Coda 03 -The Letter Z

holes through him.
“Why not?” Matt asks him, surprised.
Jared gives him a pointed look. “It’s not a good idea,” he says again, slower, obviously expecting Matt to find some deeper meaning in it the second time, but I can tell Matt doesn’t.
“I don’t mind,” he says.
“It’s settled then,” Jonathan says, beaming at Zach.
    We take a cab to the club. It’s a few blocks from where we were eating, but not far from the Strip. Once we get inside, they find a table. It’s one of those high tables, where you have to sit on stools. They’re lookin’ ’round for a waiter. I know better. I go up to the bar and order two shots of tequila. Slam them both, and then go back to Zach. I stand on the other side of him, away from Jonathan, so that when he turns to talk to me, Jonathan can’t listen in.
“I wanna dance,” I tell him.
    “Okay,” he says, smilin’. “Go ahead.” He starts to turn back to the conversation the others are havin’, but I stop him.
    “Zach.” I wait ’til he looks at me. “Look at the dance floor, Zach.” He looks amused, but he does what I say. “You see what’s goin’ on out there.”
    He grins at me. “I’ve been to clubs before, Ang.”
    I’m still not sure he gets it. “I’m tellin’ you I wanna go out there and dance, Zach. I just wanna make sure you know exactly what I’m sayin’.”
“You’re telling me you want to fool around with somebody other than me.” That surprises me for just a second. Then I realize how stupid I am. I shoulda known he didn’t need me to spell it out for him. He ducks his head a little, so he can look right in my eyes. “Are you planning on leaving with somebody?”
“Only you.”
“Okay.” He puts his hand on the back of my neck and pulls me close. He kisses me, then whispers in my ear, “No sex.”
“You know I won’t.”
“I love you.”
    “I know.”
“Have fun.”
I pull off the tie and hand it to Zach, who shoves it in his pocket. “Where are you going?” Matt asks me.
“Gonna dance.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah, I’m serious,” I say, grinnin’ at him. “Wanna come?” “No way in hell,” he says, which makes me laugh, ’cause it’s exactly
    what I expected.

    I stop at the bar and do one more shot, and then I hit the floor.

Matt…
    I THOUGHT at first that Angelo was joking when he said he wanted to dance. It just wasn’t something I ever would have expected. Angelo was tough and eccentric and smart and sometimes wickedly funny. And although he had told me a little bit about his past, I had never really pictured him doing the club scene. But it immediately became apparent that not only could he do the club scene, he was good at it. I realized then what Jared had been worried about.
    He was like a magnet. Or a flame, and the rest of them were moths. They zoned in on him like a pack of wolves stalking their prey. Except this prey would eat them alive.
    For a minute, he was dancing alone, even though half the men around him were eyeing him. I’d seen the same thing happen at straight clubs, when a drop-dead-gorgeous woman walked onto the floor. There was a minute while they all just watched and waited—they were wondering, was he really alone? Who would make the first move?
    Finally, one of them separated from the pack. He was young, with spiky platinum-blonde hair, taller than Angelo and very cocky. He danced up to Angelo, and Angelo let him come. Blondie wrapped his arms around Angelo and pulled him against him. Angelo went willingly, laughing. They danced for a minute, grinding together, but then Blondie whispered something in Angelo’s ear. Ang threw his head back and laughed, pushing Blondie away. Blondie looked surprised, and annoyed, but retreated.
    The next one was older, better dressed, and a tiny bit fem. He wasn’t as cocky. He moved slower, waiting for Ang to rebuff him too. But Ang didn’t. He unbuttoned Angelo’s shirt, while Ang looked up at him with flirtatious eyes. Fem left the last few buttons done up, then pulled the shirt backward off of Angelo’s shoulders, pulling it halfway down and then gripping it tight, so that Ang’s arms were pinned to his sides. Angelo laughed, his head back. Fem put his tongue in the hollow of Ang’s throat, one hand on Angelo’s ass, and they started to grind together. His lips moved slowly up Angelo’s neck, and Angelo let him. They danced for a while. Right up until Fem tried to kiss him. Then Angelo spun away with a smile.
    There