“No, because I’m embarrassing myself in a crowded room,” I murmured. “And I know you’re going to say that no one’s watching me, but I know someone’s watching me and they’ll make fun of me the next time they see me here.”
“Trust me, the only one watching you is me,” Harrison whispered, his mouth right beside my ear. And as the song went on, Harrison’s sway evolved into something more like grinding, his hands still on my hips, almost like he was keeping me in place, almost like he was fucking me—
I had to shake myself of the thought, not wanting to get turned on in Harrison’s arms. I still had no idea what any of this was with Harrison, and I wasn’t willing to embarrass myself even further by thinking a straight guy was flirting with me when he was just having fun on the dance floor.
Instead, I tried to enjoy the dance with Harrison, not worrying about whether or not he wanted me, just focusing on the way it felt to be held, on the way it felt when his chest collided with mine, when the song changed again and Harrison kept up just the same.
Somewhere between the changing of music, and the way Harrison’s body felt pressed against my own, I could’ve sworn that I felt Harrison’s mouth on my neck, almost like he was kissing me, soft and slow. I moaned underneath my breath before I lightly pushed against his chest, wanting him to move his mouth away from my neck so I’d be able to press my lips against Harrison’s.
But when Harrison’s eyes met mine, I froze.
I realized he hadn’t said, one way or the other, if he was interested in something more than friendship. And I wasn’t willing to ruin the night, all because I may have imagined Harrison kissing my neck.
“What?” Harrison whispered as he stared down at me. “Did you want to stop dancing?”
“I think we should go back to the table,” I suggested as I broke away from Harrison’s hold on my waist. “Don’t want anyone stealing our drinks.”
“Okay,” Harrison said, sounding dazed.
Taylor and Cole were already back at the table. Taylor was sitting in Cole’s lap as he showed Cole various photos on his phone. Cole seemed to be laughing at each photo, which made me think Taylor was either showing him pictures that were meant to be funny or pictures that weren’t meant to be funny, at all.
“Care to share with the class, Taylor?” I asked.
“Here,” Taylor replied, sliding his phone over toward me. “You’ll remember that one. We took that one during disco night.”
I glanced down at the photo and experienced a full body cringe. I tried to slide the phone back to Taylor before Harrison had a chance to see the screen.
But I was too late. Harrison took the phone out of my hands as a smile widened across his face. “Is that you, Morgan? In the motorcycle outfit?”
“Yes,” I admitted.
“Are you guys supposed to be Village People?” Harrison asked.
“Three out of six,” Taylor explained. “Just the motorcycle guy, the cowboy, and the guy who’s sometimes in the Navy and sometimes not?”
“I think I may have agreed to that when I was drunk,” I continued. “And then while also drunk, I went with Avery to buy the outfits. And then, still drunk, I put the outfit on, and then we competed for best Halloween costume here.”
“Did you win?” Harrison asked.
“No.” Taylor shook his head. “We lost to the other Village People.”
“How’d you lose to guys with identical outfits?”
“Because they were able to find the other three members.” Taylor scoffed. “Who knew historical accuracy was so important in a gay bar’s Halloween contest?”
Just then, Avery headed back to the table, but not before taking a few opportunities to perfectly twirl in time with the music still blasting in the bar. When he was finished, Avery raised his hands in the air as if in victory.
“Guess what I just did?” Avery seemed excited.
“Did you just get a cute guy’s number?” Taylor guessed. “Did you just give a cute guy your number?”
“Did you win the lottery?” Cole asked.
“I’m going to go with Taylor. I’m pretty sure there’s a cute guy involved in this somewhere,” I replied.
“Wrong!” Avery chuckled. “I just paid our bar tab for the night.”
“Wait. You actually paid for our drinks?” Taylor placed a hand over his heart. “Oh, our little Avery is growing up!”
“I mean, it’s not that impressive. I’ve paid for drinks before,” Avery said, his tone flat.
“Yeah, but that was like two million years ago.” I smiled. “But thanks, Avery.”
“You’re welcome.” Avery bowed before he continued. “And just so you know, Morgan, I finished unpacking my last moving box in my new apartment this morning. Which means, you don’t get to call my place a pigsty anymore.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” I replied before I let out a long sigh. “It’s going to be so weird without you at the apartment, Avery. I’m so used to your whole… Avery thing.”
“My Avery thing?”
“Yeah, you know. You wake up early enough to sing with the birds, and then you stay out late enough to see the sun rise,” I went on. “And there’s the other little stuff you do, too. Like always leaving me your leftovers. Remembering to DVR our favorite shows. Doing my laundry when you have free time—”
“Uh, Morgan? It doesn’t sound like you’re going to miss me,” Avery suggested. “It sounds like you just need to hire a maid.”
“Or get a boyfriend,” Taylor whispered, loud enough for the whole table to hear.
“But you shouldn’t rush into anything, just because the apartment’s a little lonely,” Avery said, his eyes moving between Harrison and me. “And if you ever want me to come over, all you have to do is ask.”
“You know me, Avery. I don’t rush into anything.”
“I know. I just…” Avery’s words trailed off. “I just want you to be—”
“I think Taylor and I are going to get going,” Cole announced, cutting Avery’s sentence short. “I think he needs to lie down.”
“I don’t need to lie down,” Taylor argued. “I’m fine, if everyone wants to stay out—”
“No, Taylor. I think you really need to lie down,” Cole’s words were suggestive.
Taylor nodded in understanding. “You know what? Cole is right. I’m super tired. I really do need to lie down.”
“You two are so transparent!” Avery shouted before he broke out into a laugh. “Can’t you two keep your hands off each other for one night, at least?”
“Nope,” Taylor answered.
“Fine. If that’s the case I should get going, too.” Avery sighed. “Morgan, do you want to catch a cab home or something?”
“I can walk,” I said.
“Actually, if Morgan’s okay with it, I’d be good with walking him home,” Harrison interrupted the conversation.
And it felt like I was on the verge of breaking out in a cold sweat.