Page 50 of Level Up

“You’re not failing anyone. Are you kidding me? You’re doing great in all your classes, even though you hate them, you kick ass as a rower, and you’re a decent karaoke singer. You’re winning at everything.” I leaned in and kissed him, holding the back of his head. His hair felt so soft. “Plus, you’ve got a huge dick, and you know how to use it.”

“Damn, you know exactly what to say to make me feel better.”

“Obviously.” I kissed him again, my tongue finding his and my legs nearly buckling. “It’s going to be okay. You’ll figure things out with your dad, but don’t lose the spark following what you love. There were plenty of people that told me not to follow my passions, but I had to listen to myself first.”

“You’re right,” he said. His gaze dropped down to my lips. His curled in a mischievous kind of way. “How can you be so cute and so smart at the same time?”

“It’s a gift,” I said. “Why don’t you switch majors? I know it’s a little late, but it’s better than never.”

“I actually don’t think I’d need to. I’ve been taking classes in my schedule that line up with computer science, mixed with my finance classes. Some worked for both, others I had to double up some semesters. But it was worth it. The adviser said I’d be graduating as a double major.”

“Oh, wow, that’s huge,” I said. My admiration of him only grew. I couldn’t believe I was so bristly toward him when we first met. Fuck, I felt like such an asshole. “Cheers to that, then.”

“To following your dreams,” he said, tapping his beer against the rim of my cup.

“And to putting in the work that makes them happen.” The sweet tang of pineapple mixed with a heavy smack of vodka hit the back of my throat. I swallowed it down, taking a few more sips before looking around the space.

For still being early, the club was already packed. And we were only near the entrance. This place had different floors, each serving a different vibe. The first floor was full of dark corners and secret crannies you could get lost in, with an entire dark room toward the back. The second floor was where all the dancing happened, with four rooms dedicated to different types of music.

And then there was the third floor. “Want to go to the third floor?” I asked.

“What’s on the third floor?”

“Gay gasp.” I flung a dramatic hand to my chest. “I didn’t know you were a Passions virgin.” I grinned and cocked my head. “That makes tonight so much more fun.”

“Just be gentle with me.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t.” I grabbed his hand and walked toward the stairs near the bathrooms. We were about half an hour away from campus, so I didn’t really care too much about being spotted holding hands with the Ryan Redpine himself. And frankly, as the alcohol started to work, I found myself not caring even if we were spotted together.

Fuck it.

Ryan wasn’t out there himself signing off on his dad’s projects. Sure, he didn’t drive electric and rarely recycled, from what I could tell, but those were all things that could be fixed. He clearly wanted to be the author of his own story, and that’s all I would ever ask of him. Let people think whatever they wanted.

We reached the second floor, crossing a packed dance floor lit by a pair of disco balls—the left hanging slightly lower than the right—that looked a whole lot like actual balls. The next flight of stairs was cramped, the dark black brick walls coming in closer as the stairs narrowed the further you climbed. Each step lit up by a dark blue light. A wall of beads shimmered ahead of us.

I stopped at the topmost stair and turned around. “You ready for this?”

“I think so?”

“Good,” I said, tugging him through the curtain of beads. It felt like stepping through a portal to another world.

It was Ryan’s turn to gay gasp now.

Chapter Twenty

Ryan

My jaw dropped.

The third floor at Passions was like the United Nations of Gay.

It was a huge open room with a domed ceiling and two bars on either side of the room. The walls were a graffiti blast of rainbows and gay iconography. A mural of famous divas (Dolly Parton, Beyoncé, Whitney Houston, Miley Cyrus) winked and smiled at us behind a large stage that was lit by two bright spotlights. There was a dance floor where people ground up on each other. Three bouncing beach balls were being tossed around.

“Damn,” I said, my wide eyes roaming across the room.

A few fake palm trees stood throughout the room, strung through with fairy lights. A trio of handsome guys made out under one of them. Their hands disappeared into each other’s shorts. As if they were trying to play that game where you lock hands, twist together, and untangle without breaking touch.

Except this was being played with hard dicks.

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