The bright multicolored lights and loud booming music did nothing to distract Aidan from his own thoughts. His eyes were glued to the liquid in his glass that swayed in time with the bass.

“Soo… I got a dog. He’s the cutest little husky.” Leo, who had been letting him stay in his trance for a while, knew it was finally time to break the silence.

Luckily, it worked. Sort of. Aidan glanced at the one sitting next to him, eyes faintly glazed over. The stiff couch wasn’t easy to get comfortable on, but he tried his best to lean back on it. He placed the drink down on the table in front of them, a very soft smile on his lips.

“Oh, really? You’ve got to show me sometime. They’re so… cute…”

Leo could tell he was drifting off again and had to speak up once more.

“Haha, right? Such lovely creatures. I could be convinced to let you see him.”

“Nice… that’s nice…”

That wasn’t enough.

“Alright, how thoroughly did he ravage you? I’ve never seen you this spaced out before.”

Aidan’s eyes widened.

“L- Leo-“

Leo couldn’t help but laugh, as he placed a hand on Aidan’s shoulder.

“Hey, I doubt there’s a better way to get your attention.”

“You’re an evil man.”

Leo just smiled, waiting patiently for an answer to his question.

“We met up a few days ago. But I can still feel it, Leo. Everything.” He paused.

“I thought I knew what sex was. Now… It's like I’m discovering it for the first time again. I want to learn more about Cedric’s life. I want to be in it.”

Leo watched him carefully, the smile never leaving his face.

“I’ll admit, I’m starting to feel pretty proud of myself for giving you that address.

“Haha… you’re the best.”

Aidan looked absentmindedly around the club. A shadow that was moving in the distance immediately caught his attention. Tall and black-haired. The man wore a dark vest over his white dress shirt, as he walked along the back wall. Some other eyes were on him, but his reaction to them was a polite wave of his hand.

Leo was beginning to wonder why Aidan was being silent again. But when he followed the direction of his stare, he quickly understood the situation.

“Okay… that guy is pretty hot. But do you have to get all speechless like that?”

The man headed into what seemed like a staff-only back area. Did he work here?

Aidan was first able to speak up when he disappeared. He heard none of what Leo said.

“Huh… Cedric did say he worked at a club. There aren’t many of ‘these’, so it makes sense he’d be here.”

“Wait. That was him?”

Aidan wasn’t sure why, but making eye contact with Leo was a little harder at that moment.

“Ah… yeah…”

Leo got up from the couch, patting the top of Aidan’s head with a grin.

“Well, tell me how it goes.”

“You…”

…And he was gone. It was too late to get Leo back now. A smug expression looked back at Aidan, as it was swallowed up by a mass of dancing shadows.

Squinting his eyes, he could just barely see Leo in there. He was already grinding up against one of the other men. Okay, that was probably deserved. Considering what happened last time.

He kind of wanted to go look for Cedric, but he was still a bit overwhelmed with his own thoughts. He needed time to process them. Besides, Cedric was still somewhere customers weren’t allowed. It would be for the best to head home.

But that wasn’t without a quick glance at his friend, easily discernible in the crowd with his blond hair. The flushed grin on his face was apparent. It was one that without fault made Aidan smile to himself. It was an indescribable feeling. Leo really did deserve the world.

He trusts me enough to let me into his apartment…

Aidan was beaming after yet another phone call. This time they planned for him to visit Cedric, which was quite an exciting prospect. Standing in his bedroom, Aidan looked through the closet for what to wear. The spontaneity of meeting him on the same day as it was discussed would normally be a bit stressful.

But Aidan already missed being in the same room as him. If anything, he would be out the door in a heartbeat, had they not agreed on a later time.

Reminded of when he saw Cedric at the club, he picked out a dress shirt. It would be a nice thought, and Aidan also wanted an excuse to try and look more formal.

He might have gotten a little too excited and prepared himself earlier than necessary. This was going to be a long few hours.

As he entered the apartment building, its dim lights didn’t do much to calm him. It was an unfamiliar and dark stairway that momentarily made him forget what he was doing there. He sped up his pace. The address was only a few floors up.

Once he stood before the door with the correct numbers on it, he took a deep breath. As his fist hit the wood, muffled footsteps from behind the door soon followed. His unease faded quickly when he came face to face with the man inside.

A warm glow came from Cedric’s apartment, as he stood there in the most closely fitted sweatshirt Aidan had ever seen. It looked like they might have had the same thought of mimicking each other.

Aidan meant to say something. He really did. But he was much more fascinated by how a thick shirt like that was able to hug Cedric’s body so well.

“Aidan, please. Close your mouth, you’re drooling.”

Aidan perked up at that.

“Wait, my mouth isn’t even o- oh.”

Cedric laughed.

“I don’t know… If it went on for any longer, that might have been the case.”

Aidan stepped in through the entrance, locking the door after him. A perfect way to regain some composure.

However, that washed away the instant he turned back to Cedric, who was much closer now. He ran a few fingers down Aidan’s chest, showing that he had indeed noticed his shirt was a bit more open than usual.

“Uh… lovely white walls you have here. Why don’t we have a look at the rest too?”

Cedric pressed his hand harder against Aidan, making his back hit the door.

“Acting coy now, are we? …Still riled up from last time?”

Why did he have to be so damn perceptive. Unless of course, Aidan was making it more obvious than he thought.

“Maybe…”

“Alright, I’ll be nice. …Until you start begging me for it, that is.”

Aidan shivered, as Cedric pulled his hand back.

“You’re pretty certain of that, huh?”

Cedric squinted his eyes.

“Yes. Yes, I am.”

They both knew it was inevitable, but some playful defiance was to be expected. And since it had been established that they weren’t ripping each other’s clothes off by the door, Aidan could calm down a bit.

He slipped past Cedric. The entrance hall took a quick bend to the right and stretched out into a long hallway. There were four doors in that hall in total, two along each side. It was a rather small apartment, which Aidan could relate to.

“You know… ever since that time you got way too aroused in the middle of the street; just from me explaining myself. I’ve been thinking about what you said. And I really want to know more about you.” Aidan opened the first door on the right. In there was a little kitchen with only the essentials and nothing more.

“Okay, back it up there, Aidan. I will not hear that from someone who got off to me just speaking over the phone.”

“How dare you bring up such an embarrassing moment for me.”

“Mhm… who started this again?”

Without looking back, Aidan hurried off to the next door. His living room; with a couch and television. What a familiar sight.

“Anyway! As I was also saying, I’m curious about you.”

He didn’t stay by that doorway for very long.

What about over here?

It seemed Aidan had finally found what he was looking for. The bedroom. As he stood in the doorway, Cedric walked up behind him.

“Well… I’m a little jaded.” Cedric leaned down, placing his chin on Aidan’s shoulder. He continued.

“I’m sure you can already imagine what in my past has led to it. You know, considering you’re someone I met at ‘that’ place.”

“If we’re talking about childhood and teenage years, then yeah… I know exactly what you mean.” Aidan reached his arm behind himself, placing a hand on the back of Cedric’s head. He dug his fingers into his hair and kneaded gently. Cedric sighed against his neck, burrowing his face into it.

“Mmh… yeah. It sure was… something. But I think the more repressed I was, the better it felt to let myself indulge.”

“There’s definitely something to that. …After all these years, I can finally do, well—this.” Aidan rubbed even harder against the back of Cedric’s head. That made him press his lips against Aidan’s skin, muffling any sound that might escape.

“Also… thank you for being the first one I met in this part of the community. You gave me a good first impression…”

Cedric’s mouth stayed on him, very slowly going up his neck. This time it was Aidan’s turn to sigh, as Cedric grazed the edge of his ear.

“Nnh…”

When Cedric snuck a hand up under his shirt, Aidan’s immediate reaction was to back up into him.

“You’re welcome. I’m getting too much praise though… Or maybe I don’t tell you how I feel often enough.”

He enjoyed the way Aidan moved against him, as he explored every subtle curve of his body.

“Then, Cedric… be honest with me.”

Cedric slid his hand in under the rim of Aidan’s pants. However, he didn’t go any further down than that…

“It may seem like I meet a lot of great men with the amount that come and go from that place. But… you’re by far the best. Even the simplest things you do. They… start something in me.” He retracted his hand from under Aidan’s shirt and reached up to unbutton it instead.

“…In a way no one else has.”

Aidan’s cheeks and ears heated up significantly. He couldn’t handle standing there anymore. It was time to move on. Fast.