Dusk (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 4 - Rummy

Rowan's friends pulled up chairs closer to the table. Erik sloppily pushed an armchair next to me on my right while Rowan moved closer to me, leaving space for one of the two guys I didn't recognize. I shifted closer to the end of the couch to give him more room, feeling self-conscious.

"Dude," Erik said leaning forward in his chair to look at me, "what happened to your face? That was not there this morning." I felt everyone's eyes fall on my face and smiled back at Erik awkwardly, he's definitely more social when he's drunk.

"Uh, it's nothing really, just a misunderstanding with some guy." I realized I hadn't seen the damage done to my face yet. I felt uneasy as their eyes studied me.

"What guy?" My eyes snapped to Rowan's old teammate. I remembered his name to be Isaiah- he'd graduated two years prior. From what I recalled, he was someone who'd thrown a lot of parties a few years back, the last of which a girl had almost overdosed at.

"Uh, honestly, I didn't really get a chance to catch his name." Surprisingly, a few of them laughed at that and I allowed myself a small grin.

"Well it looks fucking badass Evan. You know, chicks dig tough guys," Erik said loudly, picking up his beer and taking another long drink. I snorted at that and instinctively glanced at Rowan who looked away, amused. One of the guys I didn't recognize had picked up the deck of cards and was shuffling it.

"You know Evan," Ben said loudly, getting everyone's attention. "If you want we all know a guy that could you know, teach him a lesson. If you happen to remember his name." I might've imagined it but I thought I saw everyone's eyes flicker towards Rowan before looking away. It'd gotten quiet and I felt as if they were all a bit more tense. I broke the awkward silence,

"Um, I'm not sure—"

"—What's the game Eli?" Rowan interrupted. I looked at him again. His eyes were almost as dark as I'd seen them earlier, and he was sending a malicious glare in Ben's direction. Had I been on the receiving end of it my blood would've drained out of my face at that point, but Ben just shrugged and looked to the guy who'd been shuffling the cards. I assumed that was Eli because he looked up and started dealing everyone cards.

"Rummy." The chatter resumed and I felt a bit more relaxed. My phone buzzed and I picked it up, seeing a text from Lucy that they were at the bar looking for me. I turned back to Rowan who was re-arranging his cards.

"Hey, my friends just got here, I don't mind us finding somewhere else to go," he set his cards down.

"No, I still owe you that drink, remember?" I gave a nervous laugh. "Play a round without us." He said to everyone then got up. I followed him to the door that led to the club.

The noise got louder as we walked through a narrow hallway, passing the restrooms and arriving on the public side. It was crowded, and I actually saw some familiar, underage faces. The room had dim red and blue lights that reflected on everybody. We reached the end of the bar and I scanned the crowd looking for my friends. Rowan leaned against the counter and got the bartender's attention. I couldn't help but notice how close he stood to me and felt a weird sensation stirring in my chest.

Madison's platinum hair caught my attention on the other side of the bar, and I mentioned to Rowan that I'd go get them. I pushed my way through a few groups of people and reached them. Alex looked ecstatic to see me.

"Evan, thank god, you're never leaving me alone with these two at a gay club ever ag—"

"—What the fuck happened to your face?!" Madison shouted, loud enough to turn a few heads. Her manicured figures grabbed my jaw and forcefully turned my face to see the injury. Alex frowned and Lucy gasped dramatically.