Page 20 of The Influencer

He makes a good point. “Well… you are a professional.”

“Dennis can keep up.” Jade turns to the new waver. “What do you say? Should we give Asher a show?”

Dennis takes his hand.

And they do give me a show.

In his platform boots and mesh unitard, Jade struts to the dance floor and shows off some of his moves, leaving poor Dennis to sort of dance around him. But I doubt anyone’s paying attention to Dennis. Jade is mesmerizing. His body is sleek, his moves are smooth and sinuous, and all perfectly executed to show off his physique to its finest. Man after man of every possible variety takes a turn in front of him, laying their hands on him, fucking him with their voracious gazes, until Jade is in the center of the crowd of dancers like he’s performing on a stage.

Micah sidles closer to me and mutters, “Such a show-off.”

“How long have you known him?” I ask.

“A few months. I hooked up with him on Grindr back in the spring. Now I feel like I run into him everywhere. How’d you two meet?” he asks.

“I pierced his nose a couple weeks ago.”

“And you’re straight, huh?”

“I mean, is anyone? Really? All the way straight?”

“Yes,” Micah answers, dead serious.

“My twin is gay. We’re not identical, but I can see the appeal, I guess.”

“Oh…?” Micah leans in. “And what is the appeal?”

Sex. I think, but I’m not going to say that out loud. Sex with no strings. Sex with strangers, even. Sex for the sake of getting off and not giving a fuck about feelings. Not that I think gay people don’t have feelings—I mean—I’ve met my brother, but these guys here, tonight? Jade, in particular? I’m not convinced very many of them are out here dry humping their soulmates on the dance floor. But like Jade implied, what do I know? “Let me ask you something. Do you come to a place like this looking for husband material or to hook up?”

“I come to hook up with someone who might end up being husband material,” Micah says. “Why?”

“Trying not to make too many assumptions.”

“Does it look like a meat market to you?” he asks.

“A little,” I answer honestly.

“You’re not wrong. Stay a few hours, and you’ll notice the soulmate search is over, and everyone is willing to settle for getting laid.”

“Including you?” I ask.

“Especially me, baby, as I can only speak for myself. Did you want to dance?” he asks.

“Nah.” Now that I’ve watched what happens on the dance floor, it’s probably best I stay off it. “My brother’s the dancer in the family.”

“If you can fuck, you can dance,” Micah says like it’s that simple. “Take Jade for example. Doesn’t he look like he’s fucking?”

I train my focus on Jade again, and he basically is fucking someone right now, so I’m not sure it’s a fair question. He’s with a taller man, one hand draped on the guy’s shoulder and his hips glued to the dude’s pelvis. They’re bending and grinding and Jade’s throwing his head back, blonde waves sweaty and swaying in time to the music. But when he lifts his gaze to look the man in the eyes, it’s all heat and “take me now” vibes.

This was a stupid idea. I don’t know what I was thinking coming here, or what I hoped to gain from the experience. Jade clearly doesn’t give a shit whether I showed up or not, and I didn’t expect him to. It was a pity invite. I get enough of those lately to know one when I see it. “I should head home.”

“Yeah,” Micah agrees. “This is about as tame as it gets here.”

I swallow hard, a heavy sense of rejection souring inside me. “Tell Jade I said thanks for the invite.”

“Will do.”

And that’s it. I leave. I’m halfway to my car when the clomp of running go-go boots and a “What the fuck?” stops me in my tracks.

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