Messy Love (Stumbling into Love 3)

When we found an empty space, Danny immediately pulled me close, turned, and began grinding against me.

“Hell yeah! Get it, girl!” someone said beside us, making me freeze up briefly before it melted away. I wrapped my arm around Danny, moved with him, tried not to worry about how I looked, if I was doing it right, or what anyone would think. Because the truth was, it didn’t matter unless I let it. I was so damn tired of letting shit matter. I decided right then and there, I was done allowing anyone else to hold sway over me.

It wasn’t long before I felt a guy dance behind me. He held my shoulders and moved in. Danny turned, cocked a brow at me, and I knew he was asking how I felt about it. It’s okay, I said without words, but he heard me. We were face-to-face then, the guy still behind me, but Danny’s arms around me as he moved with me, with us.

“Do you play?” the guy asked, and my heart dropped. I hadn’t expected that. While it felt good to dance with someone, with Danny there too, I didn’t want anything more.

“No, he’s mine,” Danny replied.

“Lucky,” the guy answered, and damned if I didn’t feel like I could fly.

If I didn’t feel free.

Our friends joined us then, our group taking up a large amount of space. The songs continued to change, but we never stopped moving, dancing and laughing and being. It was perfect. There was nothing wrong with this, with us, with the men wearing makeup and being feminine or the ones who didn’t. My father had been wrong.

Sweat trickled down my face and into my eyes. I danced with Kira and Ali, then with Danny again. I kept feeling Will’s eyes on me, and when mine met his, his were glassy with unshed tears. Christ, he was a good brother.

“Let’s go get a drink!” I told him. Will nodded, and I turned to Danny. “We’ll be right back. What do you want?”

“Just a vodka and Sprite,” he replied before pressing a soft kiss to my lips.

Will and I disappeared into the crowd together, making our way to the bar. “I’m in love with him,” I admitted.

My brother gave me a soft look in return. “I know. I can tell. I’m happy for you.” He squeezed my arm. “You deserve it.”

We reached the counter then, but there was a wait to get our orders taken. I didn’t know what it was about tonight that seemed to flip a switch in me, but I was glad for it. This probably wasn’t an ideal place to have this conversation, but, well, I’d never been good at talking or knowing when to talk, so why change now? “I love you too,” I told him. “You’re one of the best men I know, Will. Being there for me…everything. I love you, and I’ll spend the rest of my life being a better brother than I was before.” I waited for it to come, that shame I used to feel when getting emotional or speaking from the heart, but…why couldn’t men have emotions? Why had my father wanted me to feel as if that made me weak? We were all human, and we were all allowed to feel things and express that.

“You already are,” Will replied. “I love you too, and I’m so damn proud of you. I’m honored to be your brother, Jonathan, and I’ll always be there for you.”

We hugged then, right there at the counter in the busy bar. There were some playful claps around us, and a guy said, “Aww, how sweet,” when I swiped at the stray tear that had leaked out.

A few minutes later we ordered our drinks. Not everyone wanted one, so Will and I just carried them back for Danny and Jameson.

We joined our group again, and as we stood there, laughing and swaying to the music, people drawing me into the conversation and asking me questions, I realized they really were my friends too. All I had to do was allow them to be.

It was almost one when Danny wrapped his arms around my neck. My hands went to his waist, holding on. It was a fast pop song—I couldn’t say who it was because this wasn’t the kind of music I listened to—but we moved together lazily, like a slow dance and we had all night.

“You had fun.” Danny smiled, and it made my heart stumble.

“I did. All this…it’s because of you.”

“Nah. I might have helped along the way, but ultimately, you made the decisions. You could have said no.”

I wasn’t sure there was anything I would deny Danny. Ever. I leaned in, took his mouth with mine, swept my tongue between his lips, making out with him as we continued to move together. When my cock began to plump and a low growl vibrated through his chest, I said, “Let’s go home.”