Pete fiddled with one of his cuffs so he’d have an excuse to look down. “Really?”
Evan touched Pete’s chin and lifted it. “Yeah, and for the record, you’re not the only one with baggage. I have some horror stories of my own, if you’d care to hear them.”
“Another time,” Pete said. “I’d rather our first date was just about us.”
Evan grinned wolfishly. “Then how about that dance?”
“I don’t dance. If you think I’m awkward under normal circumstances . . .”
“I’m willing to bet you’ve just never had a good partner.” Evan laid a hand gently on his hip and used it to draw him nearer. Pete’s breathing hitched. “Come on, you invited me to a club. Did you honestly think I wouldn’t rope you into a dance at some point?”
He guided Pete into a swaying motion that matched the slow tempo of the current song. Pete slid his arms over Evan’s shoulders. Their faces were so close, Evan could probably hear how rapidly Pete was breathing.
Evan smiled. “See? It’s not so bad.”
“Only because I’m dancing with you,” Pete said. “Though I like that you get me out of my shell.” They were revolving in place. He could hear the dull murmur of voices around them, but he kept his eyes on Evan. If he focused, the rest of the club melted away, leaving them alone on the dance floor.
Suddenly, the music shifted to a more upbeat tempo. Their dance fell out of sync. Pete dropped his arms and started to move away.
Evan pulled him back. “Ready to learn another move?”
“I think I’m still getting the hang of this whole ‘swaying’ thing.”
“We can stop if you want.” He put a hand on Pete’s waist. “But I think you’ll enjoy this next one.”
Pete sucked in a breath against a sudden wave of arousal. It really wasn’t fair what Evan could do to him with a simple look.
“Yeah, okay,” he murmured. “Show me.”
Pete had no idea how Evan heard him, but judging by the wicked curve to his lips, he understood. He slotted their hips together, one of his thighs insinuated between Pete’s legs. Then he gripped Pete’s waist. “Move against me like this.” He rolled his hips in a way that was nothing short of obscene.
Pete went from awkward to weak with arousal in a flash. He imitated the movement clumsily, praying his fledgling erection wasn’t too obvious.
“It’s more like this.” Evan slid his hands down to the small of Pete’s back and bodily showed him how to move. Within seconds their dance devolved into grinding. It was all Pete could do to hold on and try not to get embarrassingly hard. But with Evan pressed to him, warm and solid and insistent, it was a labor of Herculean proportions.
Evan’s mouth found Pete’s ear. “You asked me out because you wanted to get to know me, right?”
Pete exhaled shakily. “Right.”
“This, in my opinion, is the best way to get to know someone.”
Pete struggled to think as desire rolled through him like smoke, blotting out all other thought. “By humping them?”
Evan chuckled, the sound a deep vibration that mingled with the bass. “No, by dancing with them.”
“What can you learn from that?”
“Oh, you’d be surprised.” He brushed their cheeks together. “You, for example, have this whole quiet, shy thing going on, yet you have no problem with this very public display of affection we’re committing right now.”
Pete suddenly remembered they were in a room full of people. He looked around, and made eye contact with a few people who were watching them. Most of the attention was directed at Evan, but Pete saw one guy who was definitely looking at him.
“What does that tell you about me?” he asked, even though he had an inkling of where Evan was going with this.
Evan lifted a hand to his face, cupping it and sweeping a thumb over one of his cheekbones. “I think you’re not as shy as you pretend to be. If you were, you couldn’t be in our line of work. I bet if I got you turned on enough, I could take you into one of those dark nooks and do whatever I wanted to you.”
“Evan,” Pete whimpered, “I’m already turned on.”
Evan groaned and brushed his lips along Pete’s jaw. “I almost wish you hadn’t told me that. You’re so very tempting, Jaden.”
Pete frowned. He wasn’t sure why, but his stage name sounded jarring all of a sudden.
“What is it?” Evan asked, apparently sensing his tension. “Is something wrong?”
“Yeah, actually.” Pete knew what he had to do. His purpose in asking Evan out tonight was to find out who he really was, but he couldn’t do that if he wasn’t being himself. It wasn’t fair to either of them. He craned his neck down until his lips were hovering right by Evan’s ear, and whispered, “Pete.”
Evan twitched, and Pete suspected his breath had tickled him. “Peat? Like that stuff they use for fuel in Scotland?”
“Technically yes, but I mean I’m Pete.”
Evan almost smacked their heads together. “What?”
“That’s my real name. Pete Griflow.” Pete shrugged to hide the healthy dose of panic washing through him. Had Evan felt this way when he’d told him? Scared and nervous and utterly exhilarated? “Glamorous, I know.”
In lieu of an answer, Evan grabbed two fistfuls of his sweater and walked him backward off the dance floor. He didn’t stop until Pete’s back hit a wall next to a support beam. There was virtually no cover. Half the room could see them if they looked over, but Evan didn’t seem to care.
“Pete,” Evan said.
“Don’t wear it out,” Pete joked nervously.
“I didn’t think— It’s been so long since I told you.” His eyes were skittering along Pete’s features, from his hair to his mouth to his chest and up again, as if he were seeing him for the first time. “I was starting to think you were never going to—” He stopped and shook his head. “Which would have been fine, of course, it’s your name.”
“I would have told you eventually no matter what.”
Evan nodded. “I’d hoped you would. I’m sorry. I’m babbling. I’m just really happy to meet you, Pete.”
Pete put his hands over Evan’s. “It was about time we graduated to being on a first-name basis.”
“That’s putting it lightly.” Evan let out a breath and pressed closer. “Knowing your real name is weirdly hot. I can’t even explain it. It’s like this naughty little secret we share.”
“We have a few of those now.”
“Pete.” It was clear from his tone that he wasn’t addressing him, more like listening to the sound. “Just to warn you, I might say your name until it loses all meaning.”
“I felt the same way when you told me yours. I couldn’t get it out of my head. I kept repeating it over and over. Evan.”
He shuddered. “Fuck, it’s ridiculous how much that turns me on. I can just imagine you doing it too. And it’s extra hot because everyone else calls me Darko.”
“Darko is sexy, though.”
“I like Pete. It’s not the most exciting secret identity, but it suits you.”
“Oh, thanks,” he teased. “Because I’m not exciting?”
“Believe me, you’re the most exciting man I know.” He rocked his hips against him like he’d done out on the dance floor. Pete gasped. Even through denim it was obvious how hard he was.
“So, Pete,” Evan said, skimming his lips along Pete’s jaw, “where do we go from here?”
The energy between them shifted in an instant, escalating like a spark bursting into a flame. Pete had wanted Evan before, but now he hungered for him. It was like the part of him that had been holding back this whole time had finally given in, and all the lust he felt for Evan had broken free.
“Evan, I want you.”
Evan kissed his neck, openmouthed and hot. “Tell me what you want me to do.”
A shiver spilled down Pete’s spine, and his cock swelled, straining against his pants. He drew a deep breath that somehow made him fee
l like he had less air than before. “Kiss me.”
Evan obeyed like he’d been waiting to hear those words his whole life.
It was a harsh kiss, needy and desperate, and Pete couldn’t get enough. He slid his fingers into Evan’s hair and tugged, trying to pull him closer even as their mouths sealed together. He felt a flash of teeth against his bottom lip—just enough to make him whimper—and then Evan ran his tongue over the flesh he’d just abused.
Pete didn’t know if it was possible to faint from being too turned on, but there was a chance he was about to find out.
“Do you know why I wasn’t drinking tonight?” Evan sucked on a mouthful of his skin, pulling off with a wet, popping noise.
“Fuck, ah, Evan,” was all Pete could say in response.
“It’s because I thought this might happen. Hell, I wanted it to. And I wanted to feel every part of it with complete clarity. But more importantly—” he licked the section of skin that Pete suspected he’d just left a hickey on “—I wanted you to know I was sober.”
Pete could barely put words together well enough to ask, “Why?”
Evan took Pete’s face in both of his hands and spoke against his mouth, his lips sliding over him like velvet. “You don’t know how maddening it’s been, trying to get you to realize how much I like you. I thought I was painfully obvious. I even outright propositioned you, but still you seemed to think I didn’t mean it. Well, not tonight. There are no cameras here, Pete, no scripts, no Colette ordering me to kiss you, and I haven’t had a drop to drink. Everything I’m doing right now is because I want to.” He drew a ragged breath. “I want this. I want you. Please tell me I can have you.”
Pete could scarcely speak. He stared at him, wide-eyed. He’d known for a while now that Evan liked him, but Evan had just demonstrated that he understood him. His weird insecurities and neuroses and all the back and forth that had been clouding his head ever since they’d first met. And that . . . that was shockingly hot.
He looked Evan square in the eye. “I’m yours.”
Evan made a sound in the back of his throat that was like a moan collided with a growl. Then he pressed their lips so hard together, it actually rocked Pete back against the wall. Evan kissed him breathless. He kissed with a vengeance, but also like they had all the time in the world to discover every way their mouths could fit together.
Pete kissed him back to the best of his ability, but it wasn’t enough. Now that he’d given in, he needed more. The things they’d done so far were just an aperitif, a flirtation that merely whet his appetite.
He trailed his hands slowly down the side of Evan’s face to his chest, and then finally to his stomach, giving him time to move away if he wanted to. Instead, Evan canted into the touch, like he wanted to accelerate Pete’s inevitable journey south.
Pete reached the waistband of his jeans and dipped his fingers into them, stroking all the skin he could reach. Evan gasped against his mouth, making his lips tingle. Pete panted for breath. He pulled back, resting his sweaty brow against Evan’s, and panted for a second. His hot breaths mixed with Evan’s. He was tense with the anticipation of knowing where this was headed, and Evan felt the same against him.
There was so much he wanted, so much to taste and touch and explore, but he couldn’t overthink this. Swallowing, Pete pulled one hand out of Evan’s pants and traced the outline of his erection though his jeans. Evan quivered like a plucked string and moaned so throatily, Pete swore he felt it in his bones.
Distantly, Pete realized he’d never seen Evan’s cock. That needed to be rectified immediately.
Pete fumbled with his fly, fingers shaking too hard to make any real progress. Evan made a pathetic noise and rested his head on Pete’s shoulder like he lacked the strength to support it.
“Is this okay?” Pete mumbled, bleary with lust. “Can I touch you?”
Evan didn’t even hesitate. “Yes, Pete. Please.”
Confidence surged into him. Fuck, it was intoxicating to be the one reducing Evan to a puddle for once. His fingers steadied, and he popped the button open. Just as his fingers touched the zipper, a bright light flashed in his face. He threw a hand up to shield his eyes, blinking away a stinging red afterimage.
“What the fuck?” It was Evan’s voice.
“You two, out,” barked a man.
Pete peered over Evan’s shoulder. A burly man holding a flashlight was standing nearby, wearing a black shirt with the word security written across it in block, white letters. Shit. A bouncer.
“What’s your problem?” Evan asked.
“You are. You can’t fuck in the club. If you wanna get it on, get a room.” He stepped back and waved toward the exit with his flashlight. “Out.”
Shit.
Evan took Pete’s hand. “I was just thinking I could use some fresh air.”
He tugged Pete toward the exit. To Pete’s horror, the bouncer followed after, shining his light on them the whole way as if to prevent them from slipping back into the crowd. Pete kept his head down until they were back outside in the frigid night air.
There was hardly anyone on the streets, meaning everyone had likely found their party for the night. Pete pulled his phone out of his pocket. It was 11:46 p.m. It felt like they’d been in there for years, but it had only been three hours.
Pete sneaked a peek at Evan. He had his hands in his pockets and was looking up at the stars with a sly smile on his face. He seemed inexplicably pleased.
Pete apologized anyway. “Sorry about that. I guess I got carried away.”
“Don’t worry about it. Of all the reasons to get kicked out of a club, we picked the best one.” He glanced at Pete. “Did you drive here?”
It was a simple question, but it made Pete’s heart skip. “Yeah.”
“Where’s your car?”
Pete nodded to the right. “About five minutes that way.” Is he going to ask me for a ride home? Or to come back to his place?
As if reading his thoughts, Evan took a step toward him. “That’s a shame. I wanted to offer to drive you home. Maybe I can make it up to you some other way.” He took Pete’s hand—already icy from the wind—and brought it to his lips. “If I were a true gentleman, I’d at least walk you to your car.”
“At least,” Pete agreed.
“It would give me a chance to say good night to you properly.”
Pete felt a renewed surge of arousal. He leaned unthinkingly toward Evan. “And what does a proper good night from Evan Darko entail?”
Evan grinned his trademark devilish grin and brought their lips a hair’s breadth apart. Pete could almost feel the unspoken invitation burning against his skin.
Please, Pete thought desperately, please, God, invite me back to your place.
And then Evan did the worst thing imaginable. He stepped away. “Drive safe. I’ll talk to you soon, Pete.”
Evan turned on his heel and walked away.
Pete made the drive home in a stupor. It was a good thing he’d lived in LA his whole life, because if he’d been called upon to name what streets he took, he wouldn’t be able to. He was on autopilot, the core of his brain devoted to replaying his date with Evan in technicolor detail.
Had he done something wrong at some point? Evan had said that he’d been trying to make Pete realize he liked him from the start—a dizzying revelation in and of itself—and Pete had practically thrown himself at him. If Evan had wanted him, he could have had him. So why weren’t they together right now? Honestly, he should give up on trying to figure Evan out. It seemed their telepathy only went one way.
Pete muttered under his breath, “Totally unfair.”
With a start, he realized he was going fifteen miles over the speed limit. He took his leaden foot off the gas and watched the speedometer inch down to the appropriate number. Great, now he felt like he was crawling home. Not that it mattered. It wasn’t like anyone was waiting for him.
He exhaled heavily. As far as first dates went, it could have been wo
rse. Pete hadn’t totally embarrassed himself on the dance floor, and Joshua hadn’t outed him before he’d had a chance to tell Evan his name for himself. That was something. And if Evan didn’t want to sleep with him, that was his call.
He just wished he knew why Evan had left so quickly, because he was willing to bet he’d missed something. Pete was no expert on the man, but he had gleaned one thing in the past few weeks: Evan was a drama queen. This wasn’t the first time he’d flounced off into the night, leaving Pete to puzzle over his motivations. Something was up, and Pete wanted to know what it was before he tortured himself all over again.
After pulling into the driveway and killing the engine, he stayed in his seat for a moment, debating. Should he call Evan? Just to make sure he hadn’t pissed him off? Or would Evan want some space? They’d seen a lot of each other lately, and it was after midnight.
Pete couldn’t decide. He had the animal instincts of a newborn kitten. After a solid minute, the cold drove him inside.
Mom was still up when he plodded through the front door. She was sitting on the well-worn couch in the living room. The glow from the TV illuminated her profile. She looked at him when he entered and offered him a smile.
He attempted to smile back, but it must have been more of a rictus, because she asked, “Everything all right, kiddo?”
“Uh, yeah.” He sounded about as genuine as Ebenezer Scrooge at a charity event.
She gave him the sort of knowing look only a mother could produce, one designed to make duplicitous children spill their guts.
It worked. “The night didn’t go quite how I planned.”
“Ah. You didn’t have a good time?”
“No, I did. I just . . .” He stopped and made a frustrated gesture, as if that explained everything.
Miraculously, Mom seemed to understand.
“You’re home kind of early,” she said. “Did your friends want to leave? Or did something happen?”
Pete hesitated. Was he ready to tell her about Evan? Close as they were, he tried to spare her the traumatic details of his sex life—and not just the obvious ones. Then again, she had more relationship experience than anyone he knew, even Raj. She might have some invaluable insight.
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