As we return to the living room, the dance floor is heating up, and Chelsee and the girls are cheering on a football player who's making some pretty embarrassing moves on the table.

"Tsst," I mutter, catching Conner's sidelong glance.

"So, can you do better?" he teases.

"Absolutely," I say confidently. "If the right song comes on."

"What do you need?" he asks. I look at him, startled. "No," I say.

"If you don't tell me what you want, I'll just play something random," he threatens. I believe him; he means business.

"I like it, by Cardi B," I mumble, and he winks at me before heading to the sound system to select the song on his laptop. He waits a moment, letting the embarrassing performance by the drunk linebacker come to an end before playing my song.

I take a deep breath, catching Chelsee's knowing grin from the corner of my eye. She knows this is my signature song. Conner gives me an encouraging smile, and I climb onto the table. From up here, I see curious faces looking up at me. Panic sets in. What am I doing here? Just to impress the new guy?

"Get down, you faggot!" someone from the audience shouts, and I'm about to step down from the table when Conner's smile stops me.

"Bring it on!" he urges me on. Meanwhile, Chelsee is at the laptop, replaying the song from the beginning. She cranks up the bass and turns the volume up.

"Five, six, seven, eight," I count the beats in my head. Then I begin my choreography.

Yeah baby, I like it like that.

I start swaying my hips to the beat of the music, circling my shoulders in a relaxed manner.

Now I like dollars, I like diamonds,
I like stunting, I like shining.

In tune with the lyrics, I throw my hands up in the air, counting imaginary bills between my fingers as my arms move back towards my hips. I lock eyes with Conner, trying to gauge his reaction to what I'm putting on display. As I drop into a seductive squat and rise back up with a sexy hip roll, I think I see a faint smile forming on his lips.

The rhythm of the music picks up, and my hands move to its beat over my upper body and then downward to the waistband of my pants. Conner's eyes conspicuously follow the path of my fingers as they push my blue shirt up slightly, allowing the crowd to admire my toned abs. After all, I have nothing to hide.

The girls start cheering louder, and I'm getting more into the groove. While the girls' encouragement boosts my performance, the real motivation behind my stellar show tonight is just that one look from Conner at the end of the table. Our eyes meet halfway, and I have to look away briefly to avoid losing my balance from excitement. 'Six-Seven-Eight'

After regaining my composure, I smoothly execute my hip-hop moves right to the end, finishing with a highlight by sliding on my knees towards Conner, who is still watching me intently. Almost out of breath, I come to a stop at the edge of the table and wink cheekily at him before standing up tall, striking an impressive pose.

The crowd erupts in laughter and cheers; it seems they loved my performance. Happily, I climb down from the table and am immediately embraced by Tanee.

"That was awesome!" she nearly screams at me. "Thanks," I grin back, elated. My eyes scan the crowd and spot Conner approaching with two full cups.

"I figured you'd be thirsty," he smiles, and I couldn't be happier with how the evening is turning out. "That was really... good. I like it," he says, grinning, and hands me a cup. As I take it, our hands briefly touch. The tension between us is almost palpable, and I take a deep breath to ground myself.

"Thanks," I say again, unsure of what else to say. "I'm feeling warm now," I grin, glancing towards the door.

"Then let's step out into the garden for a bit."

The cool night air is refreshing, and I let out a sigh of relief. While I'm no stranger to dancing in front of large crowds, dancing privately for Conner felt uniquely thrilling.

Silently, we walk a few steps through the dimly lit garden until we stop at the edge of the property by a swing. We glance at each other briefly and then both sprint off. After a short scuffle, I secure the spot on the swing and cheekily stick out my tongue at the loser. He laughs.

"And here I thought you were shy," he grins, reaching for the swing's ropes. With arms extended, he approaches me, pushing the swing higher until we can look into each other's eyes.

"And I thought you weren't into me," I whisper, my heart suddenly pounding. His gaze speaks volumes, and I see him swallow.

"It seems we were both mistaken," he breathes, leaning his head towards mine.

I can hardly believe it. Is he really going to kiss me? Quickly looking around and finding no one, I reach up and gently let my lips meet his. They're warm and taste of the cola we drank earlier. It's just a brief kiss, and when we pull apart, we both grin. He lowers the swing and offers me his hand to help me up.

"Shall I take you home?" he offers.

"You want to leave already?" I reply.

"I want to be alone with you," he admits. I smile.

"I'm not looking for just a one-night thing," I state.

"Then I'll stay until morning," he whispers, drawing me closer. His hand rests warmly on my hip, making it hard to resist.

"Tomorrow's Monday," I point out.

"I'll drive you to school," he promises.

"Really?" I ask, a hint of doubt in my voice. "And you won't drop me off a half-kilometer away and then ignore me?"

His expression turns thoughtful. "You've had some bad experiences, haven't you?"

"Perhaps," I admit, a bit hesitantly.

"In that case," he proposes, "let's do this: I'll take you home now, pick you up for school tomorrow morning, and if you're up for it, we can go on a date together on Friday. Sound good?"

Upon reaching the front door, my hands slide under his, no, my Ghostbusters shirt, making contact with his toned chest that feels warm and soft. His mouth finds mine, pressing me against the wall as I try to use one leg to shut the door behind us. If the neighbors were to see...

He grabs my rear, effortlessly lifting me to carry me into the next room. Fortunately, my parents are still out. I feel the dining table beneath me and hastily remove the shirt, which lands on the floor within seconds. My fingers trace over his bare skin, marveling at how his pale tone contrasts beautifully with my own.

With newfound appreciation, Conner removes the blue shirt, showering my upper body with moist kisses. I lean my head back, lost in the moment. His hands and lips seem to be everywhere at once, and I surrender to his touch until he lifts me off the table once again.

I look at him, surprised.

"I should probably go," he says, cheeks flushed. I understand what he means. I too am finding it hard to hold back, almost wishing I'd asked him to stay.

Instead, a simple "Okay" escapes my lips before he picks up his shirt from the floor, and I walk him to the door.

"Thank you for the wonderful evening," I bid him goodbye, already missing him.

"Goodnight, Ethan," he whispers, planting one last kiss on my lips.

"See you tomorrow morning," I grin, watching him briefly as he hops onto his motorcycle and disappears into the darkness.

In the dining room, I pick up his shirt and press it to my face. It smells like him, and I float around the room a little longer before dancing upstairs to crawl into bed.

With thoughts of the morning ahead and a smile on my lips, I whisper "Touchdown" before eventually drifting off to sleep.

The End?