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While the music was pounding, lights were flashing, and bodies were sweating, Logan squeezed himself through every conceivable gap he could in order to reach the bar. Using his height to his advantage, Logan waved the bar tender over and yelled his drinks order in the most understandable way he could manage. As the young woman began to prepare his drinks, Logan turned to examine his surroundings. He didn’t care what Derek said about this being one of the most elite nightclubs in all of Manhattan – it looked exactly the same as every bar Logan had ever been in. The dull interior was only accented by the stroke-inducing strobe lights; the disco ball looked tacky; the floor under his feet became sticky at an alarmingly fast rate; and the more he looked at the punters on the dancefloor, the more they blended in to one throbbing mass.
“I need to change the barrel!” the bartender informed him as she returned with only a couple of the drinks he had ordered, “It shouldn’t take too long!”
Logan smiled politely and nodded in acknowledgement as she shimmied past her colleagues and disappeared through a door. He turned back to the swelling crowd and tried to pick out any familiar faces. Despite the large group he and Derek had come with, Logan couldn’t identify anyone he recognised. His expression a mix of intrigue and disgust, Logan watched as a couple close to the edge of the dancefloor practically groped each other as they ‘danced’ to the music blasting throughout every single speaker. With a shake of his head, Logan finally looked away as hands started to disappear beneath clothing. He was surprised to feel his own hips swaying slightly to the beat – while it wasn’t exactly his choice of tune, admittedly Logan could understand why so many clubs and bars relied on the same dozen backing tracks to get their guests moving. It was infectious, really.
Logan was turning back to the bar when he saw him: a figure in the middle of the dancefloor wearing jeans that hadto be painted on and a sequined crop-top which reflected every light in the place as his body moved expertly in time with the music. If it weren’t for the distance between them, Logan would probably be ashamed of himself as he clearly stared at the man dancing alone amongst the crowd. Every time he tried to look away, turn to look for the bartender or check of Derek had come searching for him, Logan’s eyes somehow repeatedly found themselves glued to the man’s swaying hips and the blissful expression on his face. With arms raised high in the air, the man let his head full of sweaty brunette hair fall backward and spun in a slow circle – giving Logan a great view of a miraculousass within those jeans – and looked content in his own company.
The more Logan looked however, the more he noticed his eyes were not the only set glued to the man’s shimmering abs or miles of exposed neck. Shifting slightly where he stood, Logan turned his attention to a taller figure who loomed over the other and noted curiously how the latter seemed to be spinning in circles to avoid the former’s attention. Every time the stranger danced too close to the man or placed a hand in the small of his back, it would be greeted with obvious rejection. It didn’t seem to deter the obviously older man however, and Logan watched with utter disgust as he proceeded to hold on to his wannabe partner’s hips and grind against him with unnecessary force.
While no one around him seemed to notice, Logan couldn’t help but focus on the clear expression of discomfort on the brunette’s face. Logan half glanced around the dancefloor, unsure what he was in search of – a bouncer? A staff member? Someone soberer than him to make this decision? – but came up empty handed. With the older man’s hands drifting lower, and the younger’s attempts to pull away becoming weaker, Logan made a rash decision. As he turned to the bar again and downed the remainder of his drink, Logan waved a wad of bills toward the nearest bartender and hoped it would cover his tab as he stalked onto the dancefloor.
Ignoring the hands that grabbed at him in an all manner of inappropriate places, Logan kept an eye on his target as he swam through the crowd. Finally, the crowd parted, and Logan had a clear shot at the two men he had been watching from the bar. Now that he was up close, the expression on the man’s face was even clearer – how no one around them had noticed left Logan astonished – but allowed Logan to feel that his following actions were justified.
“Hey babe!” Logan yelled over the music as he stepped up next to the man and threw an arm around his shoulders, “Been looking everywhere for you!”
To a bystander, it would look as if Logan was leaning in to kiss his partner’s cheek; however, as Logan brought his lips to this strangers’ skin he turned ever so slightly and spoke loud enough just for him to hear, “Just roll with it.”
As his body leaned into Logan’s just a little, and a hand came to rest on his hip, Logan turned to the second man who was eyeing the pair curiously. Logan was pleased to see he had at least a couple inches on him.
“This guy bothering you?” Logan asked without breaking eye contact.
“A little, yeah. He uh…he kept dancing with me when I didn’t want him to.”
“Dancin’s not a crime.” the older guy scoffed, clearly displeased by the thought of his prey being scooped up by someone else, “He was here all alone, and swaying that ass like that? Gotta say, he certainly didn’t look scared to be touched.”
Despite knowing literally nothingabout the man before him, not even his name, Logan felt unexplainable rage at those comments. His next words were certainly not planned.
“Well then, babe. Obviously, I didn’t fuck you hard enough last night, or else everyone in here would know exactlyhow taken you are.”
Logan felt fingers tighten on his hip but thought nothing of it. Instead he focused on fixing the man with the darkest glare he could muster considering the poor lighting conditions and didn’t let up until he stopped glancing between the two of them. Eventually, he walked away with a vague hand gesture and a muttered “Whatever, wasn’t that great an ass anyway.”
The second the man disappeared into the crowd, Logan immediately changed his posture. He removed his arm from around his partners’ neck and instead grabbed his hand and guided him off the dancefloor.
Once they were in a slightly quieter spot, Logan unlinked their hands and turned to face the man. “What’s your name?”
It took the man a few seconds to respond, clearly a little dazed by what had just transpired, “Uh…Julian.”
Logan smiled slightly, “Well then, Julian, please accept my apology. I know that was full on back there but I just…I couldn’t watch him harass you like that any longer. And no one else seemed to notice so…” he trailed off with a shrug.
Julian stared up at Logan with a curious mix of fascination and surprise, “No no…he uh, yeah he’d been bugging me all night. No need to apologise.”
“Still, I can’t say I would have reacted in the same way you did if someone had approached me like that.”
Finally managing to get a grip of himself enough to control his expression, Julian smiled back at Logan, making the blonde stare much like he had done just moments before – except now Logan had feelings in places much higher up than before.
“Thanks, I guess. Wish there were more people like you in the world.”
“Right.” Logan replied, “Well, enjoy the rest of your night. Harassment free!”
Logan turned to leave, intending on finding Derek, when a hand on his arm and panicked voice made him stop.
“Wait!” Julian shouted. Logan found the expression on his face amusing – Julian was clearly surprised by his own actions if the way he pulled his hand back was any indication. “At least…at least let me buy you a drink? As a thank you?”
Despite Julian’s hopeful smile Logan found himself rejecting the invitation, “Thanks for the offer, but you just got rid of one asshole trying to flirt with you. I really don’t think you want another one.”
“But what if…what if I want you to? Flirt with me, I mean. Not be an asshole.” Julian asked in a tone which Logan figured was supposed to be seductive, but the nervous undertones overruled any effect it may have had.
Intrigued by the mind-boggling effect he was clearly having on Julian, and unable to part with his eyes that somehow simultaneously sparkled and remained a deep brown, Logan played along a little longer.
“But you don’t even know my name. And you want to drink with me?”
“I only don’t know your name because you haven’t told me it.” Julian stated matter of factly, making Logan chuckle a little. Julian’s smile brightened at that, “I like your laugh.”
“I like your smile.” Logan maintained eye contact with Julian for a solid minute, both of them smiling intently at each other while the speakers bounced around them and lights reflected off their bodies, until he eventually held out a hand.
“I’m Logan. But I should warn you,” he said teasingly, “If you buy me that drink, it’s maximum flirting from here on out.”
With a laugh, Julian linked his hand with Logan’s again.
“Bring it on.”
*