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“Yes! Yes, Christian! Finally! Your little white ass couldn’t stay stiff for this long!”
Christian was about to protest the passive insult when Santiago reached out for his face, cradling it without much care, and pressed a loud and dramatic kiss on his cheek for everyone to see. He didn’t mind the affection, he had learnt through the weeks that Santiago was a rather handsy man, but there was something about that kiss that left him unsure. Maybe it was the fact Nini had been staring at the two for a while now, but maybe he was overthinking it.
What he had asked his friend was a simple favour. Now the rest of the dancers and their sparkling diamond had left rehearsal, he wanted to learn to tango, a dance he knew Santiago was an expert on. It was a secret, or at least it was supposed to be, since he wanted to impress Satine in their little escapades with something, but Toulouse was now in for their secret. And so did Nini, who for some reason, she hadn’t left yet.
“It doesn’t have to be now… we can—”
“Yes, now!”
That seemed to be Toulouse's sign to leave, lazily waving them goodbye as he made his way out the stage. It was empty, except for one person.
“Do you mind?”
Santiago’s tone was rather harsh, even if he had turned to talk to his ‘beloved’ Nini, who he didn’t seem to today. Had they been fighting again? It was hard to tell the mood between those two but being a third was starting to make Christian rather uncomfortable, but decided to not pay much attention to the blonde lady staring at him with what seemed to be fury.
“I don’t, so go on. I want to see this dance of yours.”
“Fine.”
There was a big storm coming up and Christian was in the middle of it. There was no time for him to come up with an excuse to leave, and let the couple solve their problems on their own, before he could say anything, Santiago had reached out for his waist and pulled him closer to his body, not leaving any room between them.
“Shouldn’t I be the one leading?”
“No, no, no. You are here to learn.”
His words made Christian’s face heat up, feeling embarrassed knowing his face was a shade of pink by now. Maybe it was the hushed tone in which Santiago was talking to him or the way his other hand went to hold his and quickly pulled him into a dancing position, or maybe it was the fact they were so close he had to tilt his head up to look at him, the first thing his eyes landed on was his friend’s lips, his gaze quickly darting away. He hoped Satine would have the same reaction he was having.
For a moment, he was so lost in his dancing partner that he had forgotten that they had an audience, but that didn’t last long. The sudden laughter of Nini made Christian snap out of it, but it made Santiago pull Christian even closer, giving her an angry look, a warning that shut her up before he turned back to him with a smirk on his face.
Santiago was not the greatest teacher, not giving Christian any time to process what was happening and quickly dragging him along the stage. While he wasn’t a bad dancer, he was too distracted to follow along. Unlike Santiago, he was clumsy and was more focused on not stepping on his dancing partner by accident than processing the movements he was making.
“Not like that, you have to feel it!”
It was hard to feel it when he wasn’t sure what he was too supposed to feel. He tried to think of Satine, what he wanted her to feel if she was the one in his place and he was the one leading the dance. Excitement that they had something fun to do together? Surprise that he had managed to learn a different dance style just for her. Christian got too distracted and that was when he accidentally stepped on Santiago, which earned him to get kneed on the crotch. He didn’t have the best teacher, he had to remind himself.
“Focus, Christian! This is about seduction! Passion! You have to act like you want this.”
His words made him question if he wanted this, he was enjoying it more than he had expected. It was getting harder and harder to picture his beloved Satine being the one that was holding him. The big hand on his lower back pressing their bodies, how the hand that was holding his hand was practically dragging him along the rhythm. But he was sure of one thing, the feeling he was searching for was passion.
This was about desire. He kept repeating that word in his head as he moved along with Santiago, this time following the rhythm he had set. While there was no song, Christian still could feel the melody, it was a sensual one, one you would dance in the intimacy of your room with your partner, but instead, they were dancing around the empty stage.
The awkwardness and clumsiness he was bringing to the dance was gone in one instant, now the two men seemed to be too into this little class of theirs. If Santiago did something, Christian would follow along as if they'd rehearsed it for days. The sound of their shoes against the floorboard and the counting in Spanish Santiago was muttering was the only thing that filled the air.
And suddenly, Santiago let go of his waist, making Christian spin around. The movement was quick and suddenly he was a few steps away from him, still holding hands. The fluidity of their dance was long gone, now Christian was simply staring at the empty stage when his eyes landed on Nini, who for some reason was still there.
The sight of the angry Nini made him quickly let go of Santiago and fix his coat. He had danced in front of people multiple times but having her looking at them with what felt like jealousy made him nervous, especially when the moment was starting to feel rather intimate.
“You are not going to learn anything if you stand so far away.”
Santiago reached out for Christian’s hand and he quickly turned to Nini to check if she was still judging, which she was. Her lack of words was making him more nervous, but her gaze was enough to tell him she wasn’t happy with the situation.
“I know but… there isn’t a better way to learn? I can ask Satine to come if it’s needed. Maybe she would appreciate the gesture. Learning to dance together? It’s quite romantic, almost erotic—”
His senseless babbling was interrupted by Santiago, who had placed his hand in front of Christian’s face as a motion to shush him, which had worked. The two stayed in silence before he made the same gesture but to Nini this time, she had been quiet all this time, but she scoffed louder at that.
“That was for beginners, my friend. Now this is what you have to do if you want to drive the ladies crazy.”
The words of Toulouse when he first met the duo quickly flashed through his head. “The greatest gigolo.” Christian started to frantically shake his head, stepping away from him as quickly as he could but Santiago started to chase him around the stage. Just dancing was enough for him to question everything about what was going on, but something more? That was too much.
“Perhaps another time!”
“One last move! Nothing more. Don’t you want to impress Satine?”
He stopped running away, a sigh of relief leaving his lips when he realised it was still part of the tango lesson and not something more explicit. Her name being dropped reminded him what all this was for, for her lover. He was not going to leave until he knew this was going to be decent enough for his girl.
“For Satine.”
Santiago shouted some encouraging words in Spanish before extending his hand for Christian to take, which he did with no hesitation. In a blink of an eye, he was once again pressed against him and as much as he was blushing, he seemed more determined now. Santiago nodded at him and started to guide him, picking up the pace they had set before.
“Now, Christian. This is the grand finale, so pay close attention.”
Unlike his fast-paced teaching before, Christian suddenly found himself being dropped, his back arching as Santiago’s hand held his waist to keep him balanced. He felt as if his head was about to touch the ground, one wrong move and he was going to feel himself hitting the hard wood, but that didn’t happen. He was not being treated like a rag doll anymore, he was more careful this time.
Was this the grand finale? He was about to question the dance movement when he was interrupted by Santiago leaning closer, the two leaning down and being face to face. And soon, Christian found himself in the moment he had been waiting for, as much as he wanted to deny it, Santiago had leaned in for a kiss.
He wasn’t sure if he had been dreading this or he was anticipating it, but he found himself kissing him back. Santiago was a handsy person, this wasn’t the first kiss on the lips they had shared, definitely not the last, but the set-up to this moment was something he was starting to find special. It wasn’t like the usual dramatic peck on the lips he would go for, it was a full-on kiss, like the ones he would give to Satine. It almost felt rewarding after all the closeness of the dancing they had to go through,
Once they pulled away, he stared at him with his eyes wide open, the poet suddenly out of words, but unlike him, Santiago seemed more chill about, a smirk on his face as he helped Christian stand up and gave him a pat on the shoulder. Was that it? The kiss left him wishing for more, covering his lips as he tried to process what just had happened and what he was feeling. It was not the same feeling he felt when he kissed Satine, but he didn’t dislike it.
“Now go and impress your girl, I’m sure she will appreciate it.”
The last part was said in a sharper tone, turning to Nini as he said it. He had completely forgotten about the lovers’ quarrel. After all the kissing and dancing, that comment seemed to be what got Nini, finally walking off the stage and leaving the two men on their own.
“Do you think she will like it?”
“What do you think? Did you like it?”
He couldn’t bring himself to answer Santiago’s question. He liked it, a lot more than he should have, and he wasn’t going to admit that. He moved around his head hesitantly and Santiago laughed loudly, as if he had caught up with what Christian was trying not to say. He stepped closer and gave her a hard pat on the shoulder and walked away, not before giving his ass a slight smack.
Christian remained on the stage, taking in the silence as he tried to put his thoughts together. Santiago was just a very affectionate friend, right? This was nothing more than the usual but with a dancing lesson. He decided to awkwardly laugh it off and head off the stage.
To the woman he loved, to his dearest Satine.