go to the doctor.”
His words triggered a memory…brown hair and a smile…the invitation to Revolve…Dr. Wilder snapping at us…
“Not Dr. Wilder.”
I didn’t realise I’d spoken aloud until Ander’s lips kicked up at the corners.
“E, he’s not a medical doctor. He’s got a PhD in assholery.”
“He’s actually got a PhD in…” I thought for a minute. “Something businessy.”
“Also, assholery.” Leaning back in his chair, Ander folded his arms across his impressive chest. “That man is a fucking bellend.”
“Well, yeah.” I couldn’t disagree.
“Who’s this?” JJ’s gaze flicked between us, sharp and interested, like a shark smelling blood in the water.
“No one. Just one of our lecturers. He’s probably, what? Thirty? Thirty-two, maybe? Something like that. But he acts like he’s some fucking all-knowing ancient being.” Ander was dramatic as always, but again, I couldn’t disagree.
“Oh, yeah. I’ve heard you both complaining about him before. But you’re studying business. You should’ve picked drama or music if you wanted a lecturer who actually cared about more than ticking boxes.” JJ reached out and grabbed my Coke Zero, taking a sip. “Let’s change the subject to something less boring. What are we wearing to Thirst Trap Thursday?”
“You’re coming?”
Placing my drink back down in front of me, he nodded. “Yeah, Preston invited me, and—” He cut himself off with a small shake of his head.
“It’s okay. Elliot knows what’s going on. I wouldn’t keep anything from him.” Ander gave him a reassuring look and then turned to me. “I was there when Preston invited JJ, and I invited myself. So I’ll be there.”
His words fell heavily between us, a ton of lead dropping at my feet.
Ander was going to be at the club. Ander. Who wanted to experiment with other guys.
After the longest silence in the world, I cleared my throat. “Thirst Trap Thursday. Should be a good night.”
“Yeah… Thirst Trap Thursday…” my best friend said slowly.
A reluctant smile crawled across JJ’s face as he met Ander’s eyes. He glanced at me and then back to Ander, who gave an emphatic nod. His shoulders relaxed, and he clasped Ander’s arm briefly before releasing it. “You said you were interested in experimenting with boys, but are you ready to be thrown in the deep end?”
“I’m ready.”
Those two words coming from my best friend’s mouth…they fucking cut me. For so many years—no. I wouldn’t torment myself. My only option was to move on, and I would do everything in my power to ensure it happened.
But the thought of seeing Ander with someone else, after everything that had happened between us over the past week…I knew that when I was faced with it, the cut would be even deeper.
6
“Stop staring at Elliot, and come with me. I want you to meet some people.”
Somehow, I managed to tear my gaze away from the sight of my best friend, looking so fucking… I didn’t even have a word to describe him. Confident in a way I’d never seen him before. His body was writhing sinuously under the sweeping lights, the sheer sleeveless shirt he wore clinging to the lightly defined muscles of his torso. His legs looked long as fuck in a pair of tight black jeans that I’d never seen him in before. A huge smile was wreathed across his face.
Here, in this club, Elliot was so comfortable in his own skin, it…it made it hard to look away.
Turning to JJ, who was smirking, I raised a brow. “What? I’ve never seen Elliot like this before. It’s…weird.”
JJ stepped closer, curiosity entering his gaze. Despite the low lighting, his eyes looked even brighter and more focused than normal, rimmed with some dark, sparkly shit. “Weird how?”
I shrugged. “Dunno, really. I thought I knew everything about him, but I haven’t seen this side of him before.”
He chewed on his lip for a moment, his expression thoughtful. “You’ve never been to a gay club with him before, have you? It’s a different environment from the usual places you spend time together.”
“I guess that makes sense.” Shooting Elliot another final glance, I allowed JJ to steer me away from the bar towards a group of guys around the same age as us, dressed similarly in short-as-fuck shorts of varying colours and no tops.
“It’s like I’m seeing seven of you,” I murmured in JJ’s ear as we drew closer. “Is there some kind of hot-boy clone factory out the back?”
“Babe, if you’ve got it, flaunt it.” He shot me a grin. “Speaking of, it’s Thirst Trap Thursday. Your T-shirt needs to be gone. Now.”
“Okay.” With another careless shrug, I lifted my tight white T-shirt, peeling it from my body, and tucked it into the waistband of my jeans. JJ was right. I had it, and I was fucking well going to flaunt it.
“JJ, who’s this?” One of the guys, dressed in tiny electric-blue shorts, broke away from the group and sidled up to us. He was at least a head shorter than me, with the lean, defined body of a dancer and a mop of deep brown curls on the top of his head. Giving me a coy smile, he batted his lashes at me.
Before I knew what was happening, his blue-tipped fingernail was trailing down my abs.
JJ swatted his hand away. “Not for you. He’s new to this. Very new. I don’t want you scaring him off.”
Both the guy and I laughed at the same time.
As if I could be scared away. I was fully committed to this.
“Hmmm…” The guy moved, circling behind me and then coming up to my other side. Gripping onto my bicep, he stood up on his toes, speaking into my ear. “Curious, are you? You know what they say about curiosity.”
I shot him a smile, slipping easily into flirt mode. “What do they say?”
“Dance with me, and maybe I’ll tell you.”
“For fuck’s sake,” JJ muttered from my left. “Niccolò. Go and find someone else to play with. This is Ander’s first time here.”
“I don’t mind.” Holding eye contact with Niccolò, I replied to JJ. “What was it you said to me? Be upfront? I’m here to see if I can satisfy some of my curiosity. And I don’t think I need to remind you that this was your idea to come here, anyway.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see JJ shake his head in defeat. “Whatever. Just…play nice, Nic.”
“I’m always nice,” Niccolò purred. He began tugging me away from JJ and his friends, leading us in the direction of the dancing bodies. When we reached the dance floor, he plastered his body up against mine. “Ander. What brings you here tonight?”