Kyle was glad Eric decided to stay, but he also wasn’t sure what to do with him. He’d thought this event would be the perfect place for Eric to cut loose a bit and maybe try to pick someone up, but now that they were here Kyle realized that Eric was probably never going to do either of those things.
Eric was talking to Scott at the moment, sipping a soda with lime. Kyle was watching the dance floor, which had gotten very busy over the last hour.
“I’m bored,” Kip complained in his ear. “Let’s go dance.”
“Scott won’t dance with you?”
“I think I need to lure him over. Come on, I haven’t danced with you in forever.”
Kyle smiled at his friend. Ithadbeen too long. “Sure. Okay.”
Kip grabbed his hand and pulled him into the throng of dancers. The music was loud and sexy, and he quickly lost himself in it. He loved dancing, and he loved Kip. And maybe his love for Kip wasn’t quite what he’d thought it was.
They were close together, arms and chests and hands brushing each other, but it was firmly platonic. They didn’t put their hands on each other, they didn’t grind into each other. They didn’t kiss. It was just...fun. And nice. Two young, gay men being silly and having a good time.
As Kip had predicted, it didn’t take long for Scott to arrive on the dance floor. Kyle moved back so Scott could take his place. When Scott and Kip danced together, it was definitely not platonic. Scott’s big hands were gripping his fiancé’s hips, and Kip looped his arms around Scott’s neck and pulled his head down so they could devour each other for a while. Kyle decided to find his own boy to kiss.
As he was searching the floor for a potential partner, his gaze found Eric, standing alone against a wall. Watching. Kyle jerked his head toward the dance floor in invitation. Eric shook his head, which was annoying. What was the point of all the work Kyle had been doing with him if he wasn’t even going totry? At the absolute least he should enjoy the press of a hard, sweaty body against him on the dance floor. It didn’t have to lead to a hookup.
But if Eric wanted to be stubborn and lonely, then that was his problem. Kyle had his own problems. Like whether to dance with the cute blond guy or the cute guy with blue hair.
Blue hair won when Kyle noticed he had a tongue piercing. It had been a while since Kyle had been with a guy who had one of those. The man smiled when Kyle locked eyes with him, and Kyle smiled back as he squeezed through bodies until he was standing in front of him. For the rest of the song, neither man said anything. Kyle was a good dancer—his years of racing down mountains had taught his body grace and agility. The other man was agreatdancer. New York City was, Kyle had quickly learned, full of great dancers.
Partway through the second song, the man brought his mouth close to Kyle’s ear. “I’m Jesse.”
“Kyle.”
Jesse grinned wickedly at him, then hooked a finger in one of Kyle’s belt loops, pulling their groins together so Kyle could feel the hard bulge there.
He probably shouldn’t be thinking about Eric at all right now. Not when Jesse was expertly grinding his hips into Kyle, and Kyle’s cock was plumping up in response. Not when Jesse’s hand slipped into the back pocket of Kyle’s jeans and his breath was hot on Kyle’s neck. But maybe Eric could gain something from this.
Watch and learn, gorgeous.
Eric should leave. He should not be standing alone, watching Kyle make out with another man on the dance floor like a creep. But every now and again Kyle would make eye contact with him, as if inviting him to watch. Maybe this was supposed to be another tutorial for Eric, but he wasn’t learning much. Except that he was really turned on by watching Kyle dance. And jealous from watching Kyle kiss someone else. And maybe turned on by that jealousy.
Eric was a bad person. Kyle just wanted him to relax and have fun, and instead Eric was standing alone, half hard, and staring daggers at a kid with blue hair. As if he were Eric’s competition or something. When Eric hadexplicitlytold Kyle that he wanted to end the benefits part of their friendship.
This was ridiculous. Eric should have been in bed hours ago. He was sure Kyle wouldn’t mind if he slipped out. He knew Scott would be leaving soon; there was no way he was going to stay out all night when they had a practice the next morning.
All he needed to do was leave. Just tear his gaze away from Kyle’s beautiful body moving against the other man’s and leave. Even though his instincts were, terrifyingly, to march onto the dance floor and yank Kyle away from Little Boy Blue. Pull Kyle’s body against his own and let Kyle feel his arousal. Kiss him the way he’d been dying to for days.
Jesus. Eric was obviously way too horny to be thinking clearly. He inhaled deeply, commanding his libido to heel. This friendship with Kyle had become a bright light in Eric’s life; something to offset the upheaval of his divorce and the anxiety he felt about his impending retirement. Kyle made Eric feel like his life wasn’t over, that he was simply about to turn a page. For the first time in over a year, he was excited about the future.
He wouldn’t ruin that.
He left as quickly as possible, barely remembering his coat. The frigid air outside would have reminded him quickly. He made it halfway down the block, not even sure where he was walking or why he hadn’t looked for a cab, when he heard his name. He turned to find Kyle running toward him with his jacket clutched in his hand. “Eric! Wait!”
Kyle caught up to him, his cheeks flushed and his breath huffing out in white clouds. Eric took his jacket from his hands and held it open for him to put his arms in the sleeves. It was way too cold to be outside in a T-shirt.
“Didn’t you have a scarf?” Eric asked, heart hammering against his ribs. Kyle had come after him.
“What? Oh yeah. I did. I guess it’s gone now.”
Eric took his own scarf off and looped it around Kyle’s neck. He flipped the collar up on his coat, which was much warmer than Kyle’s corduroy jacket. “Why’d you follow me out?”
“Why did you leave?”
“I’m tired. And you seemed...busy.”