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“Let loose a little, xB!”
Grinning from ear to ear, Keralis is already sweating from being out on the dance floor. Sleeves pushed up over his elbows, he mimes a fishing rod to reel in his companion for the night. The bass from Keralis’ choice of song - some mix of house music and party pop - thunders through the club speakers and he moves with the rhythm of it.
And xB just can’t stop laughing.
He’s been hanging off to the side, sampling drinks from the bar and admiring the decor of the Bamboo Lounge, though Keralis is adamant about getting him to dance.
“I can’t dance, Keralis!” xB protests lightly.
“Come on, princess, of course you can dance!” Keralis prompts him. “I’ve seen you work it a little before!” For emphasis, he thrusts twice in time with the music, cracking himself up. xB laughs again.
“Yeah, but it’s been a while. You really want to see me make a fool of myself that badly?”
“You won’t make a fool of yourself, xB! You’re a plenty good dancer!”
Keralis continues to reel him in, and with a light sigh and a smile, xB finally lets himself be pulled in. He shuffles onto the dancefloor, Keralis cheering and continuing to pull him in. Once on the floor, xB thinks he’s in the clear, but Keralis continues to mimic the pulling.
“Come on! Get closer!”
xB can’t wipe the smile from his face. He shakes his head and continues closer, until, close enough to touch now, Keralis stops.
Matching his smile, Keralis offers him a hand.
“Don’t mind if I do,” xB says as he takes it.
Keralis uses his grip to lightly pull him, placing a hand on his waist. xB’s face goes wonderfully warm as Keralis’ other hand wanders to his jacket.
“You need to loosen up ,” Keralis says again. With a cheeky laugh, he trails his hand up to the collar of xB’s sweatshirt, twirling the zipper around his finger before pulling it down. He undoes the zipper, then pushes the fabric off of xB’s shoulders. Underneath, he wears a fitted white t-shirt that does wonders to show off the bit of muscle he’s accumulated from his recent building and labor.
“Are you checking me out?” xB teases as he eases his way out of the jacket, letting Keralis take it from him.
Keralis pries his eyes away. “No, of course not!” He says quickly. The lie in his voice is apparent and xB laughs. “I would never,” Keralis lies again. He balls up xB’s sweatshirt, giving it a toss so it lands on one of the tables towards the perimeter of the room.
“Right, never,” xB agrees lightly. “But for the record, if you were checking me out, that’s completely fair game.”
“Right, right,” Keralis agrees. “But I wasn’t!”
The two of them laugh, and Keralis then seizes his hands.
“Shake it out with me, come on, xB!”
xB grins. “Shake it out?”
Still holding his hands, Keralis shakes his arms to loosen up, then his legs, and then he drops xB’s hands and gestures towards him. “Now you try!”
xB laughs, making a half-effort at ‘shaking it out’.
“You’ll get there!” Keralis assures him. “You’ve had something to drink already, yeah?”
xB nods. He’s sure it’s not enough to get him drunk, but enough to at least let his guard down a little.
“Perfect.”
He takes xB’s hands to pull him in once more, and xB presses his back to Keralis’ chest.
“May I?” Keralis asks. He lines his arm up with xB’s, holding his hand so their arms align.
xB tilts his head back enough to meet his gaze with a lingering smile. “Be my guest.”
Keralis’ other hand falls to xB’s waist, and as the song changes, he falls back in with the rhythm. Keralis’ hips sway, feet moving over the flickering dance floor, and he guides xB through the movements. His hand at the other’s waist moves to hold him a little closer as he spins the two of them around.
“Feel the music?” Keralis asks.
“I’m feeling something ,” xB replies.
Keralis laughs. “Are you?”
xB turns to look at him, capturing Keralis’ lips in a chaste kiss. The lights flicker, room dimming as the song changes once more, and xB breaks the kiss.
“Sorry,” xB breathes. His face is red, smiling still as he leans into Keralis’ touch.
“Don’t be,” Keralis says. “I’ve been waiting for you to do that all night.” His hand clasped with xB’s releases, and xB turns to face him instead. He wraps his own arms back around Keralis’ neck, and for a moment, the two are hardly an inch apart from one another before xB closes that gap entirely to kiss him again.
Keralis still sways slightly against him, the hand on his waist firm and warm, and the other moving to tilt xB’s chin up slightly, just enough to deepen the kiss.
When they pull apart, neither of them move much further than enough to breathe. Keralis’ fingers trail just below the hem of xB’s shirt, gently brushing the soft skin beneath. “Such a pretty face,” he says.
“Is this what the invite was all about?” xB teases.
“Of course not!” Keralis smirks, then presses another soft kiss to xB’s lips.
“Well I guess you just never know where the night is going to take you.” xB smirks right back.
“Mhm!” Keralis giggles, touching his forehead to xB’s. His hand moves further up under xB’s shirt and xB laughs as it moves from his waist to the small of his back beneath the fabric.
“Your hands are freezing!”
“Oh. You might have to warm them up for me.”
“Smooth.” xB unhooks his arms from around Keralis’ neck, then takes Keralis’ hand in between his own. He guides it to his lips, pressing soft kisses to his knuckles, before rubbing it in between his palms.
“Yours are so warm,” Keralis says with a sigh.
“They’re sweaty.”
Keralis laughs, then kisses him sweetly once more for good measure. The song changes once more, lights rippling over the dance floor.
“I know this one,” xB says.
“I know!” Keralis says. “I put it on the playlist just for you.”
“Really?”
“Mhm! The best way to get someone to dance is to play their favorite songs.” He beams, finally pulling back his (sufficiently warmed) hands. He steps back further on the dance floor and xB misses his touch immediately. Keralis spins once, gesturing around the dance floor.
xB smiles. A pleasant warmth settles in his chest as he watches Keralis. “You actually did want me here to dance, huh?”
“Well, don’t get me wrong,” Keralis says, “You’re a good kisser, but we’ve got the whole night !” He winks and then giggles again.
xB follows him out further onto the dance floor, and Keralis offers him a hand to spin him around. xB takes it, for a moment just holding it.
“The whole night , huh?” xB meets his gaze evenly.
“And the morning,” Keralis replies cheekily. “If you’d like.”
“Wow,” xB laughs. “You’re on a roll.” Finally, with a sigh, he concedes to the rhythm of his favorite song, allowing Keralis to raise his arm up over his head and spin him around. His dance partner laughs with delight. When they let go of each other, they continue to dance.
Letting his guard down, loosening up, xB comes to realize, is a wonderful thing. By the end of the song, his cheeks hurt from smiling, and he’s already moving with the melody of the next song. Keralis cheers him on, and that pleasantly warm feeling in his chest never does fade. It’s much more fun to enjoy the night from the dancefloor rather than the sidelines.
Keralis takes his hands once more, and as another song goes by, then another, and another still, the two are riding a wonderful, euphoric high with no end in sight.
And yet their night is only just getting started.