Revelations // The One With The Big Date

Taylor had been performing in front of people since early childhood. He had been on TV countless times, rumored about on the internet, interviewed, over-analyzed in reviews. He’d done all of those things for most of his life, but he knew without a doubt that he had never been as nervous about anything as he was while getting ready for his date with Dominic. Adrian had taken him shopping to get something new to wear, and they were sitting together at Taylor’s dining room table waiting for the inevitable ring of the doorbell. For the last twenty minutes or so, Adrian had been babbling on and on about what Taylor should and shouldn’t do on his date and Taylor had long since tuned him out and had taken to repeating a mantra about not freaking out over and over in his head.

“Hey, Asshat. Are you even listening to me?” Adrian asked him, kicking Taylor’s leg hard under the table and thus violently pulling him from his internal reflection.

“Not really,” Taylor admitted, not caring if he offended Adrian. He tried to discreetly look at his watch, but Adrian caught him.

“Stop being such a woman, Taylor. He’s only two minutes late,” Adrian reminded him, “And would you stop looking like you’re going to vomit. It’s really not attractive.” Taylor just rolled his eyes and raked his fingers through his hair. He just wanted to get the night over with. Then, at least his first date with a guy would be over. He knew that to most people, they would likely assume that it was two friends going out to dinner. And, due to his career, he’d had many dinners with guys to discuss business. But even though he knew that they would likely be the only ones to know that it was a date, he knew that it was, and that was still a scary notion.

Just when his heart beat had slowed to a more normal speed, Adrian started picking at the sleeve of Taylor’s dark blue velvet jacket.

“What?” Taylor asked, looking down to see the millions of little bits of white fuzz that were visible in this different light. “Holy shit!” With fervor, he started brushing at his sleeves, trying to immediately rid them of the fuzz.

“Will you calm down?” Adrian asked, rolling his eyes and standing.

“But he’s going to be here any second!” Taylor shrieked, raking his hands almost violently down his arms.

“Bitch, please,” Adrian sighed, reaching into his suit jacket and pulling out a small lint roller. Before Taylor could even comment on why Adrian would keep something like that on his person at all times, the fuzz was gone and the doorbell was ringing. Taylor’s stomach felt like it dropped straight to his feet and the typically simple process of standing took more effort than usual to execute. “Are you ready?”

“Of course not,” Taylor managed, fighting the intense wave of nausea coursing through his stomach.

“Well, it’s too late for that. Don’t eat anything with garlic in it, don’t drink too much, and for god sakes, don’t fall or skip or do any of that weird shit I see you doing sometimes.”

“Is that all, Mom?” Taylor sighed, brushing his hands down the front of his jeans to smooth them before heading for the front door.

“If you can remember all of that, I think you’ll have a good time,” Adrian said, standing still for a moment before suddenly stepping towards Taylor and snapping his fingers, “Oh! Don’t be a smart ass either.”

“Ay ay, Cap’n!” Taylor said, saluting Adrian with a double Super Finger salute, one that would have made Dane Cook proud, and trotting to the door as the bell sounded again. He didn’t worry about what Dominic would think about Adrian being there, because like always, Adrian had magically showed up on Taylor’s doorstep and he knew that he would magically disappear both from view when the door opened and from his apartment altogether once they were gone. Taylor took a quick breath in an attempt to fully fill up his lungs before swinging the door open. The breath he had just taken whooshed out at the sight of Adrian standing on his front door mat. There he stood, the world-famous supermodel, wearing a light blue sport coat and jeans, an outfit that basically mirrored Taylor’s in every way except color.

“Nice outfit,” Dominic smiled, reaching forward to shake Taylor’s hand.

“Thanks,” Taylor said, “Yours too.” Immediately, he wanted to beat his face into the hard surface of the door. He was ten seconds into the date and he had already made an asinine and completely unnecessary comment. But, instead of looking at him like he was crazy or stupid, Dominic just smiled.

“Well, we have a reservation in twenty minutes so we should probably get going,” Dominic said, taking a step back to make room for Taylor on the small stoop. Taylor nodded and stepped outside, patting his pockets to check for his wallet and keys before pulling the door shut. He didn’t remember putting his keys in his jacket pocket, but assumed that Adrian had taken care of that as well. For a fleeting moment, he thought about whether or not it would be worth his own mental state to hire Adrian on as a personal assistant to make sure that his shit was always in order. But, just as soon as the comment came in, it flew back out with a laugh that Taylor had to bite back. Adrian would have not only scoffed at that suggestion but that he also would have probably smacked Taylor with the nearest available object for even condescending to bring it up.

“Where are we going to eat?” Taylor asked, dragging himself away from his thoughts and forcing him to think of a non-stupid thing to ask.

“This new place downtown called Sagittarius. The name is stupid but the food is supposed to be really good,” Dominic shrugged, stepping up to open the passenger door for Taylor. He tried really hard not to look shocked at the gesture and got in, pulling the seatbelt across himself and gulping loudly while Dominic was out of ear shot. As Dominic slid in the driver’s side of his Porsche 911 Targa, Taylor tried hard to behave himself. If any one of his friends had showed up at his house in this car, Taylor would have shown his intense excitement to be sitting in such a vehicle, but instead, he remained calm and tried not to look awkward while Adrian dug around in the center console for some hidden object. Taylor ventured to look up at his place to see Adrian standing in the kitchen window pressing a hand-written sign to the glass.

You’re the bitch!!! it declared and Taylor stared bug-eyed at him until Adrian walked away laughing. Almost as soon as Adrian had disappeared, Dominic sat up straight and put on a pair of sunglasses before closing the console.

“Sorry about that,” he smiled, starting the car and backing carefully out of Taylor’s driveway.

“No problem,” Taylor said, realizing that he’d forgotten his sunglasses on the counter only to find them in the inside pocket of his jacket. He gave his condo a fleeting glance in the side mirror, shaking his head lightly as he put on his Ray Bans, shielding his eyes from the glaring glow of the sun as it worked its way out of sight.

“I like yours better,” Dominic said, clarifying as Taylor looked at him strangely, “Your sunglasses. I like them better than mine.” Taylor mouthed the word “Oh” and started nervously drumming his fingers on his legs, which he then realized were bouncing up and down like he was some kind of deranged wind-up toy.

“I’m sorry I’m so…” Taylor trailed off, knowing that finishing the sentence was really not necessary. He knew that Dominic was well aware of his nervous state, “I’ve just never done this before.”

“Yeah, I’d kind of gathered that,” Dominic said, “And I completely understand. I completely freaked when I started coming out, assuming that everyone knew like I had gotten it tattooed on my forehead or something. But it’s just dinner. And I don’t plan on molesting you during dinner, so I think we’ll be in the clear.” Taylor smiled, trying to hide the nervousness that crept into him with Dominic’s careful use of the words “during dinner.”

They got seated at a secluded table in a corner of the restaurant and they both ordered drinks. Taylor perused the menu for much longer than necessary, rereading every option about five times, even though he’d decided immediately on the blackened salmon. It was one of the only items on the menu that didn’t declare garlic as a main ingredient. He made an effort to mentally dog-ear all of the other items that did the same to see if Dominic chose one as well.

They made small talk, discussing what they had both been doing in their careers lately. Taylor told him about the tour, and Dominic talked about a few of the crazier photoshoots he’d done lately, one involving a photographer who just kept screaming “No!” after every shot he took. Taylor found Dominic to be intelligent and actually really good company. As the Jack continued to drain from his glass, he felt his nerves all but disappear, and as the ordered their meals, Taylor couldn’t help but smile as Dominic ordered the blackened salmon as well.

The small talk continued throughout dinner, and as Taylor finished off the last of his second drink, he couldn’t help but sit there and wonder if this was all the night was going to contain. What if Dominic wasn’t having a good time? What if Taylor was being weird and doing all of the things Adrian had told him not to do? And as soon as Taylor almost scolded himself for thinking that way, Dominic snagged the check from the table and insisted on paying, cementing Adrian’s statement that Taylor was in fact going to be the bitch in this relationship, if there was going to even be a relationship.

“You want to go to Xcape for awhile?” Dominic asked as he shoved a one hundred dollar bill into the black leather check holder.

“Sure. I think my friend Tre is bartending tonight,” Taylor said.

“Oh good, so we’ll get free drinks all night?” Dominic laughed, patting Taylor lightly on the back, his hand lingering slightly longer than necessary as they walked towards the door.

“I really like this car,” Taylor said as he got back in the car, now feeling comfortable enough to say it and also to run his hands over the parts of the leather seats that sat exposed next to his legs.

“Thanks. It’s completely unpractical, but I love it,” Adrian grinned, gripping the steering wheel tight before directing the car in the direction of the club. “So, are you going to get as drunk as you were the last time I saw you at Xcape?” Taylor groaned and buried his face in his hands. Of all the things that could have come up, he had been hoping that night would not have. That stumbling, goofy, way too drunk night.

“I wasn’t planning on it,” he said directly into the palms of his hands. Dominic laughed and reached over with his free hand, grabbing Taylor’s hands and pulling them from his face.

“If you do, I won’t really mind,” he said honestly and Taylor’s stomach tightened. They made their way straight to the bar when they got inside, fighting against the larger than usual crowd and pushing their way up to the front.

“Taylor!” Tre shouted, obviously happy to see a familiar face in the sea of faces, “What can I get for you?”

“Two tequila shots to start,” Dominic said and Tre noticed him for the first time.

“Two tequila shots coming right up,” Tre said once he’d gotten over the shock he’d mostly hidden. He pulled two shot glasses from under the bar and filled them with the golden liquid before retrieving a salt shaker and two lime wedges as well. “Anything else?”

“My usual,” Taylor replied as Dominic looked at him expectantly.

“And I’ll have a Grey Goose on the rocks with one lemon and one lime.” Tre nodded and took his sweet time preparing their drinks, Taylor noted. He knew that Tre was eavesdropping and as annoyed as that made him, he also couldn’t blame him. Tre hadn’t known about his date with Dominic and Taylor knew that if the roles were reversed, he’d be gaping and nosing around a lot more obviously than Tre was.

“Ready?” Dominic asked as Taylor licked the salt off of his hand.

“I guess so,” Taylor said, staring down into the tiny glass and wishing it was filled with bourbon instead. He hated tequila as it rarely led him to make good decisions and always made him feel lousy in the morning. He saw Dominic’s hand and glass make their way into his line of sight and watched as their glasses clinked together gently.

“To a good first date,” Dominic said softly, leaning forward to speak directly into Taylor’s ear, “Both for you and for us.” Taylor nodded and downed the liquid, stuffing the lime in between his teeth immediately after. The alcohol that had almost always become associated with intense amounts of vomiting didn’t always go down smoothly, but he managed to escape the encounter without any wretching. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“No, surprisingly it wasn’t,” Taylor sighed, setting the glass on the bar and grabbing his drink. The Jack tasted fantastic and he could feel his cheeks getting red, but he honestly wasn’t sure if it was because of the alcohol, or the feeling of Dominic’s hand pressing against his lower back, pushing him towards one of the tall tables off to their left. They stood at the table, drinking their drinks, chatting, and people watching.

“So, what made you decide to come out now?” Dominic asked.

“Uh…” Taylor hesitated, “I actually haven’t officially. I mean, I’m trying to figure things out.”

“Like, figure out if you’re straight or gay?” Dominic asked, his voice devoid of any distinguishable emotion. Taylor tried desperately to read his face so he would know exactly how to respond, but was forced to trudge on without any reinforcements.

“Yeah, basically.”

“And do you honestly think that if you were straight you would have agreed to come out with me tonight?” Taylor opened his mouth to respond, but didn’t get a word out before Dominic continued. “I mean, unless you’ve just been telling yourself all night that it’s just two guys going out to dinner and it doesn’t mean anything. Because, this is a date to me, Taylor.”

“It’s a date to me, too!” Taylor replied both hurriedly and honestly. Surprisingly honestly, he would later muse as he thought about the night. The entire time leading up to the date, he hadn’t been sure exactly why he was doing it. But then, standing there with Dominic, he knew that he wanted it to be a date.

“Then you’re not straight,” Dominic grinned, sipping his drink with that shit-eating smile on his face. Taylor still wasn’t sure, but he played along, knowing that it was far too soon to start actively disagreeing with Dominic, especially now that he had four drinks in him. He knew that his logic would have been flimsy to say the least and it honestly wasn’t worth potentially ruining the night over. And he supposed Dominic was right at least somewhat. At that exact moment, on a date with another man, Taylor was anything but straight.

“It’s really hot in here,” Taylor said abruptly, breaking the silence in the way that only Drunk Taylor could execute so effectively.

“Then take off your jacket and check it while I go get us another drink. You want the same thing?”

“Yeah, that’d be great, thanks,” Taylor replied, sliding the navy jacket from his shoulders and heading for the coat check area.

“Holy shit, you’re Taylor Hanson!” the guy behind the counter said.

“Yeah, I am,” Taylor said, immediately regretting it.

“Holy shit,” the guy repeated, scribbling Taylor’s name on the tag before giving Taylor his half of the ticket. Taylor didn’t say goodbye, he just walked away and went back over to Dominic who now held two drinks.

“The fact that you’re friends with the bartender is seriously helping us out tonight,” Dominic stated, gesturing towards the lengthy line at the bar.

“Well, at least he’s good for something,” Taylor laughed, taking his drink from Dominic’s hand.

“Do you want to go dance after this?”

“Sure,” Taylor said, then finishing about half of his drink in one sip. They stood there with the bass thumping and lights flashing around them, but the silence was palpable to Taylor. It meant that both of them were aware of what could easily take place when they went out to dance. A glance out at the throbbing crowd proved his point perfectly as the bodies moved together, touching each other, feeling each other.

“Ready?” Dominic asked. Taylor nodded eagerly, setting his now empty drink down before following Dominic towards the dance floor. The rapidly moving lights were making Taylor acutely aware of how drunk he was becoming and the quick mental math he did as the traversed the crowd told him that he had consumed five drinks, far more than Adrian had wanted him to drink. He almost declared out loud that Adrian could just go fuck himself, but realized that doing so would be weird beyond even Drunk Taylor expectations. They found a small space that provided them with room enough for their bodies with little room to move, but it was the best they could find. Wordlessly, they agreed that it was fine and both started to move to the music. Dominic let Taylor dance by himself for about five seconds before rolling his eyes playfully and reaching forward to pull him closer. “Are you having a good time?”

“I am,” Taylor replied honestly, allowing his hands to settle themselves on the muscles found on Dominic’s shoulders. As their bodies moved together, Taylor allowed his mind to wander to places he’d never let it go to before, like wondering what it would be like to see the body he’d Googled in person. He could have sat there and lied to himself, saying that he was just curious because he admired that Dominic had taken the time to develop such a physique, but he didn’t bother. He wasn’t sure exactly what was bringing about the thoughts he was having, and he also knew better than to try to figure it out when he was drunk.

They danced for several songs, just dancing. Taylor bravely allowed his curiosity to lead his hands to lightly grip Dominic’s biceps.

“Ready to go?” Dominic asked after taking a look at his watch, “I’m sorry, but I have a shoot tomorrow at eight and if I don’t get at least a little sleep my manager will kill me.” Taylor looked at his own watch and was shocked to see that it was almost one in the morning already.

“Don’t apologize, I understand,” Taylor said, finding his hand slipped inside of Dominic’s as he was pulled away from the still undulating sea of bodies. He got his coat from the coat check and sat down next to Dominic on the bench right beside it as he tied his shoe.

“Can I ask you guys a really big favor?” the coat check worker asked, suddenly out from behind his post and standing before them.

“Depends,” Taylor said boldly not trying to be rude, but he was slightly worried what the favor was going to be.

“I’m a huge fan,” he said, looking right at Taylor, “And I really want to get a picture with you. Would that be okay?” Taylor sighed and nodded. The guy practically squealed and grabbed the next unsuspecting person to walk by, a guy with pink hair, leather pants, and two nipple rings, and shoved the camera in his hands. “Take a picture of us really fast, would ya?” He dropped onto the bench next to Taylor and the guy snapped the picture and tossed the camera back to him before walking away.

“Have a good night,” Taylor said.

“You too!” the guy said, vaulting himself back over the counter and immediately turning the camera back on to look at the picture.

“Does that happen to you a lot?” Dominic asked.

“It happens enough,” Taylor shrugged, “You?”

“Same,” Dominic laughed. Again, he opened Taylor’s door for him and then got in himself. “I probably shouldn’t be driving…”

“We can take a cab,” Taylor offered, but Dominic shook his head.

“There’s no way I’m leaving my car here. We’ll just take it easy and take side roads. Sound good?”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Taylor said, letting the silence sink down around them before asking the question he desperately wanted to know the answer to, “So, how’d I do tonight?”

“You did great,” Dominic smiled. Taylor decided he was satisfied with that answer and closed his eyes, enjoying the gentle dizziness his level of drunk was supplying him with.

“Well, here we are,” Dominic stated several minutes later. Taylor opened his eyes and saw the front of his condo swaying slightly before him. “I had a really great time with you tonight.”

“Me too.”

“Could we maybe go out again sometime?”

“Yeah, I think we could,” Taylor smiled, and before he could process what was happening, Dominic leaned over and pressed his lips briefly and lightly against Taylor’s.

“Good-night, Taylor,” he said, pulling back and smiling lightly.

“Night,” Taylor said, somehow managing to unbuckle his seatbelt and open the door smoothly. He found his keys and opened the door, letting himself in and leaning against the inside of the door until he heard Dominic’s car pull out of the driveway. He stood there for what must have been an unnecessarily long time, because without warning, he felt something soft hit the top of his head. When he opened his eyes, he saw Mr. Spanky laying on the floor looking dejected against the white tile.

“Come on, Princess. It’s time for bed,” Adrian declared. Taylor didn’t even argue, he just picked up the giraffe and followed, too tired, drunk, and strangely giddy to do anything else.

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