Page 53 of Friendly Skies
The bouncers’ arrival seemed to make the woman reconsider, and she swayed on her feet as they got between her and Luis.
“Is there a problem here?” one of them asked, looking first at the woman, then at Luis and Darius, and then at the crowd that had formed around them. “Anyone need to be escorted out?”
The woman’s friend took hold of her arm. “We’ll be going,” she said. “Sorry for my friend’s bad manners.”
“Oh, fuck off, Janice. You know what he did.”
“Not really, and neither do you. So, let’s go.”
After a few more exchanges, the women left the dance floor to applause from the men who surrounded Luis and Darius. They offered their sympathy and support, but Darius barely heard them. He couldn’t keep his eyes off Luis, whose temper was still up.
“You okay?” Luis asked, and Darius nodded. “Want to get another drink?” Again, Darius nodded, and Luis led him toward the bar.
Along the way, people who’d witnessed the incident clapped Darius on the shoulder and told him they were on his side, which was comforting in a way, but by the fourth or fifth person, Darius began wondering why there was any side to take. While the accusation was having a profound effect on his life and might have very real, lasting consequences, he had to believe the woman had made those accusations because she honestly thought he’d touched her on purpose in an inappropriate place. To think otherwise was unfathomable to him because he couldn’t imagine deliberately causing harm to someone.
“That was kind of wild, huh?” Luis asked while they waited for the bartender to make their drinks.
“You were amazing,” Darius said as he found his tongue. He slipped an arm around Luis’ waist and pulled him close. “My hero.”
“You’re the hero. She was way out of line. I can’t imagine anyone thinking you would… do that. I mean, it’s not about sex. It’s about power and being able to make someone else feel small and weak. It’s about taking something from someone. You’ve never done that. Not to me. Not to anyone. It’s not who you are.”
“I know, chico,” Darius said, but something about Luis’ declaration hit him strangely, and he knew Luis wasn’t just responding to his situation or the encounter with the bridal party. Even in the club’s dim light and the music overwhelming the nuances of Luis’ voice, Darius could still tell. It was in Luis’ expression, the tension in his body, the way he worried at his fingers. Something struck Darius as familiar, though he couldn’t name exactly what that was. But now was not the time to figure it out.
They got their drinks and sipped at them while standing on the edge of the dance floor. The distraction from the bridal party had waned, and everyone was back to having a good time, looking for a hookup, or finding a willing body for a quickie in the bathroom. Darius and Luis were just another couple of guys, and Darius hoped the social media storm would blow over just as quickly. He was already tired of this thing hanging over his head, and it was going to suck when Luis had to leave for his next flight while Darius was still suspended because then he’d be alone with his thoughtsandmissing Luis.
They leaned against a wall, sipping at their drinks as they watched the men around them.
“See anyone you like, chico?” Darius asked.
Luis turned, and the heat in his gaze nearly set Darius on fire. “Absolutely,” he said. “Finish up, and let’s get back out there.”
Which was exactly what they did, giving their empty glasses to a passing waiter, then making their way into the middle of the dance floor, where the crowd would keep them pressed against each other. Not that they needed a reason to get as close as theycould, but Darius felt safer in the middle of the group, and the brush of other bodies against his own was familiar, even if the only body he cared about was the one pressing its ass against his cock.
Darius leaned forward, wrapped his arms around Luis’ waist, and pulled him closer so he could lean down and whisper-shout in his ear, “You are so fucking sexy, chico. I love you.”
In response, Luis looped his arms around Darius’ neck, getting as much of Darius’ body in contact with his and writhing against him. They danced for another hour, then left Neon and took a Lyft back to the condo, which was dark and quiet, giving no clue whether they had one, two, or no roommates in residence.
“This is getting really complicated,” Luis said as they crept toward their bedroom.
“I know, but I don’t think either Greg nor Ricky know when they’re going to be here at this point.”
“Fair,” Luis said as he opened the door to their room.
As soon as they were inside, Darius pulled Luis into his arms. “Maybe it’s time to not have roommates anymore.”
“You mean, have it be just the two of us?”
“Yeah. So I can kiss you whenever I want, wherever I want, and it will only be us and our schedules we have to worry about.”
“I like that,” Luis said, his voice growing husky and his pink booty shorts doing nothing to hide his growing arousal. “Would we only be kissing? Because I don’t think we’d scandalize anyone if they found us making out on the couch.”
“Not just kissing, no.” Darius put his hands on Luis’ ass and pulled him close so their cocks could get friendly. “There might be blow jobs in the living room, sex on the table, maybe in the kitchen, definitely in the shower.” He leaned down and punctuated his words with kisses along Luis’ jawline.
“Our bed will get lonely.” Luis leaned his head back against the wall, and Darius took immediate advantage of the greater access to his neck.
“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that,” Darius said with a low chuckle as his hands circled Luis’ waist, his fingers teasing at the dimples above Luis’ ass, then dipping lower to flirt with his crack. “Now that you’re mine, I don’t have to keep my hands off you anymore.” Another trail of kisses up Luis’ neck to his jaw to the corner of his mouth, where Darius flicked his tongue against those sweet, plush lips. “I don’t know how I managed to sleep next to you all those years without losing my mind, because now that I can have you, I want you all the time.”
Luis groaned. “Yeah?” he asked.
