AllFreeNovel
Share Us
An hour later at the concert, the rock star is crooning one of his chart-topping love songs. “And I said someday, we will meet again.”
He strums the guitar, then holds the final chord for a long, anthemic note that reverberates through the theater.
I feel it deep in my bourbon-soaked bones.
The crowd cheers in a deafening boom. I let loose a thundering woohoo that parches my throat. But I’m a planner, and I brought a water bottle. I down some, then offer it to Nate. He chugs more.
Then, William thrusts an arm in a rocker salute. “Thank you, Las Vegas. You were a fucking amazing crowd. And I love you all. And I absolutely love my husband. Did I tell you I got married today?”
The audience loses its mind.
Nate cheers on William.
I shout.
We’re all effervescent.
William brandishes his ring again from the stage. “Made the love of my life an honest man tonight and I’m so fucking happy. Thank you for coming.”
“You’re welcome,” Nate shouts back, and nobody hears but me, but I think I’m the intended audience, and I laugh.
Just because it’s the mood.
As we shuffle out, hot from the press of bodies, high from the music, buzzed from the bourbon, we meet William backstage, where he says he’s cashing in on the game of poker. “But I have to do a meet and greet first. Can you boys amuse yourselves for an hour or so?” he asks.
An hour would be plenty of time to screw, but I don’t want to pull Nate away from his friends.
“I think we can manage,” Luke says drily, then turns to the rest of us. “Rapture is right across the hall.”
“You like nightclubs?” Nate asks me.
“Love them,” I say.
Fifteen minutes later, we’re slipping past the velvet ropes at the nightclub at the edge of the casino.
Before I know it, Nate, Bryan, Tanner, Luke, and I are dancing under the smoky purple lights, ordering disgustingly large cocktails, and downing whatever these sugary concoctions are.
No idea, but they turn the night into a haze. Time slows and speeds up all at once.
We dance through ten songs or maybe two. We laugh, and it lasts forever and hardly at all. I drink plenty of water because a night of partying is like a mountain bike race—you’ve got to hydrate as you crest the hills. Tomorrow morning I only want to feel the effects of sex, not liquor.
That reminds me…I grab my phone, place a quick order for the morning, then I make Nate drink some more water too. After each glug, he kisses me. So, I make him drink more.
Everything is funny, and sexy, and feels so good.
I have to piss a thousand times, but so does my date, so it’s all good.
After midnight, we return to the VIP room, where William and his husband wait for us. I feel like I’m walking on air. Hell, I’m floating on music and queer camaraderie and it’s the best night ever.
When we reach the poker table, Tanner shouts, “Who’s in?”
William strokes his chin, his eyes turning playful. “I’m in. And I’ve got a wager for all of you. Since I comped all you fuckers and entertained the hell out of you, how about you all entertain me?”
Nate tilts his head in question. “What have you got in mind, Halifax?”
The rocker grins. “Last man standing wins.”
“Um, dude. That’s literally how poker works,” Nate says.
William’s eyes twinkle. “Aha. But I mean, he wins as in…he gets hitched.”
Wait.
Hold on.
Did William just bet us that the winner gets married?
Tanner clears his throat, raises a hand. “Let me get this straight. The winner gets hitched? Not the loser?”
William scoffs at Tanner. “Please. The winner wins. As in, marriage is winning, so yeah, the winner gets hitched tonight,” William says, then smacks a kiss to his husband’s cheek. “But no folding. You’ve got to stay all in.”
“Those are some stakes,” Nate seconds with a long, low whistle.
William just nods. “Fun stakes. Who’s in?”
The room’s quiet for a beat. I hardly know these guys, but I’ve learned this much—we’re all decidedly single.
But we all also, pretty much, love to bet.
Tanner goes first, nodding decisively. “I can play well, and that means I can play not to win.”
With a bring it on grin, Luke plunks a liquor glass down on the felt of the table. “That’s a motherfucking bet. I’m in. And I am not gonna be the last man standing.”
Bryan shakes his head, amused, going down the line as he points to each of his friends. “I know all your tells. I’m in.”
And then there were two.
I turn to my date. These are his friends. His night. His game. I’ll follow his lead.
Nate’s face is flush from the liquor and perhaps the good news of the night. With a sloppy smile, he buries his face against my neck, his beard whisking against me deliciously. “I told you I suck at cards. I especially suck when I’m drunk. There’s no way I’ll win, but what about you?”
