AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I didn’t have time to pine because Minty, Windy, and Antonio dragged me onto the dance floor and before I knew it I was a sweaty mess too. I threw myself into it, letting myself believe that these guys could be my new gay friends.
When the DJ blended a new song into the mix, I recognized it from the year before. I’d danced with Adam here in Tilt-a-Whirl to the same melody and beat. Remembering how he’d taken hold of my hips and led me into giving up my inhibitions, and, in the end, giving up a lot more than that—my virginity, my pride, my heart—I ached for him. For the first time since he’d left, I wished he was beside me.
One by one, my new pals moved off with hot guys who came out of the crowd to steal them away. Then I danced alone.
I closed my eyes and the music filled me like a heaving tide. It pushed my anger and sadness through my veins, and I danced it out to the beat of the hard-driving songs. I reached a place in my mind where it was just me. A place I usually only found behind the lens of a camera. Only this was better because I wasn’t hiding. I was living.
A voice yelled in my ear, “Is it later now?”
Spinning around, I saw Jeremy. He looked gorgeous, flushed, and happy to run into me again.
I flashed him a cheeky grin. “Sure.”
It felt strange at first, letting Jeremy pull me close. But he didn’t have wandering hands, and I relaxed against him quickly. I lost sight of Daniel and my new pals. Dancing with Jeremy to the mix of pop, rock, and dance tunes the DJ spun was fun and easy. Robert had been right. Making gay friends wasn’t that hard.
When the heat of the dance floor drove us to look for something cool to drink, I let Jeremy take my hand. He pulled me toward the downstairs bar.
“Wait here,” he said. “I’ll hook you up.”
Patrons lined the bar, though not nearly so many as when they’d rung the bell earlier in the night. I stood off to the side watching Jeremy shove his way between a few tough-looking guys. He raised two fingers. “Colleen, two Greyhounds, please.”
A minute later, Jeremy emerged with two pale pink drinks in short glasses. “Here you go.”
I tasted mine and struggled to keep my face from twisting up. It was bitter and tangy, kind of like grapefruit.
Jeremy yelled in my ear. “Okay?”
“Yeah.” I took another sip and held back a shudder. “Thanks. I appreciate it.” I wondered if I should offer him any money. When he smiled, my eyes locked on his gorgeous mouth, and I took another gulp instead.
Tilt-a-Whirl was even more crowded than it’d been when I arrived. My heart sang seeing so many gay and lesbian people all together in the same room. For the first time, I understood why Adam had wanted to come here last year. It was good to not feel so alone.
I swallowed another mouthful of my sour drink, watching people dance. Jeremy was close enough that his hip pressed against mine and his arm rubbed my shoulder when he lifted his glass. Humidity had curled his hair into soft ringlets on his forehead, and the healthy sheen of his peaches and cream complexion made his blue eyes pop.
“So you’re friends with that bunch?” Jeremy asked, nodding toward Minty, Antonio, and Windy, who’d all gravitated together again. They stood talking by the bar as they downed fresh Jolly Zimas.
“Sort of. I kind of just met them?” I took a big swallow of tart, pink goodness. It got better and better with each gulp.
He laughed. “Just met them? When I saw you dancing with them earlier, I assumed the aforementioned he-that-might-be-a-she was Minty, but I guess not.”
“Renée,” I yelled. “She performs here.”
“Oh, Renée! She’s great!”
“She’s my boss.”
“Oh, yeah? What kind of work do you do for her?”
I told him a little about Outrageous Video, and he listened even though it was hard to get my voice to carry over the beat of the new Deee-Lite song.
Eventually, he asked, “So, why haven’t I seen you around before?” Jeremy looked at me appraisingly, his eyes twinkling in amusement. “Did you just graduate high school?”
My heart sank. It was that obvious? Who was I kidding? Of course it was. I’d grown a lot this year, and in the last few months I’d shot up a lot. I’d even sprouted some more chest hair and filled out some, but I still looked younger than my age.
“Yeah. That’s me. Brand-new baby gay,” I said. “Just came out to my folks and everything.”
Jeremy’s easy smile dropped away. “How’d that go?”
“Okay, I guess.”
