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- 5:37 PM
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2023
- Messages
- 9,347
- Age
- 24
The next couple of hours blurred into a warm, buzzing smear of neon lights, pulsing bass, and the steady burn of shot after shot sliding down Ciaran’s throat. He remembered laughing too loudly, leaning into Gavin’s shoulder every time something even remotely funny happened. Gavin kept pace with him drink for drink. They drifted between the bar, the patio for cool air that never helped, and the dance floor where the night softened into a haze of bodies and rhythm.
At some point—Ciaran wasn’t sure when—the world stopped wobbling and instead started glowing. Everything felt good. The music. The warmth in his chest. Gavin’s presence at his side. Every time Gavin touched his arm to steady him, or when Ciaran held onto his wrist to tug him along, Ciaran felt it all the way down to his bones. The alcohol drowned out the questions, the fear, the careful line he always walked around his secrets.
Now, in the thick of the crowd again, Ciaran could feel himself slipping past the point of no return. The bass thumped through the floor and up his spine. His head felt pleasantly empty, pleasantly light. He slung an arm around Gavin’s shoulders, dragging him closer than he ever would sober. His body pressed flush against Gavin’s side as he moved, hips rolling with the music—slow, then sharper, then slow again. He didn’t think about what he was doing; he just followed instinct, heat, alcohol.
His other hand was curled around yet another shot, sloshing slightly as he lifted it without even looking. He downed it in one tilt, grimacing and laughing into Gavin’s ear, breath warm against his skin. He didn’t even realize how intimately he was moving until his thigh slid between Gavin’s, until he felt the grind of his own hips sync to the rhythm.
Ciaran didn’t know if he was dancing with the music or with Gavin—he only knew that his hands were on Gavin’s shoulders, his body plastered against him, and he didn’t want to let go.
At some point—Ciaran wasn’t sure when—the world stopped wobbling and instead started glowing. Everything felt good. The music. The warmth in his chest. Gavin’s presence at his side. Every time Gavin touched his arm to steady him, or when Ciaran held onto his wrist to tug him along, Ciaran felt it all the way down to his bones. The alcohol drowned out the questions, the fear, the careful line he always walked around his secrets.
Now, in the thick of the crowd again, Ciaran could feel himself slipping past the point of no return. The bass thumped through the floor and up his spine. His head felt pleasantly empty, pleasantly light. He slung an arm around Gavin’s shoulders, dragging him closer than he ever would sober. His body pressed flush against Gavin’s side as he moved, hips rolling with the music—slow, then sharper, then slow again. He didn’t think about what he was doing; he just followed instinct, heat, alcohol.
His other hand was curled around yet another shot, sloshing slightly as he lifted it without even looking. He downed it in one tilt, grimacing and laughing into Gavin’s ear, breath warm against his skin. He didn’t even realize how intimately he was moving until his thigh slid between Gavin’s, until he felt the grind of his own hips sync to the rhythm.
Ciaran didn’t know if he was dancing with the music or with Gavin—he only knew that his hands were on Gavin’s shoulders, his body plastered against him, and he didn’t want to let go.