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Martín grumbled and fumbled with the hem of his marron-red, button-up shirt. "Stop it with the sour mood!", yelled his best friend, Tatiana, out of the bathroom, where she was currently doing her makeup. "I don't want to go to this stupid party!", he complained and dropped back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "Well, you promised me you'd come along, so suck it up!", Tatiana explained and leaned out of the bathroom door to grin at him. She was dressed in a dark blue summer dress and big loop-earrings were hanging from her ears. "I don't do college parties. I'm too old for that!", a pout appeared on his lips. "Why do you want to go there so badly anyway?", Martín then questioned and pushed himself up onto his elbows. In a far distant memory, he recalled that Tatiana had told him once already, but he couldn't remember no matter how hard he tried. "Andrés is going to be there!", revealed his best friend and walked out of the bathroom. Her ginger curls were thrown into a simple bun at the back of her head that somehow managed to look elegant and casual at the same time. Andrés de Fonollosa. Martín used to go to school with him, but now he was a successful artist and Martín worked as a simple engineer. He was also Tatiana's current crush, which explained why she got so dressed up for a simple party. "And why is he at a college-party again? Isn't he a bit too old for stuff like that as well? Neither of us have been to college in years.", asked the engineer and watched his friend pick out a pair of high-heels, matching her dress. She turned around to him and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Don't judge him. His younger brother is in college and he invited Andrés. They are very close.", Tatiana explained and pushed one of the loose hair strands behind her ear. She looked drop-dead gorgeous and Martín felt underdressed merely being in her presence. The button-up shirt's top two buttons were undone, showing some of his clean-shaven chests and it was tucked in his best pair of black skinny jeans which formed his ass the best. "Are you ready to go?", asked his friend after touching up her mascara in the mirror. "Of course.", he answered and grabbed his black leather jacket from the floor. Tatiana's flat was small and messy, but it had always felt like home, so he just joined the mess. In one swift motion, he put on the jacket and adjusted the collar as he put on his simple black shoes. "Maybe you'll meet a guy for you too. It's been way too long for you, I can basically see the sexual frustration radiate from you.", teased the redhead as she opened the flat's front door. "Oh, shut up!", he groaned and playfully shoved her outside. Fighting her had no use because they both knew she was right.
On their ride, they stopped at a liquor shop to get some alcohol for the party and drove the long route there just so they could dance and sing to the music in the car for a bit longer. Martín felt blessed to have a friend like Tatiana. Someone he could spend time with and blend out the rest of the world as if it and the passing of time simply didn't exist anymore. She had been there for him through the up and down's of his recent years. Bad breakups, his coming out, his bad financial state. She was there, but she didn't belittle or pity him, she was there to laugh with him and make him forget, she helped him relax. The sudden silence tore the engineer out of his train of thoughts, Tatiana had stopped the engine, therefore also the music. "Come on, we are late already!", she laughed and stepped out of the car, her heels clicking on the floor. After he had taken a deep breath and fixed his hair in the car mirror, he followed Tatiana, who was already speed-walking to the house door, the alcohol bottles in her small petite hands. As soon as Martín was at her side, she confidently knocked and put on a friendly smile as the door was opened for them. Martín merely nodded as a greeting as he stepped inside.
With a strong drink in his hand, Martín dropped down on a couch and inched away from the couple that was heavily making out at the other end of it. Tatiana had, of course, immediately left him alone in an excuse to find her loverboy. A small sigh escaped his lip as his eyes trailed over the crowd. He despised college parties. Teenagers rutting against each other and calling it dancing. Loud and bad music. Flashing lights. After he had taken a sip of his drink, Martín added 'cheap alcohol' to that list in his head. Out of instinct, he started bouncing his foot on the floor and tapping his fingers on his knee. His time at college wasn't very pleasant. He was lonely and unpopular, known as one of the nerds because he was smart, and his degree meant a lot to him. Martín didn't want to admit to himself that one of the main reasons that he disliked college parties was that he never got invited to any. People used to tell him 'everything gets better at college', and he believed it, but it turned out to be a lie. Nothing got better. His entire life, he'd been an outcast, so why should college suddenly change that. Truth is, he saw himself in those 'teens' and young adults. Trying to distract themselves from the tiring every-day life. Just that he’d use books. But in total, most of them looked a lot happier than he had been in his studying days. And a lot better dressed. He quietly scoffed to himself as he thought back to the countless days when he had shown up in an oversized hoodie and some comfortable sweatpants. These kids were all stylish and looked like their outfits were worth more than Martín's entire closet. One specific guy, however, caught Martín's attention. He was standing at the beer pong table and was dressed in a dark blue short-sleeved button-up with floral print, which was half tucked in his white jeans, half not. His black shoes didn't really match the look, but that just added charm to the stranger's presence. Martín could only see his side profile, from where he was sitting, but the man’s strong eyes, angular face, and goofy smirk intrigued Martín. So he sat back and observed the guy, who was maybe seven to ten years younger than himself. The stranger's hair was short, dark brown and curly, making the engineer want to run his hand through it and twist the small curls between his fingers. After a while of watching the kid play, Martín came to two conclusions. Conclusion a.) the stranger sucks at Beer Pong. Conclusion b.) the stranger is quite drunk because he sucks at Beer Pong. Thinking back, Martín couldn't tell what formed first, the smirk on his lips or the idea in his head. Confidently he got up and made his way through the crowd, avoiding bumping into people as much as possible and approached the young man.
"I see that you're having some difficulties playing, mind if I help out?", Martín offered with a small smirk. "Thanks, but I got it-", began the younger one, but stopped himself after he had turned to Martín to look at him. Eyes trailed up and down Martín's body. "But I wouldn't mind some help.", the stranger finished with a flirtatious and drunken smirk. Surprised, the older one chuckled, he didn't expect the kid to flirt back so bluntly if he was being honest. He took a step closer and took the stranger's hand, which was holding the small ball. "You play too angrily.", Martín stated calmly and shifted behind the brunette. Their bodies were close and now both turned sideways to the table. "Too angrily?", chuckled the younger one and turned his head to look at the other one over his shoulder, his eyes meeting Martín's blue ones. If Martín were asked to describe them with one word, he'd choose 'beautiful'. They were green and speckled with hazel-brown accents. "Too angrily, yes. You shove the ball-", Martín elaborated and made a shoving motion with their hands. "but what you need to be doing is an arc. Like this." Once again he motioned the movement in the air, bending the stranger's arm with him. The latter was still looking up at him, listening carefully. "This allows the ball to have a much better angle and the possibility of actually landing it in one of the cups is much higher.", explained the engineer with a teasing smile playing around his lips. Their enemy, some other uninteresting kid with curly hair, still had all of his cups standing in front of him, while Martín's new teammate, only had one cup filled with beer remaining. "Alright then. Let me try.", grinned the handsome stranger, making Martín back up a bit, so he had space. Following his advice, throwing the ball in an arc, actually made the guy succeed and the ball landed in the opponent's cup with a small satisfying splash. Martín's small proud smirk quickly widened when the young stranger turned to look at him, his eyes bright and his lips pulled into a big smile, like a child after it had first blown out a candle. After the guy on the other side of the table finished drinking his beer, he tossed away the cup and threw the ball. It landed in the stranger's cup. "Unfair!", he laughed, took the cup, and finished it in one big swig. After that, he burped quietly and turned to the other guy. "I know that according to the game I'd now have to drink all your cups, but Rio we both know I'd pass out if I did that right now, which would be a shame because I'd like to dance with this handsome man now, so I'm not going to. Bon appétit, bro.", giggled the stranger and set his cup down on the table. "The handsome man has a name, you know? It's Martín.", the engineer explained with a small smile on his lips. "Daniel. But my friends call me Dani.", revealed the younger one and shrugged. "Do I count as a friend?", teased Martín. "I don't know yet, but I guess I'll have to find out now.", Daniel grinned and before Martín even processed what was happening, Dani pulled him further into the crowd by his shirt.
"Dani, I don't dance-", stated Martín, but shut up when the younger one pulled him closer. "Sucks to be you then, because we are dancing now.", shrugged Daniel and failed to hold back a smirk. Slowly but surely Martín started swaying and bouncing to the music, his arms vaguely moving through the air, his eyes closed and a relaxed smile on the lips. He was very well aware that he must look like a lunatic, Dani even confirmed that with a small giggle, but he couldn't care less. He had recognized the song as 'Who can it be now?' by 'Men at work' and remembered listening to it when he was in his college dorm on a Friday night and drinking to it all by himself. When Martín opened his eyes again, he watched Daniel for a while. His movements were much smoother and actually fit the rhythm, unlike his own. A lot more subtle too. The next song was faster, more suggestive and a small giggle escaped Dani's lips as he stepped closer and put his hands on his dance partner's hips. Martín choked on a chuckle when Daniel just started grinding against him to the rhythm of the song. Gently, he pushed him away a bit. "I wouldn't consider that dancing.", the older man chuckled. "You're my first. I've never danced with a man before.", Dani explained truthfully. In his eyes, something undefinable glinted. Fear, maybe? Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Martín's brain seemed to register what the other had just said. Doubt flickered his mind. "Daniel, are you straight? If yes, then you need to seriously work on your signals.", he only half-joked. "No! Well, I don't think so. I'd say I'm bisexual? Or maybe bi-curious? I mean, I have never done anything with a guy so I'm not really sure.", admitted Dani and scratched the back of his neck nervously. He looked unsure and defeated, like a kicked puppy. "That's alright, kid. Don't worry about labels, for now, it's okay to respectfully test the waters if you know what I mean.", Martín reassured and put his hand on Daniel's cheek. A small smile crawled onto his lips when he felt the other lean into the touch. "Thanks, yeah. But could you maybe stop calling me 'kid'?", Dani motioned the quotation marks in the air "Kinda makes this-", he pointed vaguely between the two of them "weird, you know? And I’m literally 25 and just as tall as you." Martín laughed a heartfelt laugh. "Sure thing. How about we get us some drinks?", he offered, not awaiting an answer, rather just starting to lead the way to the kitchen.
As Martín poured them each a glass of whiskey, Daniel spoke up "No offence, but why are you at a college party anyway, old man?" Surprised Martín turned to look at him with raised eyebrows. He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "So, you can call me an 'old man', but I can't call you 'kid'? I see how it is.", he answered, acting overly offended by putting one hand on his chest, but he couldn't help but smirk. "Yes, old man. Now answer my question.", grinned the other, snatching one of the two glasses on the counter. Fascinated, he spun the glass slightly and watched the liquid swirl. "My best friend, Tatiana dragged me along. She is currently head over heels for this one guy and he is supposedly at this party somewhere. And he is here because his little brother studies at the college this party is from. Which college is it anyway?", answered Martín and took a small sip of his drink. The familiar taste hitting his tongue made him break out in a satisfied smile. "I have no idea.", Daniel chuckled and finally took a swig too. The sight of him so heavily wincing at the strong alcohol, made the other one almost choke on his as he held back a laugh. "What do you mean you have no idea? Don't you go to college there too?", Martín then questioned. "Oh, no. I dropped out of college after two months. I work with my dad in a small family-owned café downtown. I got invited to this party by Rio, the guy we were earlier playing with.", explained Daniel. With ease, he pushed himself up and sat down on the kitchen counter. "What about you? What do you do?", he asked. With two steps Martín stood between the other one's spread legs as he answered "I have an engineering degree. That's my current profession too." Martín felt awfully boring compared to the kid. He seemed so full of life and energy, while Martín pretty much lived his life as a numb routine, the only exceptions being the times he hung out with Tatiana. Dani's finger tapped his forehead. "Aha, a smart man then.", he grinned. After another sip of his whiskey, Martín looked up at Daniel. Looked at that one specific curl that didn't stay in place. Looked at that small lazy smile. Looked at the tiny mole left to his nose. Looked at the very subtle 5 o'clock shadow. Looked at Daniel in all his beauty. "What, do I have something in my face?", Dani questioned after a while of accepting the silent stare. "You're very handsome.", explained Martín and put his hands on Daniel's thighs. "Oh shut up, old man.", groaned the other, but Martín didn't miss the blush that spread on Dani's cheeks and ears. "Let's go dance again.", he then said and slid off the counter, causing their faces to be only inches apart. Audible, Daniel's breath hitched. Martín merely smirked and quietly and calmly repeated: "Let's go dance again." He knew the other one must feel his hot breath against his lips and the way Dani's lips trembled ever so slightly, just proved said theory.
The two of them danced for what felt like forever. They spun and they bounced, and they laughed. Slowly but surely everything faded out, leaving nothing but them and the music. With every new song the two of them, came closer, invalidating each other's spaces more. So close, that Daniel felt Martín's hot breath in his neck, causing goosebumps to appear all over his arms. So close, that Martín almost didn't notice the hand sliding over his chest, lingering on every button, because their bodies were brushing against each other now and then anyway. So close, that they felt each other's radiating body heat, causing them to want to get even closer, to touch the other’s burning hot skin. Their intimate dance only ever got parted when they got new drinks. Afterwards, they'd be just as close again. At some point, Martín had closed his eyes, Daniel's lips traced over his exposed neck. The older one leaned his head back to give him more space and hummed softly at the sensation. Dani didn't kiss his skin, his lips just barely touched the surface at all actually, his hot breath was doing most of the work.
"How about I escort you home, hm?", suggested Martín after Dani stopped mid-dance, because 'the room was still spinning after he had stopped spinning.' "I wanna keep dancing!", Daniel complained, slurring his speech slightly. "I can't drive anymore, how far do you live?", questioned Martín, completely ignoring the other one's complaining. For a while Dani didn't answer, he only pouted and crossed his arms in front of his chest, but after a while, he gave in "I live down the street, it's like a five-minute walk." A relieved sigh escaped Martín's lips, he was very glad they wouldn't have to walk very far, because to be honest, he wasn't sure if Daniel could even walk straight anymore. That whiskey had pushed him over the edge apparently. "Alright. I'll quickly give Tatiana a call to let her know we are leaving.", nodded Martín and pulled out his phone. "Yeah, I'll quickly go find Rio and say bye too.", Daniel explained and Martín lost sight of him in the crowd in a matter of seconds. When the engineer turned on his phone he was surprised to see four missed calls by Tatiana, or 'Queeeen', according to his phone. Tatiana insisted he saved her contact like that. Slightly worried, he called back.
"Martín! Fucking finally!", Tatiana complained from the other side of the line. Immediately, Martín knew something was wrong, she sounded as if she was crying. "Tatiana, what's wrong?", he got straight to the point. "After three hours of talking to Andrés, alone, in a spare bedroom, the asshole tells me, and I quote 'you're too boring to entertain me for longer than a week, so I won't even bother trying to pursue a relationship with you.'", she sniffed. Sudden anger bubbled in Martín. "Don't you fucking dare looking for him now. He's not worth a beating up.", Tatiana laughed through a small sob. Suddenly Martín felt a hand on his shoulder. "We can go now.", Daniel smiled at him. Quietly, Martín cursed. "Tatiana, where are you right now, and how drunk are you?", he asked and put his unoccupied hand on top of Dani's. "I'm in the car and not drunk at all. Apparently, Andrés only consumes red wine. Red wine that is probably extremely overprized considering how bad it tasted. And he doesn't even really drink it! No, no. Noble Andrés only sips his wine. We drank two glasses each in three hours. Three fucking hours! Who does that?!", she complained frustrated. Martín chuckled. "I just quickly need to bring somebody home, he is pretty drunk, but only lives five minutes away. So how about-", he began, but Tatiana cut in "The guy you danced with earlier? I saw you on the way outside, he's pretty cute." Martín could see her teasing grin in front of him. "Yes, that one. Anyway, how about I quickly bring him home and then come back to the car and you drive us to your flat, at home we can open that ice cream tub we have in the fridge that we saved for 'the right moment', turn on your favourite movie and drink a shot every time either you talk about how much you love the movie, or I talk about how hot the actors are, sounds good?", offered Martín, giving himself the 'best-best-friend-award' in his head. "Sounds very good. I don't have any alcohol at home though... and are you sure you don't want to spend the night with that boy?", she asked, almost perfectly masking that she was still crying. Almost. "Then we'll stop to buy some on the way home and yes, I'm sure. Just hang in there, I'll be back before you know it.", reassured Martín, smiling slightly. "I love you so much.", sobbed his friend quietly. "I know you do. See you in ten minutes.", Martín hung up and shoved his phone back into his back pocket. Then he took Daniel's hand. "Let's go."
They walked in comfortable silence. The atmosphere around them felt too fragile to risk breaking it with meaningless banter. It was raining heavily, but neither of them cared, they actually enjoyed feeling soaked to the bone. Martín walked on the side of the road and held Dani's hand, who was balancing on the edge of the sidewalk, leading the way. Now and then he'd almost fall if it weren't for Martín’s support. The combination of the yellow light from the streetlamps and the gentle moonshine softened Daniel's features beautifully. A lit cigarette was loosely hanging between his lips. In the distance, they could still quietly hear the music from the party, but Martín also made out chirping birds every now and then. After a while, Dani stopped at an apartment block and let go of Martín's hand to unlock the door. It felt weirdly empty without Daniel's in it out of a sudden. After opening the door, Dani stepped inside, assuming the other one would follow, but Martín stopped him on his way up the stairs, by taking his wrist. Slightly confused, Daniel turned around, his brows were furrowed, his expression puzzled. "Are you not coming upstairs to my flat?", he questioned. Martín merely shook his head. "Why not? Wait, did I mix up signals-", worried Dani. "No, no, that were the exact signals I was sending.", the older one reassured and chuckled lightly before continuing "I just really have to take care of my heartbroken best friend." Daniel nodded and shifted on his feet. "So this is goodbye?", he asked and played with the hem of his shirt. Martín, couldn't help but grin that the same guy who was grinding against his crotch earlier that night, was now acting like a teenager on his first date. "I guess so. Good night, Dan-", Martín was cut off by lips being pressed against his and out of instinct his eyes fluttered closed. He felt a hand cling to his shirt and the other rested on the back of his neck. After a few seconds of shock, Martín allowed himself to relax into the kiss. Naturally, his hands placed themselves on Daniel's hips as he kissed back. It felt incredible. But as soon as the taste of whiskey, beer, and cigarettes spun around in his mouth, he realized that maybe he shouldn't be doing this. Dani was young, extremely drunk and had never done anything like this with a man. Martín was... less young, almost sober, and quite experienced. He was scared that Daniel might felt like he had to do this to prove something, or to prove himself, so he carefully pushed him away. Their lips parted, but Martín kept the other close. "What is it? Did I do something wrong? God, I'm sorry-", panicked Dani, but was cut off by Martín: "No, don't worry about it. Everything is alright." He put a hand on the other one's cheek. "Alright. How about this, give me your phone, I want to give you my number.", he explained. As in trance, Daniel nodded, pulled out his phone and unlocked it before handing it to Martín, glaring at his lips now and then. Quickly Martín saved his number and handed the phone back. "If you still want that kiss tomorrow, when you are sober, text me.", he explained, a small smirk on his lips. "I'm not that drunk, I know I want this Martín, please", whined Dani and leaned in again, but Martín dodged and raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Not that drunk? You started crying when you told me the story of the first kiss you had when you were eleven.", chuckled Martín and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I told you that story?", the other one asked confused. Martín couldn't help but chuckle at how adorable Daniel looked right now. His hair all messed up from the rain, the water reflecting the light on his skin. His shirt wet and clenching to his body. His puzzled face. The older one nodded, which only caused Dani to shrug. "I mean to be fair, I am to this day, still deathly afraid of any girl with the name Emma coming anywhere close to me.", he stated calmly. For a few seconds, the two of them just looked into each other's eyes in silence, but they broke out in giggles eventually and didn’t stop till they were holding their stomachs in pain, tears prickling in the corner of their eyes.
Once the two of them finally calmed down again, they just fondly smiled at each other in silence for a minute or two. "Good night, Daniel.", sighed the older one. "Good night, Martín.", answered Dani. Martín leaned in to press a kiss on the other one's cheek, but Daniel quickly turned his head, stealing another quick kiss on the lips. "You-", Martín began, but was cut off by Dani, who was now quickly making his way up the stairs, looking at him over his shoulder "I'll text you in the morning! Give Tatiana a hug from me!" He grinned and looked away from Martín again. The latter, however, did not miss him almost tripping. With a small smirk on his lips, he shook his head and tried to ignore the light feeling in his heart. He had no time to be all touchy and giddy, he had a best friend to get drunk with.
Tatiana and Martín did, in fact, end up very drunk that night. They fell asleep tangled on her small bed and when Martín reached for his phone the next morning with an unbearable headache, his mood was immediately lifted when he saw two messages by an unknown number.
'Good Morning, old man. I hope you are good at keeping promises because I still want that kiss.'
'It's Daniel by the way lmao'
Martín wasn't sure what 'lmao' meant, but he texted back anyway.
'Good Morning. I never break promises, kid.'
Dani did, in fact, get that kiss. Maybe he even got two. And maybe, just maybe, he even got much more than just kisses.