the longest summer in america - jevin

chapter 1

there's an ice sculpture of a huge phallus right in the middle of the table, complete with impressive details carved into it. it's been sweating steadily all over the tablecloth for hours, and ian has been tracking the droplets coming down its side and gathering into a puddle at the base of it like it's his job.

the truth is, he's been trying to avoid making eye contact with the equally big sign sitting right by it, marking their group as part of a bachelor party. he really regrets the moment he agreed on attending this whole destination wedding thing as nick's plus one.

don't get him wrong, he's grateful for the opportunity of spending a week in a resort on the beach at someone else's expense, and it's nice that nick wanted him to come along to 'spend some quality time together', but this is not exactly what ian had in mind when he imagined what that meant.

he doesn't really know anybody apart from nick, barely even met the bride and groom themselves, so he's been having a bit of a hard time fitting into the bigger group. nick being half drunk since the second they arrived hasn't helped either.

ian huffs as he dodges yet another flailing arm coming his way. He gives up on his plan of retrieving another pizza slice and leans back against the bench, crossing his arms over his chest and rolling his eyes as he watches somebody else steal it for themselves.

he's been sitting here, squished between sweaty people for at least three hours, and he's honestly over it by now. he would get up and leave, but he can already hear the guys telling him how lame he is, so he stays quiet and looks around to pass the time.

the bar they're in is crowded and loud, the lights turned low enough that ian can barely make out the people sitting at the counter, waiting for their drinks. his group has put together at least five or six tables to make the one they're all sitting around, and alcohol has been flowing freely all night.

ian has been nursing the same glass of now warm beer, steering clear of the weirdly coloured substances the others are getting drunk on. it's safe to say that this is fairly outside of his comfort zone.

"are you having fun?"

startled by the sudden voice in his ear, ian jumps and turns around, coming face to face with nick sitting right next to him. he wraps an arm around ian's waist and squeezes, raising his eyebrows as he waits for an answer.

"uh, yeah, sure," he nods, showing him his almost empty glass.

"you look good tonight," nick continues, lips pressed to ian's ear, breath hot against it.

ian smiles but he squirms away, looking around to make sure that nobody is staring at them. he doesn't think anybody would actually care, seeing how completely wasted all of them are, but nick being so affectionate in public still makes him uncomfortable.

his eyes flit across the people sitting on the other side of the table, to the couples and groups dancing in the middle of the room, finally settling on another pair of eyes staring right back at him. it surprises him, but neither ian nor the mysterious stranger look away.

"thanks," he smiles sideways at nick, but his focus is still on the pair of eyes.

the only thing he can make out is how intense they look as they hold ian's gaze. he can tell they're hazel even from this far, but they have a twinkle to them that doesn't look like it comes from the dim lighting in the bar. maybe the beer was stronger than ian realized, if those are the thoughts he's having.

probably trying to bring his attention back on him, nick nibbles on ian's lobe and a cheer erupts from the head of the table, so ian gets distracted for long enough that when he looks back at the bar, the eyes have disappeared.