Page 10 of Friendly Skies
They turned for the bar where Darius got a refresher on his Cosmo and the guy ordered a G & T. While they waited, they engaged in the mindless small talk between two people who didn’t know each other and couldn’t really hear what the other was saying anyway over the music and voices around them. The guy was named Ash, and he had gorgeous olive skin, dark eyes, a rugged amount of scruff along his jaw, and was wearing a white crop top that showed off his flat abs and a pair of black barrel jeans that fit loose enough on his hips to show off a tempting V and a dusky shadow. Darius licked his lips, then met Ash’s gaze. From the way Ash was checking him out, he was equally as impressed with Darius.
A high-top table opened up as they turned away from the bar, and they made for it. Darius immediately scanned the dance floor, found Luis, and took a sip of his drink. Ash stood close again, this time canting his hips so he was touching Darius as they stood side by side. When Darius put his drink down on the table, Ash did likewise, then stroked the side of Darius’ hand with his little finger.
“Your friend’s cute,” Ash said, lifting his chin toward the gyrating crowd.
“He is,” Darius said, then turned to face Ash, ready to play the game. “But so am I.”
“Oh, honey, you’re beautiful.” Ash turned toward him, stepped close, and lifted his hand to run his fingers down the side of Darius’ face. “Can I kiss you?”
“As long as I can kiss you back.”
Ash laughed, then closed the distance between them and brought his lips down on Darius’. The kiss was warm, soft, sensual, but it didn’t light Darius up the way Luis’ kisses did. He didn’t feel it radiate through his body or make his heart race.Still, though,he thought as he opened to let Ash explore,it’spleasant and a whole lot better than watching Luis grind away on someone else.
With that thought, Darius wrapped his arms around Ash’s neck and rocked his hips forward. Ash moved a leg between Darius’ and placed a hand on his lower back to get him to thrust against his thigh, his tongue moving in Darius’ mouth with the same rhythm.
When they broke apart, Ash grinned. “That was nice.”
Darius smiled back and gave a flirty head toss. “It was, but is that all you want to do tonight?”
The filthy look Ash gave him had Darius’ cock reacting. “Not by a long shot.” He picked up his glass, gestured toward Darius. “Drink up. Then let’s get out there so you can show me your moves.”
After they finished their drinks, they made their way onto the dance floor, gravitating toward where Luis was grinding away on his partner. When they were right next to the other couple, Luis looked over his shoulder and smiled at Darius, whose heart gave an extra bump at the sight of his best friend looking so happy and relaxed. His skin was glowing, and the hair around his face was damp with sweat.
Darius grinned back at Luis, but before he could turn to Ash, Luis left his partner’s arms and danced toward him. Looping his arms around Darius’ neck, Luis writhed against him, his supple hips gyrating with the beat. “Glad you joined us,” he shouted over the music.
In response, Darius put his hands on Luis’ waist, the two of them moving in sync with each other. And then Ash moved behind Darius. A quick glance up showed that the guy Luis had been dancing with had followed suit, the four of them fitting together perfectly. Best of all, Luis was in his arms, and he had a hot guy at his back. It was almost perfect.
Luis raised his arms and wrapped them around his guy’s neck. Or at least tried to. The guy was tall enough, Luis’ fingers only ended up brushing the sides of his neck. “This is Reed,” he said, then leaned his head back for a kiss, which Reed gave him. “And this is Darius,” Luis said as he straightened up and leaned into Darius.
“Hey,” Reed said with a slight chin raise in Darius’ direction.
“Hey.” Darius tried not to glare at Reed, but it was difficult because he was getting all sorts of bad vibes from the guy.
Case in point, Reed put his arms around Luis’s waist and pulled him away from Darius. He wasn’t rough, just more possessive than Darius liked because he’d seen enough guys act like Luis was some doll they could move around as they pleased. Reed was every inch the kind of guy Luis always seemed to attract: tall, muscled, blond, and possessive. The kind of guy who put Darius on alert and made him forget all about Ash until he found himself pulled back against Ash’s hard body.
Darius tried to get back into the flow of the dance, but his eyes were focused on Luis. When Luis took a couple of steps toward him, Reed again pulled him away, and Darius felt concern take root in his chest.
“You worried about him?” Ash asked.
“Always.” Darius turned his head slightly, still trying to keep Luis in his field of vision. “He has shitty taste in men.”
“Do you want to get a drink and keep an eye on him?”
“Yeah. Sorry.”
“No worries,” Ash said as they left the dance floor and headed for the bar. “He’s lucky to have such a good friend.”
For some reason, the word “friend” struck Darius so hard in the center of his chest that he stopped walking. The longing he felt as he watched Luis carved out a hollow in his stomach that filled with acid as he saw Reed take hold of Luis’ arm and tug on it so hard Luis stumbled. In a flash, he was heading towardthem, weaving his way around groups of dancing men, barely noticing that Ash was right behind him.
Reed had taken Luis from the dance floor and was trying to get him to head toward the bathrooms when Darius caught up to them. One look at Luis told him everything he needed to know. His best friend had gone still and rigid, the features on his face fixed in a neutral expression, but it was his eyes that scared Darius into reaching out and taking hold of his arm.
“Luis? Chico? Are you all right?”
“Fine,” Luis said, his gaze locked on something across the room in a thousand-mile stare that Darius had only seen in moments he absolutely wasn’t fine.
“We were about to take a break,” Ash said. “Why don’t you guys join us?”
Darius cast a grateful look Ash’s way. “Absolutely. You could probably use some water after all that dancing.” He moved into Luis’ line of sight. “And maybe another Cosmo?”
