Connectivity

by Whitney Cannon

  Josh didn’t care much where the dance was being held, as long as he got to be with Cory, but even he would admit the location sounded romantic.

  The drive was beautiful, as mid-May temperatures kept things comfortable. They drove with the top down through winding hillsides and forested byways, noticing several other wineries as they drove past, holding hands and enjoying the views.

  As they neared the location they began to see more cars and a couple of limos, which Josh supposed had large groups of friends inside. Although riding in a limo with Cory might be kind of cool, Josh preferred what they were doing, just the two of them. If they were stuck in a large group of people, they would hardly get much of the romantic experience they both wanted.

  They parked the car at the edge of the lot near the back and brought up the top. Before they walked up to the lodge, Josh leaned against the car and tugged Cory into the circle of his arms. Cory rested his hands on Josh’s chest.

  “Thank you, Cory. For planning this so well. It’s been such an amazing night so far, and you’ve really surprised me with the afternoon and then the car. It’s sweet that you would arrange all this with Jersey. It means a lot to me that you were talking to him and getting to know him even without me arranging it,” Josh said and leaned in to press a kiss to Cory’s lips. “I love you, and I’m so glad to be sharing this night with you.”

  Cory smiled at him, and Josh’s heart about flopped over in his chest. His man was so beautiful, inside and out. “I love you, too, Josh. And you’re welcome. And at the risk of giving too much away, the night is still young,” he winked and pecked Josh once more before withdrawing. “Let’s go, sugar britches,” he exclaimed, grabbing Josh’s hand and walking toward the building. “Your man is ready to dance, and he wants to dance with you,” he teased, shaking his hips and giving Josh a saucy look over his shoulder.

  Josh laughed and happily complied in following along with his Complement. He would follow his boyfriend to the ends of the earth and back.

  ~

  The building was all stone, wood, and glass, with white fairy lights strung around the entry and large clusters of white and gold balloons dancing in the breeze. They gave their tickets to a super peppy girl named Cat, who Cory said was in drama. Several people stopped them along the corridor to say hello, and Josh shook everyone’s hands, doing his best to remember their names.

  The music was already thumping when they reached the interior of the hall where the dance was being held, and Josh saw a DJ in one corner and lots of party lights and balloons flashing around. The room was quite large with tall ceilings that had exposed wooden rafters running across it, giving it a more rustic feel, and the back wall was floor-to-ceiling glass, which looked out over the vineyard grounds. A huge stone fireplace ran along another wall which was where the seating area was. The tables were made using wine barrels with glass tops, and each one had a centerpiece of wildflowers and wooden twigs.

  The focal point of the space was definitely the dance floor, however. Dozens of people, couples and groups alike, danced and twisted to the sounds of Maroon 5 as it was belted out of the surround sound stereo system. Josh felt the vibrations of the music in the floorboards from the massive speakers and subwoofers that were placed near the DJ.

  As they wove their way through the crowds of people toward the tables, Cory waved to his group of friends who were mashed up in the crowd of dancers.

  “Let’s find some seats and hang up our coats, then we can go dance, yeah?” Cory shouted into his ear.

  Josh nodded and followed Cory as they found two seats for their stuff. Samuel and Renee came over to them and pointed out where they were sitting, mentioning that all the baseball guys were using two specific tables for their stuff and Cory and Josh could find seats with them. Nodding their thanks, they dropped their coats and followed the couple out to the dance floor.

  Everyone cheered when they saw Cory approaching and lots of bro-hug back-slaps ensued. Josh had hoped he wouldn’t feel like a cast out, but of course, he shouldn’t have worried. Cory was amazing at including him in introductions and Josh found easy companionship amongst the players from the team and their dates, many of whom he already knew.

  Josh and Cory danced for several songs, holding hands, or with one or the other of them back-to-front. They kept in almost constant contact, twining their fingers, placing hands on hips, or simply holding each other close, and when they took a break for some punch and to cool off, they were interrupted when Nick walked over to them from across the room. They’d seen him earlier in the corridor, but they’d all only nodded at each other in greeting as they passed by. Josh wondered what he would have to say to them since they weren’t exactly in a conversation-friendly environment.

  “Hi,” he paused, and it didn’t escape Josh’s notice that Nick’s gaze seemed to travel the length of Cory’s body, finally landing back on their faces. “Um, Cory, you look nice,” he stammered. “I like your hair.”

  Cory smiled a stiff smile. “Thanks. Your suit’s cool. It makes you look really tall,” Cory returned.

  The side of Nick’s lips rose in a half smile. “I am really tall,” he said with a small chuckle. “Listen, can we talk?” he asked, glancing at Josh, and probably biting his tongue on saying alone. “I hate not talking to you, and I can’t believe that this has gone on for two weeks already. We’ve never not talked, and we’ve never had something come between us.” He looked at Josh again. “You’re my best friend, Cory, and I’d at least like the chance to talk to you. I’m really sorry for all the stuff I said at your house last week. I don’t know what I was thinking talking to you that way. I’m really confused right now, and I miss you,” he finished, with an almost pathetically pleading tone.

  Cory looked at Josh, and he nodded his head. It was probably not the time, or place for the conversation they were likely to have, but maybe Cory could get some answers from Nick, and if they could salvage their friendship, with Nick accepting that he and Cory were together, then Josh wouldn’t stand in the way of that. If Nick was really questioning his sexuality for the first time in his life, they could be there for him, as allies.

  Cory smiled at him and leaned in to kiss Josh softly on the lips. “Thank you.”

  Josh just nodded again.

  Turning back, Cory spoke to Nick. “Okay. We can talk, but I need to keep Josh close by. He doesn’t have to be included if you’d rather not, but I’d feel more comfortable with him nearby.”

  Nick agreed, but Josh wondered how badly he’d wanted to roll his eyes.

  They wove their way through the main dancing area as Cory reached over to thread their fingers together, giving them a squeeze. Josh looked at him, and although Cory looked slightly nervous, he gave Josh an encouraging smile. If it was Josh or Cory that needed the encouragement he didn’t know, but the contact was nice nonetheless.

  Josh squeezed Cory’s fingers in return and as they passed by, Josh saw Travis watching their small procession. Travis nodded his head in hello, then cocked an eyebrow with a tilt of his head. Josh shrugged his shoulder and shook his head in an attempt to convey that he wasn’t sure if everything was alright or not. Travis quickly shifted his gaze to Nick, who was following behind and then returned his gaze to Josh. The look he gave Josh told him all he needed to know, and he nodded in gratitude; Travis would be watching and would have their back if they needed him.

  They ventured through the opened sets of glass double doors that lead out to the terrace, overlooking the grounds, and Cory stopped by a set of chairs near the doors.

  “I figure if we sit close to the doors, you can hang out inside and chat a little since we’ll still be close by,” Cory said softly.

  Josh nodded. He leaned in and hugged Cory tightly. Cory returned his embrace. “You’ll be okay?” Josh asked softly.

  Cory nodded. “Just don’t go far.”

  “I won’t. Though, I may look for the restroom, if I can pull it off, so don’t panic if you get a little sleepy,” Jos
h said and Cory nodded with a small smile.

  “I love you.”

  Josh pressed a sweet kiss to Cory’s lips, and when he pulled back he kept a hold of Cory’s hands. “I love you, too,” he said, and Cory released him and turned to Nick.

  Josh took his leave, and even though it was the last thing he wanted to do on their prom night, he left Cory with another guy.

  ~

  From his vantage point inside, he could see Cory and Nick talking with their heads close together and arms gesticulating every so often. It’d only been about five minutes, but Josh wanted to hang close at first to make sure Cory was fine. Josh hadn’t felt any effects of their separation since he was really only separated from Cory, who sat just on the other side of the glass, by maybe ten feet. It was far enough that the loud, thumping beat of the music drowned out any possibility of Josh overhearing anything Cory and Nick were saying anyway.

  As nothing seemed to be happening, other than a possibly heated conversation, and Nick glancing at him occasionally through the glass, Josh took note of his surroundings for the first time.

  He stood against the glass wall, near a small entryway, in one of the back corners of the room, and as he looked closer he realized the hall contained offices, and Josh spotted the tell-tale signs of the restrooms.

  He glanced back once more to check on Cory and since he looked fine, decided not to be too overbearing and allowed himself the use of the restroom.

  The hallway must have been slightly longer than Josh figured because as he approached the restroom door, he felt his bee magnets start to stir up in his stomach. He figured he’d probably be fine for another short distance, but any more and he would have to wait for Cory. He stepped inside and hoped Cory didn’t get too sleepy from their distance apart. Hopefully, at most, he would be a little droopy-eyed.

  As Josh took care of business, he noticed his bee magnets had eased up and he wondered if Cory was headed his way. He smiled at the thought of his Complement being done with Nick and them getting back to enjoying their night together. He washed his hands expecting Cory to come in any second, but it was Travis that opened the door. Josh reached for the paper towels as he caught Travis’s gaze in the mirror.

  “Just thought you should know, Nick is walking off with your man.”

  As Travis spoke his words, Josh felt the stirring of his bee magnets again. “What? They were just sitting on the terrace,” Josh said, as his bees fluttered a little harder.

  “I was watching as you left, and Nick must have been watching too, because as soon as you came down the hallway, he stood up, and when Cory stood too, he shook his head at something Nick must have said and as they were pointing at each other, Nick threw his arm around Cory and started to lead him away. I’m not sure what happened after that, I came to get you. We should get out there before Nick does something he might regret.”

  Josh’s bee magnets had grown to full force as Travis had shared his story and coupled with the knowledge that Nick had probably forcefully moved his Complement, made Josh’s chest ache that much more. Cory was undoubtedly unconscious somewhere, at the hands of his best friend.

  Tossing the paper towels near the trash, Josh threw open the door and practically ran down the hallway. He knew Travis was behind him since he could hear the other guy’s shoes, but he didn’t spare a moment to look since he was holding his stomach and chest from the bees and anxiety inside him. His palms began to sweat and tremble, and his legs felt wobbly from the sudden jolt of fear and stress.

  “Where?” he forced out, the music and the bass thumping from the room almost swallowing his words. Travis must have heard him though because he grabbed him by the arm and pointed outside.

  “Off the terrace.”

  As they stepped outside, Dylan and Liam ran up to them.

  “Josh, what’s wrong? Where’s Cory?” Dylan asked with a concerned tone. Hardly focusing on Dylan’s words, or his own reply, Josh put all his concentration into making his feet move and finding Cory.

  Travis held his arm and kept him moving and when Josh didn’t reply to Dylan, Travis did. “Cory was talking to Nick and when Josh stepped away to go to the restroom, Nick ran off with him. Threw his arm around him and forced him away. I don’t know what’s wrong with Josh, but I think he’s freaking out that our team captain ran off with his man. We need to help him find Cory, and I’m going to beat the shit out of Nick if he does anything to hurt that guy.”

  “What the fuck, dude? Why didn’t you follow him? You know he’s been all moody and weird about Cory lately. You shouldn’t have let him leave,” Dylan chastised. Josh assumed this was directed at Travis and remained moving. Liam followed them and he couldn’t be sure, but he heard more voices than before and more footsteps, as well.

  They had stopped at the edge of the terrace as Josh tried to pull himself together. Liam, Dylan, and Nicole all took off down the stairs.

  “You okay?” Travis questioned.

  Josh nodded, and his hands shook as he reached to grip the railing. He wasn’t going to be able to help his Complement if he fell apart. He needed to use his bee magnets to help him. If he could get close enough to Cory, he would feel them ease up, leading him in the right direction. With the others out looking as well, he would know where not to go. At least the bee magnets’ intensity had remained the same; wherever Cory was, the bee magnets weren’t getting worse, which probably meant, Cory wasn’t moving either.

  Travis let go of his arm. “Come on. The guys are out looking. We’ll find him, Josh.”

  Josh nodded again and took a deep breath, coughing when his lungs protested. He closed his eyes and waited for the tightness to ease, but Josh realized the only thing that would help would be finding Cory. Opening his eyes, Josh let go of the rail and took the few steps over to the stairs. He managed the first few alright, but stumbled when they turned onto a landing.

  Travis grabbed him quickly and helped him down the rest of the way.

  “Thanks,” he garbled out. Travis nodded and Josh finally looked out at the landscape. It seemed pretty clear, if Nick had taken Cory out into the vineyard, there wouldn’t be much cover, and they would have been seen already.

  Josh turned and headed toward the side of the building when Dylan’s voice rang out.

  “Nick! What the fuck, man?”

  Josh ran, stumbling along the path on wobbly legs as Travis flew around the corner ahead of him. Everyone had heard Dylan, and they all changed course coming in toward the sound of his voice. When Josh rounded the corner, he saw Dylan and Travis converging on a secluded seating area that was hidden away from view by large cypress trees and rose bushes.

  Josh could already feel the bee magnets easing slightly, and as he ran closer, they lessened even more.

  “What did you do to him?” Josh heard Travis growl.

  “I don’t know what happened, he just fell over. I just wanted to talk to him, and he was being so difficult,” Nick rambled hysterically. Even from a distance, Josh could hear that he was clearly agitated and sounded close to tears. “We were talking on the deck, and I asked him to go for a walk, but he kept saying he needed to be near Josh, and when I stood up because I was getting frustrated, he stood up and said I needed to respect his wishes. I don’t know, I lost it, I guess.”

  Josh broke into the opening in the trees and hardly noticed that Dylan and Travis were kneeling, and Nick was all but pulling his own hair out, pacing in circles. Josh only had eyes for his Complement. Cory was half propped up in an uncomfortable looking metal chair, and Travis had a hold of his left wrist, while Cory groggily brought his right hand up to his eyes. Josh all but flew at him, covering the last remaining steps in seconds.

  Nick still rambled on in the background about how when he noticed Josh was gone, that had been his chance to get Cory away so they could talk somewhere in private.

  Josh had already tuned him out and when Cory’s eyes focused on him approaching, tears filled Josh’s eyes, and he threw his arms around his boyf
riend, who gripped him like a vise in return. They sobbed into each other’s necks and Josh spewed a litany of incoherent words about how sorry he was, how much he loved Cory, how he was never leaving his side again, and Cory just mumbled he was sorry over and over again.

  Their voices were wrecked, and Josh’s hands hadn’t stopped shaking. He lowered them bodily to the ground because he couldn’t hold his Complement properly while he was in the chair, and without letting go, Cory immediately crawled into his lap, all but strangling him with his hold. He squeezed Cory tightly in return with his arms around his back, as they sought out the reassurance they needed. Even though Cory was safely back in his arms, it seemed to take forever for Josh's racing heart to calm and his limbs to stop trembling.

  Long minutes later, as their panic waned and the adrenaline faded, Josh sensed they were alone since he couldn’t hear anyone else nearby. He tentatively eased Cory back, and even though his Complement was reluctant to separate, he did, looking at Josh with red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained cheeks. Using his own shoulders to wipe his own tears on, Josh brought his hands up to cup the sides of Cory’s face to wipe away his tears with his thumbs.

  Cory’s lower lip trembled and new tears threatened. He opened his mouth to say something, but Josh just shushed him and pressed a kiss to his lips.

  Cory clutched Josh to him, fusing their mouths together. Josh knew they needed time to reconnect, but the way Cory kissed him felt frantic. He patiently coaxed his Complement to slow down, using long draws and nips of his teeth, pulling Cory’s lower lip in between his own and guiding him down from his frenzy. Josh moved his ministrations over to Cory’s jaw and then up behind his ear, where he ran his nose along the shell and lobe, pressing gentle kisses and savoring the feel and smell of his guy.

  “Feeling better?” Josh asked quietly. Cory shook his head, but Josh pulled away to look at his beautiful man. His cheeks weren’t as splotchy anymore, and the puffiness under his eyes had gone down. Josh smoothed Cory’s hair back into place and straightened his tie. “I know we need time to reconnect, I’m still little shaky myself, but the important thing is that we’re fine now. We’re together and I’m more or less never letting you go again, but we are still at prom. If you want to leave, we can. But I think we should try to go back inside and enjoy what we can of the night. We don’t need to let this ruin everything. I know this sucks so bad right now and I will probably never forget this night, but maybe we can help erase some of the bad with some good.”