Page 21 of Until We Fall

Rory makes a noise in his throat, his face paling.

And I’m instantlypissed. The guy’s a fucking dickhole.

“Fuck you, bro,” I shout, my voice reverberating over the crowd, the tone of ‘bro’ making it absolutely clear this is not a friendly exchange.

Next to me, Rory’s shaking his head, his eyes moving over the stage. There are five other guys up there waiting for whatever’s gonna happen. They’re all big, beefier dudes like me.

The entire crowd’s looking at us now, which is partly my fault for that outburst. Rory’s feet shift backward.

He’s going to run.

And I’m making everything worse by getting pissed off and drawing attention to us.

I need to fix this.

“Hey.” I wrap my arms around him, nearly folding over him and turning so that Carter and Theo are on the far side, so it’s just us and him. The urge to tuck him into my chest is overwhelming.

“Do you want to go up there?” I ask him.

He shakes his head. He’s not even talking. He looks panicked. He looks like this is the last thing he wants to do and?—

I twist back to the DJ. “I’ll go.”

Rory clutches onto my arm. “You don’t have to?—”

“Nah, I’ve got this. You just hang here. I’ll be back.” I give him a reassuring nod. It takes an act of pure fucking strength to let go of him.

I turn and head toward the stage, getting a few comments from the DJ about being the “fuck you” guy. That’s fine. I’d rather shift the attention away from Rory anyway. I jog up the stairs while the DJ is explaining some kind of dance-off or something. I don’t know. I don’t care.

I’m still pissed.

But I’m gonna play this fucking game, and maybe it won’t even turn into a bad memory for Rory. Maybe I can save this.

Carter’s loud whoop follows me as I take my place in the line of guys, all easily over six feet—I’m the shortest one, actually. Did that dickhole DJ eventhinkabout what he was doing?

A girl is giving me instructions, but I’m hardly paying attention.

I look back out at the crowd, and fuck… my heart flutters in my chest. Carter and Theo are standing on either side of Rory. Theo has his arm over Rory’s shoulders, and Carter’s talking excitedly, gesturing big. But it’s Rory’s eyes that I meet as the girl ties a coconut bra on me. It’s him I focus on as the DJ tells me to shake my booty.

And I fucking shake it. I go for it. I ham it up. I go all out, my coconut bra clinking as it comes loose, my ass moving, the crowd laughing.

I do it all for one person. My world shifts back into place when he smiles. His gray eyes crinkle, his shoulders relax. Carter whoops, and Theo keeps his arm looped around him.

Friendship.

There are big moments in life when friends show up for you. I always appreciate those, but it’s these small moments that matter the most. Just a snapshot of time where you truly see someone’s heart.

I’m wiggling my ass, and then a chant starts up. Everyone’s yelling something about “show us the goods,” and the guy next to me actually whips himself out. Seriously, rightthere. I cannot believe this shit.

People are drunk, and they’re getting wild.

The DJ is going along with it, guys pulling themselves out down the line. What the fuck is going on?

What if Rory had been up here? What if another dude in this line is silently freaking the fuck out? Why is there always so much pressure?

The DJ stops next to me. “Trust me, big guy, they’re gonna want to see you.”

“Nah.” I swipe off the grass hat someone had plopped on my head. “I’m saving that.”

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