ログインMorning light spilled through the kitchen windows in a way that felt, to Arlen, almost mockingly cheerful given how unsettled he'd felt since waking. He'd laid in bed for nearly twenty minutes before finally getting up, replaying the night before in fragments. The movie forgotten, the closeness that had built between them, the way everything had tipped over into something more before either of them had fully caught up to it. He remembered how Cade had kissed him slow and deep, biting and sucking on them. He remembered Cade's hands wrapped around his cock, how he had shook in pleasure. He remembered warmth, and Cade's low moans against his ear.He also remembered how he had laid there exhausted, resting in Cade's arms and the silence that had followed after; both of them a little stunned, not quite finding the words to name what had just happened. And then finally he had slept off.Waking up this morning, he knew they would have to talk about what happened last night, and Arlen decide
The living room looked different by the time Saturday evening arrived. Cade had spent the better part of the afternoon on it, more attention than he'd probably admit to putting into arranging throw blankets just so, dimming the lights to something warm and low, setting out the salted caramel chocolate Nick had mentioned weeks earlier. Alongside a bowl of popcorn and a few other snacks he'd picked up on a hunch hoping they'd land well. He'd debated the movie choice, finally settling on an old romance neither of them had mentioned watching before. Nothing too on the nose, he told himself, just something that left room for comfortable silence.He heard Arlen's car pull into the driveway a little after seven and felt something flutter nervously in his chest despite himself, smoothing a hand down his shirt before making his way to the door.Arlen stepped inside a moment later, a bag of popcorn, as promised and paused, eyes moving slowly around the room, taking in the low lighting, the bla
The realization had crept up on Cade slowly, in pieces he hadn't fully properly arranged until that afternoon Justin walked into that café. He'd spent a good amount of days replaying Arlen's account of it. And something bubbled in Cade's chest that had nothing to do with simple protectiveness.He'd told himself, at first, that the anger was just concern. Justin had hurt Arlen badly, had manipulated and used him for months, and of course Cade would be furious at the thought of him coming back to do it again. That was reasonable. That made sense.But sitting in his room past ten in the night, replaying the moment Arlen had told him Justin came by, he felt something twist violently in his stomach. Cade had to admit, finally, that the reaction went deeper than simple protectiveness. He didn't just not want Justin anywhere near Arlen because Justin was dangerous. He didn't want Justin anywhere near Arlen because some part of him—a part he'd dismissed for weeks now—wanted Arlen for himself
Arlen walked three blocks before his legs finally slowed, the anger that had propelled him out of the car burning down into something quieter, more uncertain. He found a bench near a small park and sat, elbows on his knees, staring at nothing in particular while his pulse gradually settled."Why did that hit so hard," he muttered, thinking the moment over slowly, trying to be honest with himself instead of just living in the anger. Cade's question echoed in his head and Arlen tried to examine it now without the heat of the moment clouding everything.Had he really thought Cade wanted him to forgive Justin? Looking back at it now, away from the charged air of the car, he wasn't sure that was actually what he'd heard. Cade had expressed nothing but anger toward Justin, frustration on Arlen's behalf, protective in a way that left little room for actual doubt about where his loyalties sat. So why had that single question landed like a betrayal?"Maybe it wasn't about Cade at all," Arlen a
Justin took another step closer, hands lifting slightly from his pockets in a gesture that was meant to look harmless. Open. Sincere. "Arlen," he said, voice soft, carefully pitched to sound wounded. "Can we talk? Please.""There's nothing to talk about." Arlen's voice came out steadier, though his pulse was hammering hard enough that he could feel it in his throat."Just five minutes." Justin's eyes were wide, earnest in a way that Arlen might once have found convincing. "I've had time to really think about everything. About what I did. I know I don't deserve it, but I need you to know how sorry I am.""Justin—""I mean it." Justin's voice cracked slightly, a tremor threading through it that sounded almost real. "I've been a mess since you found out. I keep replaying everything, all the ways I hurt you, and I hate myself for it. I was selfish, and scared, and I handled everything the worst way possible. I know sorry doesn't fix any of it, but I needed you to hear it from me."Arlen s
"You're humming," Max said, watching him from his usual stool. "You've been humming for like fifteen minutes. Should I be concerned?"Arlen huffed a laugh, not even bothering to deny it. "Didn't realize I was doing that.""You've been doing a lot of things lately that you didn't used to do," Max said, tilting his head, studying him with the kind of careful attention that Arlen had learned, over the years, usually meant Max was working up to saying something. "You look different. Lighter, or something.""Lighter.""Yeah." Max shrugged, reaching for one of the pastries Arlen had set out earlier. "I don't know how else to put it. You just seem....I don't know, more like yourself than you have in a long time. Genuinely happier, actually, than you were when you were with.....Justin."The comparison landed with more weight than Arlen expected, and he paused for a moment, cloth still in hand, considering it honestly instead of brushing it off the way he might have a few weeks earlier. "Yeah,







