***

He moved through the throng of people, wondering again how they could be so oblivious to what kind of entertainment was offered in the back. But that only went to prove how tight the plan of those behind it was; they put on a hip front that seemed to be all above board, as Jackie would say, while they did their shady stuff behind that facade.

Since he was there, he could still do some reconnoitering to figure out the people that acted as liaisons between the front and the back. And the best person to ask was, of course, the man tending the bar.

Hudson offered pleasant smiles as he rubbed unwittingly against body after body and felt a few hands wandering across his back and ass. He could tell at least one guy must have slipped a note into one of his back pockets, most probably containing a phone number. If this were a regular night out, he’d be having a lot of fun within less than an hour.

He was working. And no one was doing it for him anyway. They seemed to him a blur of faces, which he examined in search of clues to help him. He didn’t categorize them as attractive, or as blonds or brunets, or tall or short, and so on. Their smiles glided over him, without leaving one trace behind.

He pushed himself toward the bar and suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. He recognized that hair, that prim scrubbed shirt, and that rigid posture, even though he hadn’t had the time to examine their owner at as much length as he would have wanted. Hudson felt his teeth grinding. What the hell was he doing here, out of all the places in the world?

He forgot all about questioning the bartender or striking up a friendship with him for the sake of information. His priorities were suffering an incredible metamorphosis as he put one heavy hand on Otis’s shoulder.

“I can’t date, I can’t hook up,” Otis announced as he turned in his seat.

“Good to hear,” Hudson said abruptly and grabbed his arm. “Let’s go.”

“Hudson? What are you doing here?” Otis asked, obviously surprised to see him.

“That should be my line. Come on, move your sexy butt.”

Otis followed him without comment. Hudson wrapped his hand around the slender fingers, holding them tightly. The only thing on his mind was how to extract Otis from that place, and fast.

“Wait. I should tell my friends that I’m leaving,” Otis said suddenly, when they were almost at the front door.

“Tell them later,” Hudson ordered, and it looked like Otis knew how to read the room, after all.

***

Otis blinked as the fresh night air hit him in the face. How auspicious to meet Hudson there, at the club. He had been thinking about him, and what he would think of Otis’s outing. After all, one goal of their sessions on dating rules and whatnot was to cure him of shyness. He was very happy that Hudson was there and he could ask him directly what he thought. And that meant that he had to communicate that right away.

“I am very glad to see you, sir,” he said, as he recalled that he needed to be polite toward his teacher.

“Are you an actor?” Hudson asked as he opened the door to a sleek black car and held it for him to get in.

“No, I wait on customers at tables. And dogs.” Otis giggled. “I mean, I’m not waiting on dogs, although it would be so funny to have a tiny restaurant for dogs, where they sit at tables, with napkins around their necks and all.”

Hudson seemed unimpressed with his little joke. That was something else for him to work on. He wasn’t funny, and people liked funny people. He waited patiently for his neighbor to get behind the wheel. The ticklish sensation in his stomach caused by all the evening’s excitement turned into a sinking one as Hudson put the engine into gear too fast.

“Wait, the safety belt,” he said and Hudson brought the car to a halt.

Otis held in a breath as Hudson hovered and secured the seatbelt across his torso, and then proceeded to do the same for himself. “Safety first. That is very important.”

Hudson huffed. “Ain’t that right? Now, speak. What were you doing there tonight?”

“I went out with friends to waltz. Wait, that isn’t right.” Otis felt the heady sensations caused by the alcohol from the two cocktails he had had on Utah’s tab, as the man had insisted, coming back to him since inside the car was not as cold as outside. “We went out to dance.”

“And what friends are these?” Hudson questioned him.

“Missy, from work, the one with the big red hair. And a new friend. Jackie,” Otis replied dutifully.

Hudson stopped the car at a red light so abruptly Otis leaned forward.

“You don’t appear to be a very good driver,” Otis felt the need to point out. “Wait,” he said, realizing with growing terror what was going on. “You were at the bar too! You were drinking! We’re drinking and driving!” He needed to get out. That was how people ended up in bad accidents. He also needed to convince Hudson to abandon the car that very moment.

Hudson caught his hand just as he was about to go for the keys. “What do you think you’re doing? I’m not drunk.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Otis insisted. “Even a drop of alcohol can affect your ability to react under dire circumstances.”

Someone was honking at them from behind.

“I didn’t drink a drop,” Hudson assured him. “But you did. We need to have a serious conversation, young man.”

Oh, no. That was the kind of thing his grandma used to say when he did something bad, and there was a lesson to be learned. It could be painful, in his experience, as he felt ashamed to disappoint his grandma. And now, by drinking, he seemed to have disappointed Hudson, too.

He leaned back into his seat, his hands in his lap, waiting to be lectured. Grandma was always kind, even when teaching him about things he didn’t know, but what if Hudson started yelling at him? What was he going to do then? He could only hope that he had the willpower to get through it all.

To his surprise, Hudson didn’t continue up the street in front of them and just pulled the car into a small parking lot, away from the main road.

One good way to prevent feeling too badly about what would follow was to admit his mistakes first. The lecture would still hurt him, for sure, but it was for his own good. Grandma was always so sad that he thought every lesson to be painful, but it wasn’t that, and he couldn’t explain it well. That had to be from before he had been with his grandma, and those were some dark times, as she had used to call them. A bad habit. His inability to deal with almost anything he didn’t know already.

“I drank two cocktails, and it was wrong,” he said quickly. “I’m sorry.” Hudson sighed and turned toward him. Otis didn’t dare look up, still busy watching his hands. “I should have known I’m not allowed to do that.” What he said made no sense, and his grandma had tried in vain to make him understand that, but it was the only thing he knew that would make the accusations that followed less hurtful. Not that grandma had ever accused him of anything.

“I suppose I should put together a list of all the things you’re not allowed,” Hudson said.

Otis looked up. A list would make things so simple. He wouldn’t have to worry about breaking any rule if he knew them all.

Hudson was smiling. Then, he frowned slightly. “What does this Jackie look like?”

Otis explained, relieved that he was being given an easy way out, after all. But the frown on Hudson’s face was only growing deeper, making his handsome face look scary. He made himself little in his seat.

“Hey, what’s with you?” Hudson asked.

“Tell me what I did wrong,” Otis mumbled.

Hudson let out another sigh, but then, he was suddenly close and caressing his face. “I’m not scolding you, Otis. But you better stay away from Jackie and that place, okay?”

Otis nodded. Was that all? Jackie was sort of wild, talking about hooking up and all sorts of things, and probably Hudson, who was so well versed in the ways of the world, knew that.

“You’re not going to ask me ‘why’,” Hudson said matter-of-factly.

“No. You know better,” Otis said, convinced that had to be the truth.

Hudson leaned his head back and seemed lost in thought for a moment. “This thing you do,” he said quietly, “the way you put yourself in my hands like this.”

“Yes?” Otis barely managed, his throat dry. He could see himself in Hudson’s hands, allowing him to do everything he wanted.

“Don’t do it with anyone else. Do you understand? It’s very important.”

“Yes, I do. You only.” Hudson seemed a lot easier to please than his mom had used to be.

“Okay. Now, come here. I didn’t mean to scare you with my bad driving.”

Otis had to unlock the seatbelt, move and put his head on Hudson’s shoulder. He was soon wrapped in a warm embrace and he could tell Hudson was kissing the crown of his head.

“But I’m still putting that list together. You’re not off the hook.”

“I won’t drink again,” Otis promised hurriedly.

Hudson laughed. “Maybe you can. As long as I’m watching over you.”

“Do you think I could be one of those people who get very violent when drinking?”

“That’s not my worry.”

“You… worry? About me?”

“Yes. I thought that would be obvious.” Another small kiss on the head followed. “I just think you would be easy to take advantage of when you’re drinking.”

“How does that work? Who would take advantage and how?”

“Bad people, and as for how…” Hudson fell quiet for a moment. “You really don’t see how beautiful you are, do you?”

That word again, making him warm and fuzzy all over. Otis put one arm around Hudson, enjoying how solid his strong body felt. That moment, just as he wanted to kiss his handsome neighbor again, his phone went off.

Hudson took it from him. “It’s your friend from work. Is it all right if I send a text saying you got a tummy ache?”

Otis just nodded and took the phone back. And then, he forgot about everything else as Hudson kissed him.

TBC