I was standing outside of the convention center, anxiously tapping my fingers along the sides of my jeans. I had no idea what was going on inside this place tonight, but I knew that Sky had instructed me to dress casual, since he didn't want me to "ruin any of my good clothes."
And even though I'd been insulted by his insinuation that I owned anything besides good clothes, I still happily obliged, showing up to our first date in a Waterboys band t-shirt and some jeans I'd found in the back of my closet.
Our first date.
I'd been shocked when I'd gotten the call. By that point, I'd already been telling myself that Sky and I were just going to be a hook-up that was already a few minutes away from fizzling out.
Because it didn't matter if I found myself liking him more with each passing day.
Eventually, he was going to revert to being straight. And I was going to be left in the dust.
But I'd been pleasantly surprised when Sky proved me wrong. At first, I'd wondered if it was a prank call, with the way he sounded so strange on the phone. But then I realized that he was just nervous.
He was nervous when it came to asking me out, the kind of nervous that seemed like he would've been hurt if I'd said no.
And that was the main reason I'd said yes. Sky's nerves made me feel like whatever we had between us may have actually meant something to him, like he didn't just see me as an opportunity to get his guy-curiosity out of his system.
I smiled to myself, feeling my phone ringing in my pocket.
I already knew that it was him.
I answered without bothering to check the caller ID. "Sky? Are you already inside?"
"No, I'm just walking up to the building now. Are you already inside?"
"Nope. I'm waiting for you outside," I continued. "What's going on here tonight, anyway? Is there a concert or something?"
"I'm not going to tell you. Not when we're so close to the finish line," he answered, letting out a laugh. "And don't ask anybody else what's going on inside, either! That'd be cheating."
"Sky, I have to know what's going on. What if I'm dressed wrong?"
"Are you wearing something casual?"
"Yes, even though I really dislike that word..." I narrowed my eyes. "What are you wearing?"
"Oh. I'm wearing a tuxedo."
"What?" I almost dropped my phone at the revelation. "Sky, are you serious? Are you seriously wearing a tuxedo?"
"Yeah, I seriously am," he replied, now standing right in front of me. He was grinning at me, and he gave me a short, approving nod. "And you look gorgeous, as always."
"Sky, what the hell?" I looked back at him, and his perfectly pressed tuxedo. "Why would you tell me to dress down when this is clearly a dressing up situation?"
"Because I wanted to be with you tonight."
"You are with me tonight," I explained.
"No, I mean..." He took a moment before he went on. "I don't want the same Raven that shows up for work. The one who spends a lot of time trying to look perfect for other people. I just want to be with you. The real you."
"Sky, whether I'm wearing a designer sweater or something off the rack, I can assure you, I'm always the real me." I offered him a warm smile. "But I think it's sweet that you put some thought into that."
"How am I doing compared to your last date so far?" he asked.
"Oh, you're definitely winning." I chuckled. "The last guy I went out with took me on a Tacos and Margaritas Crawl."
"That doesn't sound so bad."
"Yeah, but no. He had so much to drink at the first bar that he ended up throwing up in the bathroom for the rest of the night." I sighed. "Nice guy, though. Super into fostering dogs from the shelter. But I just couldn't get that mental image of him losing his lunch in a toilet out of my mind."
"Well, one man's binge-drinking mistake is another man's first date," Sky quipped.
My smile grew even brighter. "Ready to go in?"
"Yeah. Just one more thing..." He reached for my hand, quickly taking it in his own. "All right. Now, I'm ready."
I felt like I was beaming from head to toe as Sky led us, hand-in-hand, through the convention center's doors.
* * *
"Oh my God! Oh my God!" I couldn't contain my excitement as I looked up at the banner that hung from the convention center's ceiling.
45th Annual Wine & Dessert Festival
"Sky! Are you serious? Oh my God!" I playfully nudged him in the arm, my eyes focused on a woman who was walking by with several different slices of plated cake on a silver tray.
I gently tapped her on the shoulder, wanting to get her attention. "Ma'am? Excuse me? Ma'am? Do you think there's any possible way I can get one of those slices---"
"Here you go, sir." She smiled, handing me a slice of cake from the tray. "Would you like another? Or is one piece good for now?"
"Would I like... another?" I mumbled, dazed, as I took the slice of cake into my hands. "Am I dead? Is this heaven? This has to be heaven."
"Does that mean you like the date?" Sky asked, producing two forks from out of nowhere. "I just thought with the way you liked those chocolate chip muffins at Harriet's, this would be a good place for you to---"
"Oh my God! Do they have muffins here, too?" My eyes went wide as I scanned the room. I noticed a section of the convention center where people were gathered around a bright, blue booth, each holding a wine glass and what looked like a muffin on their plates.
"Muffins and wine... they're doing pairings..." I felt myself starting to tear up as I quietly sniffled. "They're doing pairings. I never... I..."
"Raven, are you okay?" Sky's tone was lined with concern. "Shit. I'm sorry. I thought you would've liked something like this. Fuck. I'm sorry---"
"Sky... I..." I shook my head as I struggled to speak. "I like this so much! This is literally one of the best days of my life! I've heard about this festival before, but it usually happens when I'm swamped with work. And I was so busy with planning Clarissa's wedding, that I didn't even know about it happening this year. And I just..."
I gave up on trying to voice my gratitude, and just decided to throw myself into Sky's arms instead.
And as he held me in his embrace, I felt him press a kiss into my forehead. "This. This is the Raven I wanted to hang out with tonight."
"Well, congrats, you got him," I said with a grin before looking up at him. "Can we go to the wine pairing station now?"
"Of course." He nodded as he took my hand into his own, yet again. "Just lead the way."
* * *
Sky and I wandered from station to station at the festival, taking in various samples of sweets and each downing a few glasses of wine, too. We found ourselves in the middle of what seemed to be a makeshift dance floor. There was a female-fronted band in the corner of the room performing pitch-perfect alternative rock covers, while other festival-goers playfully danced and spun each other around while the music played on.
I honestly wasn't sure we were even at the same festival anymore, but I also didn't care. Even though Sky and I hadn't spent much of the night talking to each other, I'd never felt more comfortable with someone in my life. The silence between us wasn't an awkward one that seemed like it needed to be filled with forced small talk or boring questions. Instead, it was the kind of silence that didn't need to be interrupted, one where it was perfectly okay to hold hands and sample green tea ice cream and have that be enough.
And now, as the band began to play something a little more fun and upbeat, I decided that it was the perfect time to wrap my arms around Sky's shoulders. He gave me a look of surprise, but his expression warmed, and he returned the favor by placing his hands on my waist.
"You look really good tonight," I said, eyeing him up and down. "It looks like you were sewn into that tuxedo. It just... fits you so well."
"Yeah?" He smiled. "I'm glad you like it."
"Of course, I like it. Who wouldn't like it?" I grinned. "Anyone who says they don't like it is just lying to you."
"Why would someone lie about something like that?"
"I don't know. Don't you have any enemies?" I shrugged. "Or maybe like... the rival manager at your job. The one who secretly hates you, because you got his promotion or something."
"Yeah, my job is nowhere near that exciting." He laughed. "Sorry."
"Hmm. No apology necessary," I murmured, leaning toward him, almost going in for a kiss.
But then, I remembered.
I remembered that Sky was still straight. I remembered that we were in a room filled with strangers, people who could've passed judgment on him for even daring to explore his sexuality.
I knew better than to be standing so close to him. I knew that it was risky for us to be dancing together like this as he slowly swayed us to the music.
I was doing an awful job of helping him stay in the closet. And as I inwardly kicked myself for letting things go way too far in a public setting, I felt his lips suddenly crash against mine.
I didn't know if it was the wine in my veins, or if his kiss was all it took to make me feel warm all over. I didn't have much time to think about it, either, before he deepened the kiss, pressing his tongue further into my mouth.
"Sky..." I whispered, breaking off the kiss. "You know people can see us, right?"
"Good." He grinned, his hands moving down from my waist, now firmly resting against my ass. "Because I want everyone to see how much I want you."
He kissed me again, with just as much fervor as before. I whimpered against his lips as I brought my palms up toward his hair, gently running my fingers through the strands.
And the more we kissed, the more we swayed. It seemed like the room disappeared around us. The song changed again, this time into something slower and sweeter. Without thinking, I moved even closer to Sky, close enough to softly grind against him, close enough for me to gently lick and bite at his neck.
"Raven," he whispered his warning. "If you keep touching me like that, I'm going to have to take you to the bathroom and fuck you in one of the stalls. Is that what you want?"
"Yes," I answered, keeping my voice low. "Is that what you want?"
"Yes." He smiled down at me. "But I wouldn't want someone walking in on us, and you getting banned from next year's festival, so I'm thinking we should take this back to my place?"
"My place is closer," I replied.
"Back to your place, then," he said before he kissed me on the cheek. "We need to leave soon, though. Before it gets too... hard... to hide."
"Too hard to hide..." And as I was saying the words, I felt his erection pressing against my thigh. "Oh. Oh."
"Yeah." He laughed again.
I quickly reached for his hand, pulling him toward the nearest exit.