Jay grinned.
Sounds perfect! and yes, just us sounds great to me :) unless you WANT me to drag my loudmouth best friend around with us.
He chuckled softly.
"Are you texting the cute Frenchman?" Marco asked, poking him. "Well? Are you?"
Lou smiled widely down at his phone.
Alrighty. Sounds great. See you then ;)
Before he could re-read it, his finger hit send.
“Oh boy,” he choked, running his fingers through his hair, eyes wide. “I made it wink. Oh boy I winked. I didn’t mean to— I didn’t— oh boy.”
He laughed nervously but let it be, staring at the phone to see if there was a response.
Jay raised an eyebrow.
"Oooh he sent you a winky face." Marco teased, grinning. "Should I put a condom in your pocket before you go, just in case?"
Jay turned bright red, and hit Marco's shoulder. "Ack! No! Stop it!"
Alright, see you.
Within those two hours, Lou couldn’t stop pacing. Or planning. Or worrying.
When it was about time to head over, he slipped on a nice collard shirt and khakis. Where they were going wasn’t necessarily fancy, but he wanted to at least try his best.
He patted Bean on the head as he grabbed his jacket, leaving the small pup inside with the apartment to himself.
“Bye Bean,” Lou said, the door open just a crack. “If I’m lucky, you’ll see the both of us tonight.”
The man laughed to himself. “Nah, I’m kidding. Later, Bean.”
But, honestly, Lou didn’t want to be joking.
Jay had allowed Marco to do a few touches of makeup on his face, mostly just highlighting his cheekbones and lips, then had gotten changed. Unbeknownst to the smaller boy, Marco had indeed managed to slip a condom into Jay's pocket, right beside Jay's wallet. He left with a cheery wave to Marco, heading outside the hotel to wait for Lou.
Lou came walking up from around the corner, fixing his hair briefly. He hadn’t worn his glasses tonight, so he squinted to look for Jay. In the dim light it was more difficult for him, but he made it work.
“Well bonjour. How’s it goin?” he asked with a cheerful grin.
As he got closer, he could actually see Jay. It almost took his breath away. Had he always been this… handsome?
(I gtg now. Good night!)
Jay grinned happily. "Hey. It's good. You?" he blinked. "Er, I mean…I'm good. Not it. I…" he laughed softly, shaking his head and running a hand through his hair. "Sorry. I'm still tired." he looked at Lou, smiling at the Frenchman.
(Night!)
Lou laughed, wondering if he was the only one nervous.
“You’re gonna love this place, by the way,” he said, beginning to walk. He made sure Jay was following as he continued. “I know the bartender there. She’s really nice— we basically grew up together. Anyway, she makes the best drinks ever. Like I said, you’ll love it.”
Louis happily lead the man down a couple streets. The city sure was alive tonight. Music could be heard resonating from every venu.
Jay walked beside Lou, looking around as they went. "Alright." he replied with a smile. "Uhm. In America, I'm only barely the drinking age, so I guess I'll have to take your word that it's the best drinks." he chuckled, running a hand through his hair again.
“Oh, absolutely,” Lou replied as he stopped in front of a wide-open door. Bright blue and red LED’s flashed from the inside and music drifted to their ears. In addition, the noise of chatter and people toasting, dancing, and laughing was audible.
Louis grinned at Jay and slipped inside, motioning for him to come on in.
The bar was bright and loud, but in the best way possible. People had smiles on their faces and were laughing. Others were dancing, on a cleared floor just behind the stools at the bar. Tables were set up to the right of it, but Lou slid in at the bar.
“Ally!” he called, tapping the seat next to him for Jay to sit. “Look who I brought.”
A woman no younger than 25 looked over from pouring a glass. She had long blonde hair pushed back in a bun and was getting hit on by multiple guys sitting there. She pried herself away and scooted over to the boys, grinning.
“Well hello there!” she said, setting down her glass. “How’s it going, Lou? And— oh, looks like you brought yourself a boyfriend, eh?”
Lou coughed, glancing nervously between Jay and Ally. “It’s not like that— we’re not— this is Jay, he’s a friend I met the other day.”
“Calm down, honey,” she said with a laugh. “It’s alright. And nice to meet you, Jay. I’m Ally. What can I get you guys to drink?”
Jay blushed a little at the boyfriend comment, but smiled a little. He sat down beside Lou, biting his lip a little bit. "I'll have…" he looked at Lou. "What do you think I should get?" he asked curiously, raising his eyebrows. He was still biting his lower lip a little bit.
Lou had to advert his gaze from Jay as to keep his heart from beating as fast at it already was.
“I normally just tell Ally to give me her best, so…” he began, nodding at the woman. “ALLY! Give us your best!”
She rolled her eyes with a snicker and turned around, beginning to make two colorful drinks. She took the shaker, a sharp noise filling the air as she swung it back and forth, the ice hitting the tin. She strained it out, adorned the drinks with a lemon, and set them before the boys.
Lou inspected the orange drink.
“Sunset, eh?” Lou laughed. “You know I love this one.”
“Well, go ahead,” she said, glancing over at Jay. “Try it.”
Lou held up his glass as a gesture to cheers.
Jay smiled a little bit, and returned Lou's gesture, then took a small, cautious sip of the drink. He raised his eyebrows. "Oh. That is pretty good." he said with a grin, looking at Lou still. He tried to ignore the way his heart was fluttering inside of him. Tried to dismiss it as just nerves or something. But he wasn't sure it was.
“It’s fruty and sweet, but I’ve always been a sucker for girly drinks,” he said with a laugh. He took a sip happily and nodded to Ally as she stood, waiting for a reply.
“You never cease to amaze me, woman,” he chuckled. “Good work.”
“Well, thank you,” she said. “Thank you very much. And I’m glad you like it, Jay.”
Ally slyly looked at Lou and nodded her head in the direction of Jay. Lou’s heart skipped a beat as she winked and left to take another order.
Jay smiled happily, kicking his feet a little bit. He didn't notice the look Ally gave Lou, and ran a hand through his hair, taking another sip. "By the way, if I get drunk out of my mind, I'm trusting you to take me back to my hotel, or at least somewhere safe." He said to Lou, raising his eyebrows a little. "I mean, I doubt I'll get that drunk, but still." He shrugged, taking another small sip.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be your DD,” he said with a chuckle. “And sure, I’ll take you back.”
Lou stopped for a second. “To your hotel, I mean. Yeah.”
He blushed, swirling his drink and looking down at it, his hair falling in his face a bit. He bit his lip, setting his jaw.
Jay's mouth twitched in a faint smirk. "I mean…I don't have a curfew." He said slowly. "I just need to be back by six a.m." he shrugged, taking a sip of his drink and looking over at Lou again. He tried to ignore the way his stomach was fluttering inside of him.
“So… the night is ours?” he said. “W-Wait.. I-I didn’t mean it to come out that way.”
He shoved his face in his hands, and sighed, then looked back over at Jay, smiling in embarrassment. His heart was beating furiously. “S-sorry.”
Jay laughed. "Yes, the night is ours in whatever way we want." He replied with a grin. "And it's fine." He shifted in his seat, taking another sip from his drink. He tried to ignore the way his heart was racing.
Lou almost choked. He had so not expected that response.
He looked at the man quizzically. His face flushed as he thought, Does he… could he feel the same way about me as I do about him?
Lou put his elbow up on the table, holding his now-empty glass loosely in his hand. He slid it back to Ally, who began to polish it.
Jay had nearly finished his own drink. "Now. If I remember correctly, you promised to show me around this fair?" He drained the rest, setting the glass down on the counter. He looked at Lou with a friendly, open smile.
“Ah,” Lou said with a grin. “The music festival? Amazing.”
Lou smacked down a couple dollars on the table, took a deep, shaky breath, and grabbed Jay’s hand, leading him to the door. When they got there and Lou dragged him down the steps, he realized what he had done and dropped Jay’s hand instantly. He awkwardly began walking, his hands loose at his sides now.
Jay grinned, his heart fluttering when Lou took his hand. He sighed when Lou let go, walking alongside the Frenchman. "You know, you didn't have to let go." He said softly. He ran a hand through his hair, careful not to mess up the makeup Marco had put on his face.
Lou’s heart jumped. “W-what?”
He glanced over, his stomach flipping as the sunset illuminated Jay’s face.
Jay smiled shyly. "My hand. You uhm…you didn't have to let go." he said slowly, biting his lower lip and studying Lou's face for a moment, then looking away shyly. "I-I mean…I don't know if you…" he shrugged helplessly.