When Clif and I arrived at Ethan's, the party was already in full swing. Cars lined the street, and young, scantily clad men and women were everywhere.

Ethan came from an extremely well-to-do family, so the luxury home he was living in was actually one of his parents' former rental properties. It was far too big for a single college student, but since it was close to campus and his parents didn't need the income, it became the ultimate party house. Clif and I attended a few of these events together in the past, but it had been quite a while since either of us could make it. Clif was actually the one to introduce me to Ethan, and over time, we had become good friends.

Clif parked the car, and we began to make our way to the house. We walked through the massive iron gate at the base of the steep driveway when I noticed a bright blue golf cart heading straight for us. "Clif and Bo! Fucking hell yeah, how are you guys? I'm so glad you made it!" Ethan shouted from his lifted Club Car. He was the same height as Clif, around 6'2", and the man was built like a fucking Viking. The two were gym buddies, but Ethan took weight training more seriously since he was an athlete. Clif, on the other hand, just lifted for fun.

"Hell yeah, dude! I'm glad I texted you when we were getting close because I was not looking forward to climbing this steep ass hill," Clif laughed as he reached out for a fist bump. "Bo broke up with his girlfriend today, so we're celebrating his freedom!"

"No shit!" Ethan snapped his head in my direction, eyes wide as he embraced me in a hug. "Bo, I'm sorry, man. Break-ups are the fucking worst. But hey, this is the best place you could possibly be to get over it!"

"Thanks, man," I responded, pulling away from Ethan's chest. I felt my ears burning as I began to realize that my attraction to Connor had awoken something...new inside of me. I had no desire to be anything more than Ethan's friend, but pressed up against him, I was suddenly very aware of his hard pecs under my fingers.

We settled into the golf cart and chatted for a few minutes, shooting the shit and catching up on life. After observing the two interact for a few minutes, I was reminded of the bizarre feedback loop that came into existence whenever Clif and Ethan were in close proximity to each other. Ethan was the husky to Clif's golden retriever, and they would continually feed off of one another's energy. If Clif got excited, Ethan would get even more excited, and vice versa. It was actually kind of adorable, albeit exhausting. Needless to say, I was the cat of the group.

Ethan drove us to the house and showed us around since we hadn't visited in a while. Clif handed me a cup of something, which I drank immediately and without question. Once I finished chugging, his eyes lit up as though he was remembering something before pulling a joint from his pocket. He turned to Ethan and asked, "Wanna smoke with us?"

Ethan led us to a secluded fire pit and gestured for us to take a seat. Clif lit up and started off the rotation, inhaling like a pro. I went next, then Ethan, and we continued on like that until the perfectly rolled joint practically disappeared. I wanted to continue drinking, so we made our way back into the crowded kitchen to pour some shots. Top of the line speakers were blasting so loudly that you had to yell to be heard, but it didn't bother me. I found myself losing myself in the music, dancing provocatively with the strangers around me.

"I'm having a fucking blast, Clif," I beamed, downing a drink. I coughed, my throat burning, before finishing my thought, "Thank you for dragging me out."

"Fuck yeah, man! Happy to do it," Clif yelled, his green eyes crinkling at the corners. As he began to pour another round of shots, I felt my ass vibrate. I pulled my phone out to see a new text from Connor.

Connor Wells: I think I'm here. Holy shit, this place is nuts.

Me: If you can just make it up the driveway, I can meet you out front. Coming to save you ;)

I threw back one of the shots Clif had just poured before heading toward the front of the house. I had been high ever since earlier in the day when Clif and I had gone to the creek, and the alcohol was just beginning to light my soul on fire. I was a crossfaded mess, but to be completely honest, I was having too much fun to care. I felt like I was floating on air as I moved closer to the massive set of double doors leading outside. I pushed them open to find Connor standing directly in front of me looking like a goddamn snack. How am I supposed to control myself in this condition? It's going to be a long fucking night.

"There you are," I slurred, walking over to the gorgeous man I had kissed less than 24 hours ago.

"I see someone's been drinking," Connor chuckled. He took a step toward me, leaning in close to smell my shirt. "Oh my. Weed, too?"

Connor's face was still nuzzled in my neck, and all I could think about was how I wanted him to lick me there--anywhere. I didn't remember doing it, but my arms had snaked around the other man's thick waist, pulling him into me even more. When our bodies were finally flush, I could feel the growing excitement in his pants and it sent a powerful shiver up my spine. There was no denying that I was matching his energy, and judging by the look on his face, Connor knew it. We were both becoming heated, and even though I never wanted to move from that spot, I forced myself to whisper in his ear, "Come with me."

I smiled up at Connor through darkened lashes as I took his hand, leading him through the crowd. I moved toward the kitchen, where my friends were gathered, and threw up my free hand when my eyes landed on Clif.

"Clif!" I shouted, thrilled to see my best friend. Time was beginning to move strangely for me at this point, and it felt like it had been far too long since we'd seen each other. "I'm so happy to see you, Clif! This is Connor, the guy I told you about."

"This is the guy? Hell yeah, dude! Nice job," Clif praised. His tolerance for substances was much higher than mine, but I could tell he was feeling good. "Happy to meet you, Connor! I'm Clif."

"It's nice to meet you, Clif," Connor said, taking the freshly filled cup that was being handed to him by Ethan. I looked over to my briefly forgotten friend to see that he was watching with curious eyes as I stood there hanging off of the handsome older man. Under different circumstances, it's likely that I would have tried to play down this thing we had since it was so new, at least in front of other people, but I was fucked up with no interest in hiding.

"Connor, this is my friend Ethan!" I yelled over the music, gesturing back and forth between the two. "Ethan, this is Connor. He's my...um...new...person." Connor's smile widened as I felt his arm loop around my waist, pulling me closer to him.

Looking confused, Ethan held out a hand for Connor to shake. "Hi, Connor! So you're Bo's...person?" Ethan shifted his gaze at me and I could tell that he was thinking hard about something. After a moment of contemplative silence, he must have connected the dots in his head. Ethan's eyebrows shot up as he shouted, "Holy shit, Bo, are you gay?!"