Art of Seduction

Chapter 6

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Art of Seduction

Chapter 6

Joss and Mike step into the dim bar, trying to find their way through the mass of drunken dancing people. The floor is so full of dancers Joss cannot quite understand how they still manage to move through them.

"I wanna dance!" Mike shouts through the loud music. "Will you join me?"

"No thanks!" Joss shouts back, "I thing I'll just take a drink or something."

Mike nods as a mark of understanding and they go to their separated ways, Joss wandering to the bar counter to order a beer, Mike heading off towards the dance floor. Joss finds an empty seat and sits down with a sigh, feeling a little agitated for some reason. He didn't really want to come here in the first place, but didn't want to be left behind either.

And a bigger part of him simply didn't want to let Mike go to a club full of horny people on his own.

While he waits for the drink to be ready, his eyes search instinctively for Mike's tall figure among the dancers; somehow it's safer if he knows exactly what the guy is doing, and most importantly, with who. After a while, he spots Mike, almost in the middle of the dancing floor, his hands around some girl's waist and clearly in a very high mood - or that's how it looks like, judging from the close contact of their bodies and big grin on Mike's face.

"Bastard..." Joss mutters, feeling more than just irritated now.

"Excuse me?"

Joss hadn't noticed the barman who was just about to give him his drink, the man clearly thinking the rude curse was directed to him.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean you," Joss hurries to explain, eyes dark on Mike. "My friend...anyway, thank you so much."

He takes a slurp, eyes fastened on Mike's back again as if he could tempt the man away from the dancing floor just by staring at him; it's impossible, of course, and he knows it. And it makes him even more angier.

Always the same. We go together, and I end up leaving alone. Geez, how annoying.

After a time that feels like an hour or so, Mike finally joins Joss, cheeks blushing and looking rather flustered.

"I can't believe this!" Mike sighs as he sits beside his friend. "That chick I was dancing with...you did see her, right?"

"Couldn't help noticing..." Joss replies bitterly, not quite able to hide his irritation.

"Well, anyway..." Mike continues, ignoring the rude tone, "She refused! Can you believe that?!"

"Refused what?"

Mike snorts and bangs his hand against the counter top. "Don't act stupid, you know what I mean."

"I'm sorry for your disappointment, Oh-so-popular-Mike," Joss says sarcastically and rolls his eyes, "I'm sure it's a very painful thing when a girl refuses to spend a night with you, especially when you call her by such a beautiful name."

"Baka..." Mike replies, punching his friend on his side. "That was rude."

"I'm tired of listening to your grievance every time you can't get exactly what you want." Joss grumbles and pours his drink down his throat in one go. Damn it burns, but it's the only thing he can think of to distract himself from strangling Mike right then and there.

"...What's wrong with you?" Mike says, a bit shocked of his friend's reaction. "Has something happened?"

Joss opens his mouth, but doesn't know what to say after all; to be honest, he doesn't have the slightest idea of what's bothering him. He only knows it's related to Mike and those damn horny girls and guys always surrounding him.

"Sorry, I guess I'm just tired," he manages to say after a while. "I think I'll go."

Mike's eyes are wide open. "...What?"

Joss slams the glass on the table, murmuring a quick "See ya," and rushes out of the bar, leaving Mike sitting in muffled confusion.

The cold air hits Joss as soon as he steps out of the bar and it feels like million little needles, stinging his skin painfully and clearing his head after spending time in the smoky bar.

That idiot, Joss thinks as he waits for the bus, I really hate him. He's the worst. Worst of all the creatures on earth!

"Joss?" a slight, trembling voice calls for him.

Joss recognizes the speaker, so he doesn't turn around or show in any way that he heard someone talking to him.

"Joss?" Mike repeats softly, moving closer to grab his friend's hand. "I'm really sorry."

"No need to be," Joss's replies sharply, trying to push his hand away. "Really, it's okay."

"It's clearly not okay," Mike says with concern evident in his voice, "But could you just please tell me what's wrong?"

"I'm tired, that's all."

Mike sighs as a sign of giving up and the two friends end up standing in a heavy silence, avoiding each other's eyes. Finally, when the bus appears, Joss stumbles in it as if he has suddenly lost his balance, probably because of the combination of alcohol and suppressed anger. Mike tries to help him, grabbing his hand, but the man refuses to receive any help.

They manage to find a peaceful seat in the back of the bus, but long part of the drive is spent in silence so thick you could almost cut it with the knife. Mike gives a quick glance toward Joss every once in a while, but is somehow a little wary to speak up, afraid of making the man snap again.

"Joss, let's not be like this," Finally Mike ventures to break the icy atmosphere. "It's a vacation after all, right? No need to waste it on being angry."

Joss remains silent for a while, as if he wouldn't quite know how to form his answer. "I... guess I was overreacting a little."

"No, you weren't," Mike replies quickly. "I'm always abandoning you all of a sudden. It's not fair, and I promise I won't do it again, okay? It's a holiday and all, and still I almost did the same thing again. I'm so sorry."

Joss nods with a feeble smile on his face, all his negative feelings slowly floating away. How could he possibly be angry over someone so cute, so caring, someone who's looking at him with those brown puppy eyes?

"I don't really understand," Mike starts with low voice, gazing at Joss through his eyelashes, "What I've done to deserve a friend like you."

Joss's heart skips a beat, but he tries to mask it with a rude question. "Are you drunk?"

"Of course not, I didn't really have a chance to drink anything, did I?" Mike says with a chuckle. If his voice wasn't so gentle, Joss would take it as an insult. "I guess the holiday atmosphere is just working its magic on me."

The smooth and dark voice flows into Joss's ear, and he feels a sudden mix of warmth and arousal growing inside his body. And then, without fully realizing it, Joss leans closer to Mike so there's only a very little space between them, enchanted by those deep eyes staring at him half-glazed. "Holiday atmosphere, huh? That explains a lot of things."

"What do you mean?" Mike asks with muddled voice, slightly taken aback by Joss' sudden behavior. He was just joking a little with his comments, but Joss seems to take it seriously - or, at least, there's a very odd gloss in the man's eyes.

"I've experienced some strange feelings lately," Joss replies in barely a whisper, "Actually, I think some might call them...inappropriate."

"W-what?"

Joss trails a finger on the side of Mike's arm, gazing at the man through his hair with slightly darkened eyes, a teasing smirk forming on his face. "Take a guess."

"Seriously, you could've just said thank you," Mike snorts, face flushing as Joss keeps running his fingers over his hand. It sends odd tingles down his spine. "This is a little bizarre, so could you stop, please?"

Joss shakes his head, fingers still resting on Mike's arm. His heart is beating in a fast pace as he leans even closer to his friend, so close he can almost count the man's eyelashes, one by one.

"I've been thinking about this over and over again," Joss whispers again, voice pitched so low only Mike can hear it, "And the only conclusion I can find is that I simply can't suppress this desire I feel."

"...Umm...Sorry, I didn't catch that...?"

Despite the slowly growing nervousness inside his chest, Joss gives one last glance around the bus to ensure there's not too many people witnessing what he's about to do, then gathers up the last bit of his courage, digs his nails into Mike's hand, leans close enough to close the last distance between them and places a soft kiss on the latter's lips.

As soon as Joss realizes what he's doing, panic hits his body like a bullet, piercing his already breathless lungs with such brute force it could easily bring him down. Though the thought of kissing Mike has slipped through his head countless times, he never actually thought of carrying it out. He will be scolded for this movement, that's for sure. He might even lose his best friend over this reckless act.

Just when Joss's about to draw away, he receives a rather surprising respond from Mike, something he never thought of receiving - an eager wet tongue exploring its way through his lips and into his mouth, in a way that is definitely not a mark of discomfort.

Joss hums and returns the kiss instinctively, vaguely aware of the fact that they're not alone, but being far too impatient to break away, especially when he feels Mike's hand pulling him closer by his waist, trying to make their uncomfortable position a little more bearable. In a spur of moment Joss slings his legs across Mike's lap, not really understanding how he managed to do so, considering they're mouths are still crushed together in a heated kiss.

Mike's hand is boldly roaming under Joss's shirt, cold palm sliding on heated skin, and their kisses grow even more passionate with every second. Joss rolls his hips against Mike's, drawing an incoherent whimper from the man's mouth. The sexy sound is smothered in the noise of the bus, but still clear enough for the other passengers to hear - a couple of faces have already turned around to see what's happening.

Finally, Joss finds some common sense to understand they have now quite the audience from a bunch of embarrassed and awkward viewers - or rather hearers, since everyone has turned their glances away after realizing what is happening in the back. Feeling embarrassed by losing control like this, Joss breaks the kiss and grabs Mike's arms to pull them out of his shirt. He waits for his breath to calm a little, trying hard to ignore the hardened bulge in Mike's jeans, pressing against his own.

"What?" Mike asks with a breathless, slightly frustrated voice. "Is something wrong?"

Joss tumbles off from Mike's lap, his cheeks flushed and lowering his voice so the others won't hear. "Yes, there is - we're in a bus, for God's sake!"

"But no one's watching - oh..." Mike blushes as he sees an older woman staring at them with an annoyed expression on her face. "I wasn't that loud, was I?"

Joss giggles nervously. "Don't ask me."

"I want you," Mike whispers in a rough voice, nuzzling against Joss's neck and the gentle move is enough to send a tingle of raw want down Joss' spine. "I want you so bad." He ends with a growl.

Joss closes his eyes, trying to suppress a whimper as Mike's hand has disappeared under his shirt again, stroking the soft skin on his abdomen.

"You know what we haven't checked out yet?" Mike grins, nose buried in Joss's hair.

"Mmmh what?" Joss asks with strangled voice, eyes still closed as Mike's hand wanders dangerously low towards his erection.

"The hot springs." Mike responds with a sly smirk dancing on his lips.

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Author's note: A little glimpse of our second main couple! Aren't they adorable!? *_*