He Says He's Just A Friend

Chapter 56 - Wild Night

- Clay -

The GPS led us downtown. We passed by the gas-station-turned-coffee-house, driving by the mural where I took the picture of us that I wanted to set as the wallpaper on my phone, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Not yet.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll see." Emmett said. He looked around. "Turn left here." He pointed to the side of the intersection.

"But the phone didn't say that."

"I know." Emmett said, silencing the GPS as it tried to give conflicting instructions. "It's taking us to the actual building. But we need to park."

I made the turn, following Emmett's directions to a small parking lot that was almost full. I squeezed my car into a space where some asshole had parked his truck slightly over the line. Thankfully, my car was tiny.

As we walked down the empty street, with only a few streetlights to keep us from total darkness, I felt that surge of bravery again. I reached over and took Emmett's hand, threading my fingers through his. He smiled at me.

I was both excited and nervous about where he was taking me.

A couple blocks down, we rounded the corner, suddenly inundated with neon lights that outlined the front of almost every building on this tiny section of street. All of them had names I had never heard. A web of twinkle lights hung above the street, stretched from one roof to the others. I understood why we couldn't go to the building now. Orange traffic cones blocked the end of the street. People hung out right in the middle of the road. Some of them stumbled around or spoke with loud slurred voices, clearly intoxicated.

Seeing that many people, I instinctively tried to pull my hand free of Emmett's.

Emmett gripped my hand tighter and pulled me to the side, where the street was too dark to see us. "You don't have to worry about that here. None of these people care about us. We don't know them, and they don't know us. They're just here to get drunk, have fun, and maybe get laid."

"Where are we? What is this place?"

"It's Club Row." Emmett said that like I should know. "You've never been here before?"

I looked over at the dazzling lights, noticing that several of the windows had neon signs for specific types of alcohol, mostly beer. "No."

"Then why do you have a fake ID?"

"To buy beer from the gas station. Not to go clubbing."

Emmett stroked my face. "If you don't want to go, we can go somewhere else."

"Why do you even want to go to a club?"

"I love dancing. And I wanted to dance with you."

"In public?" I looked over at all the strangers. With this many people on the street, I could only imagine how many were inside each building.

"Where I want to take you, no one will bat an eye at us. I promise." Emmett held my face between his hands. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course."

"Then will you go with me?"

I took a shaky deep breath, my heart pounding wildly. I nodded.

A huge smile spread over Emmett's face. He pulled me across the crowded street. I kept my head down as I followed a half-step behind, trying to ignore my clammy palms. Emmett didn't seem to mind it. Or maybe he did, and he was just holding on to make a point. Either way, he didn't let go as he led the way to a place called Vibrant.

There was a small line, just three people ahead of us. The bouncer let each one in after he checked their identification. Emmett released my hand to take his wallet out. He pulled a fake ID out from behind his actual driver's license, so I did the same. The bouncer gave a nod and waved us both inside without hassle.

There was a small lobby where we had to walk through a metal detector and pay a cover charge to get through a set of double doors. This time Emmett insisted on paying. I tried to protest, but Emmett raised a cocky brow and said, "I invited you here, after all. And that was your stupid rule."

I couldn't argue without being a hypocrite, so I said nothing.

Once we made it through the second door, Emmett immediately took up my hand again. Before I could even think about pulling away, I noticed that the two men walking in ahead of us were also holding hands. Further down, as the light grew dimmer and the music got louder, we passed two men kissing in an offshoot from the hallway.

The corridor opened up on the main room. It was smoky, with strobing lights cutting through the haze. It smelled heavily of alcohol and sweat, and just a little bit of pee.

Emmett hauled me out onto the dance floor, surrounded by men. I only saw a few women in the crowd. I suspected one of them was actually a man in drag, judging by the audacious hairstyle, the prominent Adam's apple, and the thick application of over-the-top campy makeup on their face.

Emmett slipped his arms around my waist, pulling me close.

All of it overwhelmed me. My heart beat so hard it rivaled the thumping bass from the speakers that made the entire building feel like it was vibrating.

Emmett leaned in close, pressing his cheek against mine. "What do you think?" He had to practically scream to be heard.

"I don't know what to think." I looked around at all the men—at least a dozen of them shirtless—freely dancing and kissing without caring who saw them. Because no one here cared that we weren't straight. We could be ourselves without fear or condemnation.

"That's okay." Emmett said. "It took me a little time to get used to it, too."

My lips twisted into a smile. I pulled back from Emmett to look at his beautiful face for a second before pushing forward to kiss him. Not just a peck, either. I kissed him the way my friends would kiss their girlfriends in the school hallways. Because they could. Here, in this amazing place, I could kiss Emmett and finally feel normal.