Chapter 1
"So, you are coming, right?"
Daniel rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to hang up on his friend. "Yes, Eric. For the tenth time, yes I’ll go to Liquid with you guys. Now quit calling me so I can get ready.”
"Good, we'll pick you up around seven then."
*click*
With a groan, Daniel hung up the phone and fell face first down onto his bed. He really didn't want to go to any club tonight, let alone a gay club. It had only been two weeks since he told his friends he was gay, a fact he had tried to ignore most of his adolescent life. But now that he was twenty, on his own and in college, the time seemed right to tell his best friends, who were openly gay. That proved to be a mistake. Ever since then they had pestered t he life out of him to go to clubs or tried to set him up with strange men. After two weeks of relentless begging, he finally relented and agreed to go check out the gay nightlife.
“Oh well, too late now to back out. Might as well make the best of it,” he muttered, getting off the bed and walking over to his closet.
Not sure, what the dress code was he pulled out a pair of black leather pants and a tight, white shirt. Dressing quickly he ran into the bathroom and tried to figure out how to shape his long black hair into some sort of cool style. After a few disastrous attempts, he settled on pulling his hair back into a loose ponytail, leaving some long strands to frame his face.
*Ding dong*
With one last look in the mirror, Daniel hurried to the front door and opened it wide.
“So, what do you think?” he asked, spinning around with a flourish.
“I’m thinking no,” Kale said, looking him over with a judgmental eye. “Drab clothes. Boring hair and no make-up. Come on honey, you need to get with the program. This is a gay nightclub we’re taking you too, not the theater. Spice it up a bit.”
"Well, not all of us can carry off the full look" Daniel retorted, looking pointedly at Steven’s black, fishnet shirt and skintight leather pants.
Kale shook his head and took him firmly by the arm. “Please, you’ve got a beautiful face and a killer body. Now come on and don’t fight, I know what I’m doing. Steven, go out to the car and get my make-up bag. Eric, find some sharp scissors or knife and bring everything to the bathroom. I’m going to make sure you get yourself a man tonight.”
Realizing it was pointless to argue Daniel allowed himself to be dragged back to the bathroom where they were soon joined by Steven and Eric.
“Sit on the toilet seat and close your eyes,” Kale instructed, pulling out a black pencil from the bag Steven brought. “Try to keep still baby.”
Daniel did as instructed, trying to relax his face as Kale smeared stuff on his eyes, cheeks and lips. He then felt his hair pulled free of the ponytail, teased, and sprayed with what he guessed was hairspray.Finally, Kale stopped fussing with him and he was able to open his eyes.
“Is it safe to look in the mirror?”
“Not yet. First I need to fix your shirt,” Kale said, taking the scissors Eric handed to him. “Come on, stand up. Don’t look at me like that; I know what I’m doing.”
“Fine but you owe me a shirt after this and not some cheap Wal-Mart shirt either,” Daniel said, standing up and holding out his arms.
Slowly Kale cut away the lower half of his shirt, changing it into a tank top.
“There, that’s the best I can do. What do you think?”
Bracing himself for the worse Daniel moved to the mirror and gasped. His hair was very full and stiff while his eyes and lips were outlined in black. His cheeks were rosier his skin seemed to sparkle in the light.
“Man, I look like a young Alice Cooper or something.”
Eric moved closer and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Relax, you look hot. Tonight will be crazy fun, trust me. Now let’s get this show on the road before all the cute guys are taken.”
Daniel rolled his eyes as he followed his friend outside to Eric’s car. Steven and Kale claimed the back seat, forcing him to ride upfront. When they arrived at the club there was already a very long line outside, one that didn’t seem to be moving very fast. Leaning against the brick wall Daniel tapped his foot along with the beat of the music coming from the building, his reservations about the night slowly starting to ebb away. Suddenly someone slapped his a** hard, startling him from his thoughts. He spun around to see Steven grinning impishly at him.
“Sorry, couldn’t help it. You got such a cute a**, nice and tight.”
Unable to think of anything clever to say Daniel stuck his tongue out at him and moved a safe distance away. It took nearly half an hour for them to inch their way to the door but once inside Daniel saw that the wait was worth it. He gazed transfixed at the scene in front of him. Neon lights flicker above his head in time to the unbelievably loud techno pop. This was so much more intense and incredible than he’d ever imagined. The people standing in the doorway behind him nudge him into the crowd and onto the dance floor. Looking around he realized that his friends were gone, lost in the sea of dancing men.
Not know where else to go Daniel made his way to the bar and ordered a beer. With drink in hand he moved away from the bar and found a place at the edge of the dance floor where he could watch without being too obvious. Everyone was wearing tight fitting tops, some bare-chested and really tight pants that left very little to the imagination. They were all so good-looking and confident that it made him feel all the more out-of-place.
‘This is crazy. I can't just stand here gawking like some pathetic idiot all night,’ he though, looking out into the crowd. ‘Maybe I should move around and mingle.’
Suddenly he felt a tap on his shoulder, nearly dropping his drink in surprise. Turning, he saw three men standing in front of him with hungry looks on their faces. They surrounded him like sharks moving in for the kill. A cold sweat broke out all over Daniel’s body as he struggled to think of something to say. Before he could, one of the men moved closer and gave him a toothy smile.
“So, what’s you name cutie?”
“Daniel.”
“Daniel. I’m Tom and these are my friends Ray and Carlson. Is this your first time here Daniel?”
“Yeah.”
“Well then, you’re in luck. I’m friends with the staff and have access to the VIP room,” Tom said, placing a strong hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t you come with us and we’ll have a privet party, just the four of us.”
‘Oh god, this can’t be happening to me,’ Daniel thought, panicked. ‘My first night out and I get hit on by three guys. s**t!’
Forcing a smile he shook his head. “Thanks but I’m waiting for someone.”
Tom’s smile wilted a little but his hand remained firmly on his shoulder. “I don’t believe you. I think this is your first time out and that you’re all alone.”
Daniel’s skin started to tingle with fear. He felt trapped and alone but didn’t know what to do about it. Swallowing hard he tried not to show how freaked out he was.
“I’m not alone. I came with my friends who are here somewhere. They’re probably wondering where I am so I better go find them.”
Nobody moved and Tom's hand slid down and wrapped tightly around his arm.
“Come on, what are you afraid of? We just want to have a good time. That is why you came here wasn’t it? Just relax, go with the flow and don’t make a big scene.”
“No, I don’t want to. Leave me alone!” Daniel shouted, but his protests were drowned out by the loud pulsating music.
With Ray and Carlson pushing him from behind he was forced to follow Tom through the crowd of dancers until coming to a well-concealed door in the back of the room. Desperately he looked around, hoping to see one of his friend or anyone who could help him.
“This is a very sweet room, nice a quiet,” Tom said, unlocking the door. It’s a perfect place for us to get to know each other better.”
He had just opened it when a deep voice from behind them called out. “Stop!”
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Writer's Note. Please tell me what you think, I crave reviews.
