Play It Again, Charlie (38 page)

“Charlie! You came!” Will exclaimed. He swept his eyes over Charlie's face and neck and then down to Charlie's soda, giving Charlie a chance to notice that Will had shadows under his eyes and needed to shave again. But he looked good; he had buttoned up his shirt for once and had dabs of sparkles at the corners of his eyes. He actually made them look tasteful, more playful than calculated, though, of course, they were.

“I said I would,” Charlie mumbled when Will looked back at him, then cleared his throat. “I thought men went out of their way to do what you wanted.” He pushed forward for a moment to make sure he was heard, not that he was whispering, and Will shivered. His expression went sly as he leaned back.

“You say the sweetest things when you get all ‘Just the Facts'— that's a reference to a TV show that was not about vampires.” Will turned his head at that to address their audience without looking away from Charlie. Then he grinned when they made indignant noises. He didn't say anything about Charlie's hand at his back, but then, Will
was
draped over Charlie's lap and trailing one hand up his shirt to his collar.

Charlie studied him for a moment, trying to seem at ease. He wasn't sure what was pounding more, his heart or the music. Will was smiling, had a pink flush across his cheeks.

“Buzzed?” Charlie asked and had to repeat it when Will didn't hear. He looked slightly guilty as he nodded.

“Just one Red-Headed Slut. Everyone had one, Kim insisted. To celebrate. Otherwise I would have waited for you.”

“You can drink if you want,” Charlie tried, and Will waved a finger in his face.

“I know. I wanted to wai... . Is that your cane?” He glanced down, then up, suspiciously, not missing much, even with a Red-Headed Slut in him. “You said you were okay.”

“I was... I am.” He answered too fast and knew it. “I'm just tired.” Will made a dissatisfied face, then glanced back to the kids watching.

“Still here?” he asked them sweetly, then he shook his head for Charlie's benefit. He toyed with Charlie's shirt, pulled at the buttons without undoing any, and then glanced to the side again. Charlie resisted the urge to slap a hand over Will's to make him stop or to look around to see who else was watching and just lifted an eyebrow. He didn't have to affect anything; sometimes age and experience were good things.

“What are you doing?” He kept his voice as flat and quietly suspicious as he could and still be heard. Will's fidgeting slowed for a moment as he slid that considering look Charlie's way, then he hopped forward, putting a hand to the bar as his mouth moved against Charlie's ear.

“I'm protecting
you
for once, Officer Howard.”

“Sergeant,” Charlie corrected him without much thought, swallowing when Will stayed where he was. This time he did raise his eyes to look for observers and noticed Will's friends watching them.

“Right. Sergeant,” Will breathed out, then he slowly pulled back. Not much, just enough to rest his mouth over Charlie's. “Or I was, but as usual you have the situation all under control.” He wrinkled his nose. “I haven't seen you for a whole day,” he whispered, his lower lip out in a pout Charlie could
feel
. “Aren't you going to kiss me?”

Charlie's breath caught. It wasn't startling for Will to ask, but he was taken aback just the same. But Will might want an explanation for his hesitation, so he pressed a quick peck to Will's lips. They curved into a smile before Charlie pulled away.

“What?” Charlie demanded at Will's smug expression. It hadn't been anything special, even if it had felt that way to kiss someone in public, to kiss
Will
in public.

Will must have felt the same way, because he moved to kiss Charlie in return, letting his mouth linger for a second longer than Charlie had before he pulled back. Charlie felt a tug as Will stood up and realized Will had finally popped another button on his shirt. He immediately rebuttoned it, ignoring Will's pout as much as he was trying to ignore his own embarrassment, though he did glance around.

Most people probably hadn't seen it, or cared. The straight men were pretending not to notice. They also kept their judgments off their faces. Charlie imagined them anyway, wondered if he and Will looked ridiculous together. Will was casually sexy and Charlie was tense and in his work clothes, but he stopped thinking how out of date his sense of fashion was when he realized Will was talking to him.

“Shouldn't have come to get me if it hurt you.”

“Want me to leave?” Charlie answered smartly and was rewarded with a shocked inhale and Will putting a hand to his chest.

“Hell no. I might never get this chance again.” Will dropped his mock outrage and leaned over Charlie to take a drink of his soda. Charlie frowned at him when he straightened.

“Chance?”

“To show you off.” Will turned in the other direction and waved at his friends in the corner. It was not a friendly wave. “I
may
have told them you were coming, and they
might
not have believed me. But you said you would.” He licked soda from his lips. “You always do what you say you're going to do, Charlie.”

Charlie felt his eyebrows go up and moved his attention to that corner. Chris and Beyonce weren't trying to hide their stares.

“Why wouldn't they— ” He stopped, distracted by what Will had said. He straightened his shoulders. Will turned expectantly back to him. “You want to show me off to your friends?” Restating it made his stomach tighten, disbelief and nerves leaving his mouth dry. It had always been enough to just have those close to them
know
; there had never been a question of
showing off
. Though he'd thought, once, that it might be nice, had imagined what he would have said to everyone. “This is my boyfriend.” Simple and complicated, putting a label on someone like that, something other people always seemed to get to do.

He tightened his hold on Will to banish the memory. “Did you want to go back over to them?” Will twisted around again, as though studying each of his friends in turn. Kim was smiling. Chris wasn't. “They don't all seem too happy. Chris probably won't want to talk to me.” That was an understatement.

“That woeful expression is for Richard.” Will shook his head and let out a sad sigh. Without knowing the details, Charlie had to nod. The man had left Will to pick up the pieces when he'd broken up with Chris, and clearly Chris hadn't taken it well. “Chris has a totally different memory of that night, by the way.” Will gestured at his head, in a “crazy” motion that apparently stood in for “high out of his mind.” “You're his hero now.”

“Oh, great.” Charlie felt the blush and hoped everyone would think it was the heat of the club. “I almost had him arrested.” He hadn't done anything except keep Chris from hurting himself or anyone else. Though maybe next time his heart was broken, he wouldn't try something so dumb. Will gave him an odd look, and Charlie cleared his throat. “Why did they break up? Or get back together?”

Will rolled his eyes.

“The usual reasons. Sleeping around. Someone's really super sorry. Gifts are given.
Expensive
gifts.” Will paused for a moment, dragging the word out with clear disapproval. It could have been for either of them. “All is forgiven, even if it isn't. I don't get it.”

“Oh.” Charlie got it, and then some. He looked over at Chris, who seemed miserable. “I don't think it's about the gifts.” But when his gruff comment made Will's expression sharpen, he cleared his throat. “Did you want to go over there?”

Will studied him for a long moment. He managed to make Charlie feel about as young and stupid as the two glittery kids still eying them.

“Why would I call you out here to go hang out with them?” Will was confused. “Anyway, they're being nosy queens.” Will's eyes widened as he abruptly went silent, and Charlie narrowed his. He knew guilt when he saw it. Will started talking again. “By which, um, I mean they're
curious
about you, and I'm not about to give them what they want yet.”

Will
had
to feel Charlie's alarm while Charlie imagined what Will had been saying about him. He must have; he moved closer, climbing as close to Charlie's lap as he could get with his feet on the ground, forcing Charlie to focus on him, the feel of him as he ducked to put his mouth beneath Charlie's ear.

“Wait,” Will ordered, then he spent a moment breathing heavily into Charlie's ear. “That's, um, that's Kim.” Will waved without turning around, leaving Charlie to be the one who had to meet their gazes. “Watch out for her,” Will hummed in the next second, and Charlie jerked at the sensation. Will immediately put a hand on his stomach. “You know, in fact, I'll watch out for him for you.
You
can meet him later, all of them, if you want to.” Will breathed in and Charlie did too. He wondered if the hand at his stomach was meant to calm him down or distract him. He didn't think Will knew either, judging from his hesitation. “Did you want to?”

“Meet your friends?” Charlie sucked in a breath, uncertain, yes, but also tense from how Will's hand was edging down in small circles. “Not right now.” His voice was hoarse from talking so loudly, and he was already so tense he'd need either a massage or a pill to calm down. “Though we— I could stay for a while. It's not so bad in here. And you seem to be— ” His voice jumped before he took Will's hand from the waist of his pants. “— having fun.”

“Well, I
was
.” Will pulled back to look at him with a significant sigh, then he leaned his head to one side. “You want to stay? We could dance. Or, I suppose I could dance around you, and you could stand there and look handsome and embarrassed. The best things happen when you're dancing, or so the song says.” He hopped once, but otherwise made no move to tug Charlie out onto the floor. “Okay, I don't suppose that would show them, not to mention be much fun for you. Especially since Kim swears he's Cyd Charisse or something.”

“How was that, anyway?” Charlie asked to move away from the image of him stumbling around a dance floor.

“Oh, fine.” Will dismissed his friend's act, then rocked forward again. “You know, you're right, dancing is seriously overrated.” He spoke directly into Charlie's ear, his breath warm on Charlie's face.

“Your friends are still watching.” Charlie turned to inform him, his hand going to Will's back once again.

“I know. I love it.” Will laughed into his neck. Charlie jerked, so hot his cheeks were stinging. But he glared, not that Will could see it.

“And
Grayson's
the exhibitionist?” He could have smacked himself, but Will didn't seem to notice.

“Come on, Charlie,” Will urged, his voice so suggestive that Charlie glanced over again into the sparkle twins’ stunned faces, the closed expressions of the straight men at the bar. He felt his glare increase, turned his head back toward the dance floor and the open stares from across the room. “Don't you want to show them something for doubting you? Oh, I know.”

Charlie twitched when Will's hand moved to his back, to Charlie's hand, and his fingers curled around Charlie's wrist before guiding his hand lower. “You could spank me, just a little,” he murmured when Charlie's hand was over his ass. Murmured, because Charlie could not say
begged,
but that was what it was like, Will's voice just as hoarse as his was, though Charlie didn't think it was from yelling. “You could let them know that you're my papi tonight.”

Charlie exhaled, thought vaguely that Will should stop calling him the matter-of-fact one when Will was the one so easily stating what he wanted.

“I... .” He hadn't moved his hand away, he noticed, even when Will had let go and moved
his
hand back to Charlie's stomach. “That term is sort of... I'm not your pimp or anything, and... you haven't done anything wrong.” Charlie shut himself up there. “You want me to spank you?” He closed his eyes at saying it out loud. Will sort of
wriggled
.

Suddenly the fact that he was in this club was the least of the things making Charlie tense.

“We can't just... .” Saying his words came out strangled would have been an understatement. He'd never even done more than lightly swat children on the rear, had never actually turned anyone over his knee. Will, who was already over his knee, sort of, breathed out very carefully and moved.

“Okay, Charlie, but a gesture is needed,” he tried in a quieter tone, frowning into Charlie's face before his eyes dipped. His smile wasn't very convincing either. Charlie tightened his mouth and then his hand.

“Will, I am not going to spank you here,” he insisted, his voice firm, and then he realized what he'd just said.
Here
. Jesus. Will noticed too. He made a startled sound and looked up at Charlie, pushing against his hand at the same time.

“Okay, Charlie,” he agreed quickly, some of the sparkle returning to his eyes. Charlie didn't think it was mascara-related. “We can stay and dance. Or not. And you can meet everyone. Or not. Or we can just sit here and you can finish your drink. Whatever you want. It's good, I swear.” Will gulped, breathed in, opened his mouth when Charlie frowned. “Or we could leave. Whatever.” His fingers pulled at buttons, anxiously tugging at the fabric of Charlie's shirt. He turned his head away just as Charlie remembered the last time Will had started to fret like this.

He frowned for that, too, for whatever had made Will prone to such uncertainty and, because of where they were, that he couldn't whisper softly to calm Will down. He took his other hand off the bar and put it on Will's hip.

“Stop freaking out,” he grunted against the side of Will's face, trying not to make the words seem so harsh, but Will instantly turned to face him, his eyes wide. “I'm right here.” He felt stupid. Obviously he was right there. But Will gave one last shudder and then finally went still.

“Yes, Charlie,” he whispered, but Charlie heard. The same way he felt Will's hands going flat over his shirt, clenching before Charlie had done anything. Not that he was going to; he was only considering it, which he couldn't believe, either. He'd never done
any
kind of PDA, and now here was Will, asking him for a public declaration of... . Charlie looked over. Richard wasn't looking anymore, but the other two were. Kim raised his glass in a toast. Charlie swallowed dryly. He wasn't Will's Dadd— wasn't his anything.