Page 54 of Bro Code

“Do you come to these places a lot?” he said, to take his mind off how nervous he was.

Louis lifted one shoulder as the line moved and they shuffled forward. “When I can. It’s a good way to blow off steam.”

“I wouldn’t have thought this was your scene.”

“Why not?”

“Well…you’re pretty buttoned up.”

Louis’ eyes sparked with mischief, but all he said was, “Mm.” Riley was beginning to get the feeling he was being deliberately toyed with.

“We’re not gonna be like…having sex with people in there, are we?” he said.

Louis burst out laughing. “Are you serious? No, Boo. It’s not that kind of place.” Riley’s heart skipped. Boo? “I mean, I’m sure we could find some willing participants if you want to. But no. This is just dancing.” He squeezed Riley’s arm. “Relax.”

Inside, it was…a bar. Dark, hazy, and humid, the air was sweet, and the floor was sticky. The music was so loud Riley could feel it in his chest, and as they made their way toward the bar, he had to navigate a sea of sweaty bodies. They did a shot, then pounded cocktails – Louis took charge of all this – and then Louis grabbed his hand and dragged him toward the dance floor.

Riley dug in his heels. “I don’t know about that.”

“Sure you do.” Louis tugged him in close, slipping his hand into Riley’s back pocket and putting his lips to his ear. “Don’t worry. I’ll make you look good.”

Riley caught the sharp scent of his cologne, and underneath that, the coconut smell that made him feel a little bit crazy. He pulled him tighter against him.

“Fine. You’d better.”

Louis pulled him out onto the floor, looking wily as fuck, and started to move. He was a good dancer – much better than he was at skating, anyway. He took the lead, guiding Riley’s hands to his hips as he pressed himself against him. Riley squeezed his fingers tight, his breath catching at the smoothness of how he moved.

“Bend your knees!” Louis laughed. “You’re like a statue.”

Riley bent his knees, remembering how stiff Louis had been on the ice and feeling like he owed it to him to give it his best try. He didn’t hate this, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was at a high school dance. He glanced around to make sure no one was watching.

“Eyes on me, please,” said Louis, in a way that was not so much sexy as it was a direct order. Riley snapped his eyes back and he smiled. “Thank you.”

Riley held his gaze. His eyes under these lights were totally different than they’d been in the arena. He tried to block out everything around them and just focus on Louis.

Which…actually turned out not to be all that hard. Louis was mesmerizing. Everything he did was so slinky. It was like trying to hold onto water, which was frustratingly sexy. Riley kept grabbing at him to pull him closer, and Louis kept slipping away like an eel, doing little twists with his hips like he was teasing him, which made Riley furiously horny. When Riley did manage to get hold of him properly, he pinned him as hard as he could to keep him still and ground his throbbing cock into his ass.

Was everyone else on this dance floor as hard as he was? Just a sea of horned-up people, sweating and grinding on each other. Actually not all that different from high school after all. Fuck, that was actually kind of sexy.

When Louis announced he needed a break and a drink, Riley was actually disappointed. They fought their way to a table, and Louis sprawled dramatically over it on his elbows, declaring he was exhausted. Riley came up behind him and took his hips in both hands, pushing his erection against Louis’ ass and leaning in to kiss his ear. “That better not be true, because I have plans for you after this.”

Louis turned around, fixing him with another mischievous look. “Oh, do you, now?”

Riley moved in, pinning his hips to the table with his, and kissed the side of his neck. Louis’ fingers slipped into his hair and tugged his head up.

“I’m gonna get us some more drinks,” he said. “Don’t go anywhere.” He fished into his back pocket and put his phone and wallet on the table. “This is our table now. Guard it with your life.”

Riley saluted with two fingers, and Louis winked and ducked into the crowd.

Riley dragged over a stool and perched on it with his hands in his pockets to wait, with the thump of the music in his chest. It wasn’t all that crazy, really. Pretty normal club. But he still couldn’t quite believe he was here.

The table buzzed, and he glanced over to see Louis’ phone lighting up. The name at the top of the screen said Chloé. Riley watched the call go to voicemail. Did he know that name? He didn’t think so.

Louis returned with the drinks, and Riley indicated the phone with his elbow. “You got a call from Chloé?”

He thought he saw something dark pass through Louis’ eyes as he set two shots of Jaeger on the table. It was gone in a moment – such a small thing Riley couldn’t even be sure he’d seen it. Louis pocketed the phone without looking at it, then grinned and picked up his glass. He held it up for a toast, and Riley dutifully picked up his own glass and clinked it.

“I happened to notice on my way back from the bar that there’s no line for the bathroom right now,” said Louis, after he’d downed the shot and put the glass back on the table.