"Great party, don't you think?"

"Wow," Will declared, turning around to face the speaker. "That is really original. I haven't heard that all night." The first thought in his mind was T, and how he had used it on the blonde. And how it had stupidly worked.

It should not have been his first thought, though, he gulped, realizing. He should have wondered the why-how-what because, seriously, a guy was using this line, on him. He was being hit on by a guy.

He turned to see who was watching—was T tuning in to see this? He wasn't. T seemed too involved in—was he sniffing the girl's neck? Well, she was laughing, so, in some realms that must be acceptable first-ten-minutes-of-meeting behavior. They had fallen out of line for the keg even, and were inching their way to a less compact area of the party.

"Oh, man, critiquing my pick up line?" chuckled the guy talking to him. Will corrected himself, now. Not just a guy. This guy, who he had been seeing since he got onto campus. Dark-haired, incredibly hot, warmest pair of brown eyes ever to look into his.

Will was left without words. But the guy remained generally unfazed.

"I didn't think it was so bad, it's pretty simple and straightforward," he looked genuinely confused. "Okay, you need original? I don't know, so not ones about angels, or like, breakfast comments or…"

Will shook his head.

Sonny paused. Now more cautious, he asked, "Or how about I just say 'Hi, I'm Sonny'? Keeping it classy for you."

Will was stunned. Trapped. Panicked. Curious.

He said slowly, "I'm a classy guy." Then Will swallowed hard. "I'm Will." He looked around at the people sandwiched around him. Everyone seemed pretty engrossed with waiting for the keg, which included texting, flirting, stumbling, laughing. No one seemed to be paying any attention to Will and Sonny.

"Will, I, kinda, noticed you before. When I was...over there…and actually over there…and…" Sonny motioned to all the spots he had been dancing in and smiled broadly at him. "So, I was wondering if you wanted to dance?"

"No." Will said, abrupt. Quick and even rude, perhaps. Something flashed in Sonny's eyes, and although the smile remained Will could see…the doubt? Apology?

Will thought for a moment that he could stop talking. He could let Sonny figure it, move along. He might not even look back. But what if that wasn't what he wanted?

Will hesitantly added, "I mean, I'm almost to this keg here." He held up the empty cup to show him. "I need my money's worth. So far I spent $10 to get in, lost another 10 playing cards in that back bedroom and all I got was one beer and a slice of pizza."

"What? They're playing cards in my room?" Sonny seemed to try to peer through the crowd, down the hall. "Geez."

Will shrugged. "Is it your room? I don't know."

"Oh, never mind about that, I guess." Then he smiled slyly and leaned in, talking in hush tones, " Look, I know where we keep the good stuff. How about I bring you to the real liquor? You just have to follow me."

Just follow me, he had said. This openly gay, gorgeous college guy who seemed so sure of himself. So comfortable in his own skin. Until Will met this guy-this guy who seemed like he might have all the answers-Will had never been so painfully aware of all the questions he had.

Did he have any idea where he was headed? Will took one last look around at the disinterested crowd around him and gave Sonny a small nod.

"Okay," he whispered. "I'll go."

###

"This way," Sonny said, leading Will out the back door and down the poorly lit, damp hall stairs to the laundry room. "Watch your step."

"Yeah, this looks promising," joked Will.

Sonny smiled. It sure did. The guy was gorgeous, hot beyond measure. It was going to be just what Sonny needed. A quick, easy fun night. He was itching to skate his fingers across his jawline, the back of his neck. Work his way under the shirt, work Will out of the shirt….

Were there party people really playing cards in his bedroom? Things could be limited without a bed.

'No, well, maybe, I shouldn't think, who knows how far this guy wants to go, maybe just…'

Sonny tried not to race ahead, forcing his mind to clear. He had reached the bottom of the stairs and he looked back and smiled at Will, whose face unfortunately, was one of trepidation.

"You, uh…" With that look Sonny felt temporarily thrown off course; suddenly doubting his ability to follow through. When was the last time he had "picked up" a guy? His last boyfriend had been the one to pursue him. Not that Sonny had been hard to catch. He had went into that lion's den pretty willingly, hadn't he? It was his own fault he was still nursing the wounds. This guy, Will, looked like all kinds of salvation.

Will looked around the room nervously and Sonny followed his gaze. Sonny tried to see the surroundings with new eyes, as Will might. The laundry room floor was gravel and plastic sheeting. The walls were cinder blocks, and the smell was musty. Not very romantic, he thought with a wince. But they were the only ones down here, so it had something going for it.

"You know, this whole place is cheap, what can I say," Sonny announced. "You live on campus?"

Will shook his head. "No. Umm. Just visiting with some people. Visiting a friend."

"And making new friends," added Sonny. To which Will just shrugged and smirked.

Damn, he wanted to kiss the smirk off him.

Will had mentioned that the "great party line" was something he had just heard. How many people had already tried to hit on him tonight, Sonny wondered. Was he being hit on all the time? My God, look at him, he had his pick of the masses, didn't he?

Sonny led them to a fridge next to the washer and dryer. It had actually had ropes and a combination lock wrapped around it, installed by Mark after the first party they had ever thrown. It had been a sad morning when they discovered the empty bottles of Captain Morgan and Tequila. Mark had declared, "Never again, my friends, never again."

"Nothing like keeping the good stuff to yourself," said Sonny, referring to the Fort Knox that was the fridge. He made quick work of the combo, and pried it open. "What year are you?"

He could see Will fidgeting. Was the small talk annoying? Maybe he just wanted to get to the drinking and the part where their mouths, hands, bodies collided? Because that could work, too, he guessed. The idea of knowing nothing about someone, yet letting them put their hands all over you, that was exciting, right?

Sonny reached into the fridge and picked out beers. "Hmm?" he murmured, encouraging an answer from Will while holding out the bottle.

"Freshman. At Southern," Will said, reaching for what Sonny was offering.