Hit the dance floor running

[Sean Yun]

"Oh you're breaking my heart, Looogan~" Sean upped his voice to a crackly falsetto, leaning against Logan heavily with an exaggerated pout and sad face. God, how did chicks do this? He was almost cracking up here! His lips twitched visibly for a moment as he struggled to keep himself from bursting out laughing. "I'm just dying of thirst~ Buy Seana a drink before she withers up and floats away~"

Okay, okay, he was pushing it a little bit here. Sean was so close that the tip of his nose was almost touching Logan's and finally the smile broke through. Then he couldn't stop the mirth from exploding out of him and ended up falling against Logan, muffling raucous laughter into his shoulder.

The bartender muttered something about "crazy bastards" and stalked off to serve another customer while Sean straightened, wiping a tear from his eye. "Guess I'm not your type!" He declared in his normal voice as he gave Logan a hearty slap on the back. "And I saw where your eyes were headed, bro. My eyes are up here," he gestured to his own eyes, "not down there, perv!"

[Logan Go]

Uh-huh. Logan rolled his eyes. He bet he was breaking poor Sean's little heart. Sean, who was pretty much never serious whenever Logan saw him. (He was pretty sure the same could be said for himself, though.) The roll of the eyes turned into a slight narrowing of the eyes instead as Logan leaned on him with a lot of his body weight. Since they were both tall lugs, it wasn't the same as when a woman did it at all.

"I," he said slowly, because Sean had leaned in so close that he could feel his breath on his lips, "don't think so, lady."

That was too weird. That whole moment. When Sean leaned in and their noses nearly touched. It was like that moment in a silly little romantic comedy where the hero and the heroine fell into one another or leaned in too close for the first time. It was that moment in the film when they realized they saw each other in a new and different light. Logan thought that shit was stupid but right now, he was really feeling it. It was like electricity ran along his skin and every place where they were oh-so-close to touching. Magnetic.

But it was just a few seconds, despite how it felt like a lifetime.

Sean smiled like nothing happened, which only made Logan's head spin. Or maybe that was two neon blue drinks settling in his liver. While Sean cracked himself up so hard that he cried, Logan mustered a confused half smile and a softer, bemused laugh. Oh man, he could go for a third drink at this point.

"You don't even have boobs," he retorted--although it was also meant to guide himself back on track.

[Sean Yun]

"You're calling me flat-chested?!" Sean raised a hand over his chest in a mock-offended display. It was true... he didn't have boobs. The most he could ever have would probably be moobs, and that would happen never because Sean couldn't see himself ballooning up to a size and weight where he developed breasts like a chick. He liked working out--he enjoyed the attention and the perks that being an attractive, physically fit man earned.

Why mess with a good thing?

Unaware of the Moment that Logan had--which Sean didn't have, being too preoccupied with his fake-girl act--he reached for the glass and took a quick sip from what little remained at the bottom. Just to see how it tasted. It tasted like a girly drink all right but there was technically nothing wrong with that. Girls had to drink too!

"It's really sweet isn't it?" he commented a little more seriously, nudging the glass back towards Logan. There was a weird Look on Logan's face, though, a sorta half-dazed expression that Sean didn't exactly understand. He knew Logan pretty well by now to know when something was up--and something was up. Sean nudged Logan gently with an elbow, in the side. "You free after work today? Wanna grab a bite with me? Promise I won't go girly on you if you promise to order something manly."

[Logan Go]

"Uh yeah."

He said it like it was obvious. He even rolled his eyes slightly again before tapping his hand on the bar to call the bartender over. Then he glanced over as Sean took his glass instead.

"Yep. But I like it sweet."

And he wasn't ashamed to admit it! Who said a man couldn't enjoy sweet things? There were a lot of different things to enjoy and when it came to alcohol, yeah. He preferred the sweet shit. So what? The hard stuff made him sick. Just trying to get it down was a feat unto itself. Even working in a place like this, where the alcohol ran freely all night and he had time to grab one before or after a show, Logan had never been much for the whole whiskey or rum kind of thing.

"What the hell is something manly?" he asked warily. "In your eyes? A slab of steak?"

[Sean Yun]

Sean just smiled and didn't comment. So Logan liked sweet things, huh? That sorta ran into his taste in women too, come to think of it. Of course she had to have a pretty face and a slammin' body but some of the ladies that Logan brought home were also pretty sweet. Sean, on the other hand, liked them feisty. He supposed he was a masochist in some ways--he liked the challenge. Even when he was shot down by a haughty woman, he was still having fun... er... in his own way.

Tapping on the side of his beer bottle absently, he gave it some thought. "Anything still moving," Sean replied cheekily, with another shit-eating grin. Ultra ultra rare steak? Manly! Chasing a piece of meat across the table with a knife and fork? Manly! Also hilarious--he laughed and didn't even care that nobody else was in on the joke.

"If you get like a salad or something, I'm out bro." Not just out of the restaurant, but out of this friendship!

[Logan Go]

Logan made a slight face. Anything still moving, eh? Now all he could imagine was going straight for the cow, chompers ready to just bite into the poor thing while it was still alive. His slight face became a full on grimace and he smacked Sean hard on the shoulder. Not that Logan was any kind of a vegan or vegetarian or anything but the thought of eating something with a heartbeat was pretty gross.

"What if it's dead but still moving?" he asked, rising to the challenge. "Like those squid dishes?"

He moved his fingers around to mock the movement of the squid. Or was it an octopus? He couldn't remember but they were a pretty famous delicacy... and not exactly common around Hazleton.

[Sean Yun]

"Ow!" Sean rubbed the abused shoulder, looking highly offended. Well sheesh, if Logan couldn't even polish off a live pig, what was their friendship worth anyway?!

He made a show of contemplating the moving dead squid, though inwardly he was already hurling. "You mean those ones they pour soy sauce over and it like..." He reached over, poking, prodding and massaging Logan in the side with all of his fingertips much in the same way that Logan had wiggled his own fingers. "Jiggles around?"

Gross. But not to be outdone, Sean put on his man pants and added, "If you can find any around here, hell yeah! Nothing scares me man!"

[Logan Go]

"Those very ones," he said, all cocky like he wasn't squirming on the inside at the thought of trying to swallow something wriggling. Yech! But he was adventurous enough to try it anyway. There were a lot of stupid things he ended up goaded into because he didn't want to back down in front of friends--especially Sean. And if Sean thought he was cooler because he ate a wriggling squid, he was totally gonna do it!

"Not around here," he said, shaking his head slowly, as if in defeat. But then he grinned widely and grasped Sean's shoulder. "Bet you anything Portland's got 'em though!"

[Sean Yun]

"Yeah dude! We should go find some!"

In no way, shape or form was Sean looking forward to eating one himself, but he'd pay good money to see Logan swallowing one of those still-moving squids or octopuses or whatever the hell people slapped on a plate and called food. He flashed a devilish grin at Logan as an even better idea occurred to him.

"OR," he said, taking a hold of Logan's arm and leaning in a little closer, "we make Tim eat one. And film it." It had to be more hilarious than either of them doing it! Plus it effectively got rid of that whole... Sean eating a disgusting piece of almost-live seafood bit. Two birds, one stone, really.

[Logan Go]

"Yeah!" he said, as if he happened to be enthusiastically on board (with his own idea). However, relief washed over him when Sean gave him the perfect out in the form of their favorite kid to tease: Tim. Immediately, Logan sat up straighter and grinned for real, no longer falsely covering up for his own real disgust. Watching Tim eat something like that would be priceless. Filming it was even more... er, priceless!

"Duuuude!" He leaned close, too, completely ignoring that he had a weird Moment with Sean earlier. "We've gotta do it."

[Sean Yun]

"That's what I'm saying man!" Sean slapped Logan on the back. "Next weekend. We're packing up and going to Portland! Don't tell Tim, we'll just... kidnap him at his parents' cafe." The grin Sean shot Logan was purely mischievous. Okay, okay, Tori might've had a point about being nicer to the kid but it wasn't like they were going to dangle him by his ankles off a bridge.

If anything they were treating Tim to a delicacy! He should've been honored!

"Ah crap. Almost time to get back up there." Sean checked his watch; five minutes to his next shift. But it was the last number, and then he would be free! Slipping off the bar stool, he patted Logan on the shoulder. "Hey wait for me all right? You wanna get some takeout? Chinese?" Their food options in this podunk little town were, sadly, limited and Sean wasn't the type of person to get in the kitchen to cook for himself. He didn't have the patience (or the skills).

[Logan Go]

Yesss, they had plans for the weekend! Or next weekend, whatever. Didn't matter. Plans. Logan grinned, too. It was almost impossible not to when they were planning nefarious deeds against poor Tim. It was just too easy, though. Logan almost rubbed his hands together like an evil villain but that would've been giving away too much, especially if Tim was around. Then he'd know something was amiss.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll wait," he said. And he wouldn't drink anything else because if he did, they were going to end up having a night Logan didn't want to remember. He was a stupid, foolish drunk. The kind that yelled insults at birds and tried to do parkour and shit. Yeah, he was in no mood to deal with the aftermath of that, conked heads and bruises galore. He was sure Sean didn't want to deal with it, either. Just food.

"Chinese sounds good." There were only a few good places to eat in town and he had to admit that the Chinese food was hella better than the shit they served at Happy Burger. "Now hurry up and get back to work, you!" He slapped Sean on the upper back in lieu of his ass. After all that weird homo talk, he didn't want to go there right now.

[Sean Yun]

"All right, all right, slave driver!" Sean protested, pretending to stumble away at the slap on the back. Good thing it wasn't a swat on the ass--he wasn't equipped to deal with a move like that after their disturbing conversation over the phone.

Afterwards, he just felt... weird. Not grossed out or anything, though, which he supposed meant that he was more open-minded than people gave him credit for, but... Definitely weird. For as long as Sean had known him, Logan was, well, Logan. He was the big man--not only in height--about town, the one all the ladies swooned over. And Logan was all for the ladies, too. Maybe Sean was looking too hard into that comment about checking out other guys' asses but it did come as quite a shock!

He walked back to the changing rooms--just a big open area in the back where they parked their crap--and got dressed. Nothing fancy, just some hokey costume that was easy to rip off on-stage. Sean inspected himself in the mirror and grinned at his reflection--also at John, who passed by and playfully wolf-whistled at him. Stuff like this happened all the time with the other guys--they were guys and their senses of humor ran more crude than refined. It didn't bother Sean much when somebody else did stuff like this. Maybe because he wasn't best friends with any of them, though.

At the entrance to the stage, he peeked briefly out from behind the curtain. A good smattering of ladies were already lined up, some who usually came just for his shows. They all had 'fans,' though, so it wasn't anything special. Besides, Sean's side-job was doing well enough that he didn't mind having a small audience. Grinning to pump himself up, he burst out from behind the curtain as his musical cue played. A voice on loudspeaker introduced him--Officer Sean.

Yeah. The cop costume was one of the ladies' favorites. Sean strutted forward, with his cockiest smile, as the lights swung onto him and then it was Show Time. Approaching the front of the stage, he did a tour of it, making eye-contact with every single woman. Some giggled; others hooted and a few made eyes right back at him. Most of them looked pretty drunk already but he could see Cindy bearing down with more drinks on a huge tray. Sean grinned at her briefly and then went into his routine.

It involved a lot of hip-thrusting and body rolls, highlighting the length and tone of his body. Sean was only too happy to show off. Nobody wanted to see some fat-ass with a beer belly up there after all! Funnily enough people seemed more accepting of a curvy female stripper but for the men? It had to be a perfect figure or nothing! That double-standard seemed distinctly unfair but since it didn't really harm his income, Sean wasn't vocal about it. Hey, his body was amazing and it got him paid. Why complain?

Nothing else gave him quite as much of an ego boost or as much of a rush as dancing on stage. He wasn't clumsy, he wasn't all left feet; couldn't be a klutz and a stripper, those two didn't mix. Maybe he wasn't sex on legs like Tori could be but Sean was no slouch, either. He dropped, rocked his hips against the stage, and reveled in the attention and the screams... and the bills being flung left and right at him. Once most of the costume came off, he had more freedom of movement and invited the ladies to get right up and personal--to tuck their money under the elastic of his underwear. Never once did that cocky, self-assured grin leave his lips. Sean was attractive and he knew it--and he knew that the ladies knew it, too. \

The routine didn't last more than twenty minutes but by the end, he was breathing a little harder. Sweat beaded on his skin, making his hair damp, creating a sheen of moisture along his neck and chest. As the music faded, Sean took a bow to the appreciative hoots and screams from the ladies, did another little round to gather up their remaining tips and slid gracefully behind the curtain again, to hastily change. He was freaking hungry after that workout and Logan had better be there at the bar, ready to leave!

[Logan Go]

At the bar, Logan ordered himself a water. Better to sober up now--at least a little bit--before he went out with Sean and inevitably drank too much cheap beer. He smiled to himself as he pulled the chilled glass close and up to his lips. Where would he be if it weren't for Sean? He was the one good friend he made while he worked here. Sure, there were some others, like Tori or Tim, but Sean was the best friend he'd made. The one he could talk about most anything with.

Except that weird niggling... weirdness.

He could tell it had weirded Sean out and he felt like he'd said way too much when he admitted that he judged--er... looked at other dude's asses. When he said it, it had been an innocent enough statement. Didn't all guys do that? Weren't they all competitive? Apparently not, judging by the way Sean reacted. It hadn't been brought up since but it still weighed on Logan's mind. There was no way he was bringing it up again, though. He didn't want to end up losing a friend over this shit.

As the women drew closer to the stage area, anticipating the next act, Logan watched the women. He looked at their asses, too. There were a lot of nice ones. Lots of girls in short skirts and short shorts. Long legs, long hair. They were pretty. Maybe he should hit on one. Get one to go home with him tonight. But you promised Sean you'd be here. Glumly, he finished off his glass of water and nudged it aside as he rested his arms on the bar.

Sean came out in a burst of energy and the mood of the club immediately changed. Everybody was sexually charged, excited, screaming and waving their arms and trying to get closer to Sean. Half of those women had to want to be up there with him, with his body against theirs. Okay, more than half. They were going wild for him. Feeling an unsettling sensation in his lower groin area, Logan situated himself differently on his stool and called the bartender over for another glass of water. He downed it pretty quickly.

Afterward, he looked around, knowing exactly where the bathrooms were. He could just make a quick getaway. He drank a lot; he had to go anyway. But he had a feeling that his excursion to the bathroom wouldn't end that way. So he turned his gaze away from the stage. What was with him lately, anyway? It wasn't like he'd never seen Sean dance before. Pft.

Still, before the show was over, Logan got up and left, heading outside for some fresh air. Sure, he wasn't at the bar but once Sean didn't find him, he'd come out. The cool air would do him some good. He leaned against the wall where the smokers usually took their breaks. Nope. Things weren't getting awkward at all.

[Sean Yun]

Well, that lying jackass! He wasn't at the bar!

Sean leaned against the counter moodily, tapping his fingers against the bartop. He tried to get the bartender over but he was serving some drinks to a large group of women, and in the meantime Sean waited around. Maybe Logan was in the bathroom. Or maybe he found a chick and took her home with him, although Sean would have liked to think that a Logan promise meant something.

He swept aside the easy feeling of irritation, unsure as to why he minded Logan leaving so much. Honestly it wasn't a big deal if Logan left with some girl. Sean would've done the same, probably, if she was hot enough. Besides, they did it at the club, too, leaving with their respective partners when the time was right to slip away from the main party. It was sorta unspoken, an unwritten rule--a bro had the right to vanish for the night with a hot chick without reporting to his fellow bros.

Just... hm. Nope. He didn't want to be That Guy so he tried not to frown, as the bartender finally meandered over. One simple question to him revealed that Logan was seen heading out and Sean raised his brows. "What?" he asked incredulously. "With a chick?"

"Nah alone."

Sean turned on his heel and made for the door, just about to get on the phone to yell at Logan when he spotted him outside, leaning up against the wall. Sean threw him a Look. He was inexplicably relieved, even pleased. Why? Eh. Who knew? Who cared?

"I thought you were gonna wait for me at the bar!"