Dance lessons

Jay was in the library reading a book about 1920s trade unions. He had picked it up at random to empty his mind. Yesterday it had been the Brazilian coffee trade, the day before the Origins of the Theatre of the Absurd. He had begun to examine a table of members of the dockers' union of 1928 when he heard somebody sit down in front of him.

"Hi Jay." Jay looked up, surprised. Metis didn't usually hang around the library on Thursdays, when both he and Josh had the afternoon off.

"What's up, Metis, got an essay to write?"he asked.

Metis shifted in his chair. "I know this is gonna sound weird, Jay, but uh, Josh asked me to go clubbing with him on Saturday."

Jay tried hard not to laugh. Somehow the idea of a jock and an emo dancing together in a gay bar seemed slightly ironic. Well, in regards to the jock, anyway.

"That's, um, that's nice, Metis.." he said before letting himself laugh softly.

Metis glared at him murderously "Don't."

"Sorry...just one thing, is it gonna be a gay-"

"There'll be guys and girls..."

"Never stopped..."

"Straight boys and girls."

Jay cast him a doubtful look and stuck a pencil between his teeth to keep him from giggling again. "Why you telling me anyway?"he muttered through the pencil.

"I have a favour to ask of you."

Jay rolled his eyes, sucking the pencil tip.

"The thing is, I can't dance."

"I know." Jay felt the muscles around his mouth tighten as he recalled several parties where he and Metis had been thrown out because Metis had been so indiscreet in his approach on the dance floor that at least four girls, and not even the one he was trying to get to, accused him of trying to rape them.

"Why don't you ask Charles?"

"He can't dance to save his life." Metis by Jay shrugging and hanging his head in agreement, he added"And you can. I mean you even manage to make sucking a pencil look like a pole-dance." Taking the pencil out of his mouth, Jay glared at Metis, then made a sound of acquiescence. "So teach me, Jay."

"You must not be self-conscious when you dance. Otherwise you realise how ridiculous you look."

"So why are girls allowed to be?"

"Just say it's because they're girls and we're boys."

"Right."

"Anyway girls don't matter to you, because you're gonna be dancing with a guy."

"Sure."

Leaning back against a table, Jay looked Metis up and down. They'd bribed the librarian to let them use a spacious disused utility room, which no one would think twice about, much less imagine what they could be doing inside. Jay walked up to Metis, and pulling a cobweb out of his hair said, "Right, so you be the girl."

"What?"

"The guy who's dancing in front, if you prefer. I'm the tallest and I can dance so I get to be Josh, and the lead."

"This feels weird."

"Look, dyou want to give Josh a good time or don't you?"

"I'm not sure what I want..."

Ignoring him, Jay took out his phone and ran through the song playlist. Metis grinned sardonically when he heard the song he chose.

"No way Jay, you got Basshunter on your phone?"

"Shut up and relax your hips."

Metis gasped, outraged, as Jay grabbed him around the hips , making him lose his balance, "You're way too stiff and tense. Just go along with the rhythm."

"I feel really awkward now."

"I told you, rule number one: don't be self-conscious, otherwise you'll never get anywhere."

May shrugged and tried to forget where, when and with whom he was, replacing it with the scene at the club, on Saturday night, with Josh dancing inches away from him. He wanted Josh to hold him, and little by little he wound his way to where his boyfriend was. When he felt Josh's arms wrap themselves around his waist, he started to move the lower part of his body more, his arms finding their way around Josh's neck. He wanted Josh to really, really yearn for him and so wouldn't give himself to him completely just yet. But soon he found he couldn't resist much longer and turned to kiss his partner, who placed his hands on his backside, exciting him even more.

"Uh, Metis?" Jay said quickly before Metis went any further. Metis' eyes snapped open and widened as he realised that the neck he was holding onto and the hands groping him didn't belong to Josh. "Wha..? Oh my God, Jay I'm so sorry, I thought.."

Jay looked down at Metis, feigning innocence, and hating Josh. He hadn't exactly tried to stop Metis wrapping his arms around his neck, nor had he hesitated in letting his hands roam free over his body when they danced. They stood, not taking their arms away from each other. Then, Metis wound his fingers in Jay's hair and Jay bent down, slipping a hand under the back of his shirt. Their lips touched once, twice, their tongues pried open their mouths and explored each other's throats until they thought they would choke. Taking advantage of a breather, they hastily pulled their shirts over their heads, Jay pushing Metis gently onto the table, Metis groaning and tightening his grip on Jay's hair as he began to kiss him from the corner of the neck down to the navel. Jay paused for a moment, laying his head down on Metis' stomach, breathing heavily "Oh God, Metis, I'm hard.." May sat up, took Jay's head between his hands to gaze into his hazy blue eyes passionately " Do it."

Soon the table was groaning to the rhythm of their moving bodies, their moans and sighs filling the empty, dusty room. Soon both bodies tensed and the table did one last creak as Jay collapsed onto Metis, who held him close. As he did so, Jay felt a wave of regret, which Metis seemed to sense, since he turned his face towards his and kissed him feverishly on the mouth like a lover. They lay in silence, Jay holding onto Metis as at a lifeline, Metis curling his hair with the tips of his fingers. Eventually Metis whispered "Jay, how many Basshunter songs dyou have?"

"It's on replay, dumbass."

The door was thrown open. "May, if you want a ride home, we gotta go now..." Josh called in lazily.

On seeing Metis shirtless, pants fallen around his ankles holding an equally shirtless and pantless Jay against his chest, he added coldly "I'm gonna go back outside and Metis is gonna come out dressed in ten minutes, in the meantime Jay better have found an excellent hiding place."