Rejoin Bae and the greenshirts.

You politely decline Trevor's offer and rejoin the line of greenshirts. Tyler catches your eye, gives Trevor a quick glance, then gives you an approving nod. You like this new trend of Tyler having some degree of respect for you. You nod back and then go through security.

Bae is waiting for you and takes your arm to lead you up the wide stairs. “You're good with those guys?”

“I guess...” this is different from the bouncy and overtly flirty guy you've been in almost physical constant contact with. “They're friends of friends. Or that's how I usually think they think of me.”

“Hmm,” he's silent for a few moments as you two briskly walk up the stairs. “They don't like me, but if you're cool, I'm cool.”

“Yeah,” you agree. “They can be a bit... Mean Girls, sometimes. But I don't really follow those rules.”

Bae squeezes your arm, suddenly humanized beyond being a bouncy gym queen. “So, we're gonna have fun dancing?”

“Definitely,” you smile back. “I think I owe you, anyways.”

He looks up at you quizzically, “Why?” The two of you catch up to a few of his friends at the top of the stairs.

“A few months ago, did you pretend to be a doorman here so you could get in line behind me and cuddle?” you ask.

Bae giggles, “Probably?”

The greenshirts chuckle, and one adds, “Yeah, that sounds like something he'd do.”

It's serendipity! “I wanted to dance with you, but I was on a set-up date, and I didn't want to be rude. So... I've kept you waiting a really long time to dance with me.”

“Make it up to me good!” The cheerfulness has returned to his Bae's face, and he takes your arm in both his hands, dragging you into the club towards the dance floor.

You two join some greenshirts already on the dance floor, and the others fill in behind you. You find yourself in a sea of undulating green torsos. But you're focused on Bae's in front of you. The flashing lights dance on the muscle striations under the tan skin of his half-exposed pecs. He notices and dances a little closer, just barely rubbing his chest against yours. You put a hand on his waist, and he shifts to brush his hip against yours.

You continue like this for you're not sure how long, always touching, but not rushing past the anticipation of more body contact. You notice greenshirts occasionally watching. You all get rather sweaty from dancing, and eventually someone suggests you all get drinks. Perfect.

You all move towards the closest bar en masse. Bae gives your hand a quick sqeeze, “Gotta pee!” and he trots off towards the bathrooms. You turn back with the others waiting to order drinks.

Two greenshirts step up to either side of you, and one puts his arm around your shoulders. “Hey.”

“Hey,” you answer a little apprehensively.

“So, we just want to make sure you're a nice guy,” he gives you a little squeeze around your shoulders.

“Yeah. I'm a nice guy....?” the questioning tone of your voice is obvious.

The other replies, “Good. We don't mean to be all scary, but we're just looking out for Bae.”

The one with his arm around you adds, “He hasn't been here for very long, and he can seem kinda redic, but he's a good person. We didn't know who was going to be at that party, and some of them have been less than welcoming to him in the past.”

Unfortunately, you know exactly what they mean. “No, I'm not like that. Don't worry. I don't even know if this is a thing, but I'm not a Mean Girl. I wouldn't hang with him if I didn't want to.” That seems to satisfy them both.

The greenshirt with his arm around your shoulders turns it into a brohug, “Aight, then you're cool, dude.”

“Bae's got some good friends,” you acknowledge back.

“What do I got?!”, you hear Bae's voice behind you.

You turn around and playfully hook two fingers into the crook of the extra-low collar of his shirt. “You've got a ridiculously low vneck on.”

Bae giggles and replies, “You just wanted to touch me.”

You roll your eyes and sigh, resigning to agree with him. You all get your drinks, and you make sure to corner Bae for some real conversation. You tell him about your intent to get a job and move here. You tell him about how you know Chris&Jeff. You learn that he came to the US for a job as a front desk manager at the local W hotel, which means he's actually got a very professional streak in contrast to what little you've seen, tonight. He also plays on the local gay rugby team, so he actually uses those muscles instead of just being vain. It's nice to be able to flesh Bae out into a real person instead of just a beefy clown.

“So, one of my roommates is moving out in a month. I don't know if it's weird so quick, but you could come over to see his room if you might want to move in. Or... if you didn't want to maybe be roommates, you just come over to cuddle,” he offers.