Three

What do you want?” Raine’s scowl deepened.

“Woahhh, is that how you talk to your best friend?” The man at the door smiled, his voice light and teasing.

Raine snapped. “You mean the same best friend who abandoned me for the past two weeks?”

“Rai…”

“Don’t, Cole.” Raine crossed his arms, glaring. “Where have you been anyway?”

“That’s what I was about to explain.”

“Then start explaining.”

“Let me in first,” Cole said, giving Raine his best puppy eyes.

“Cole?”

“Yes, my lord?”

“Those puppy eyes won’t work on me, so if I were you, I’d start talking.”

“Okay, okay.” Cole sighed. “I was called because my grandma collapsed. I had to leave immediately. I forgot to call you because I was really anxious at that moment.”

Raine’s anger vanished instantly at the news. “What? Is she okay? Where is she now? Let’s go....”

“Hey, hey,” Cole stopped him quickly. “She’s fine now and resting at home. Her nurse is already with her.”

“Oh God, I should visit her.”

“We’ll visit her next time, Raine. Can I come in now?”

“Fine, come in.” Raine opened the door wider, letting Cole step inside.

Raine had been friends with Cole for over two years now. They met at the university Raine attended; they were coursemates.

Raine loved Cole’s grandma dearly. She was kind, warm, and a good woman. If anything happened to her, it would break his heart.

“Why does your house smell of sex?” Cole blurted out, smirking slightly as he pulled Raine out of his thoughts.

“None of your business. And get your hand off my breakfast.”

Cole quickly shoved half of the sandwich into his mouth. “Are you planning on skipping school today?”

“Something like that…”

“Alright, I’ll get going then. I drove here straight from home and still need to unpack my stuff.”

“I’m still angry at you though. You left my messages unread for so many days,” Raine said, stuffing food into his mouth without looking up.

Cole smiled softly. “I know, lil bro. I’ll make it up to you. Dinner on me tonight.”

“Whatever. And stop calling me that.”

Cole laughed loudly as he walked toward the door. “See you later, lil bro.”

As soon as he left, Raine dumped his plate in the kitchen sink and curled up on the couch with a blanket over his lap.

He switched on the TV and muted it, staring blankly into space. He felt lonely, really lonely. His life had always revolved around going to school, coming home, meeting up with Cole, having sex with Daniel, and nothing else.

He really missed Daniel at that moment.

Raine didn’t know when he dozed off. He woke up four hours later to the feeling of someone gently caressing his face.

He opened his eyes slowly, blinking. “Daniel, you’re here… Is it night already?” he muttered tiredly.

Raine glanced at the clock on the wall and realized it was still one in the afternoon. Daniel never came during the daytime, only at night.

Surprised, Raine snuggled into Daniel’s open arms, smiling softly.

“Baby,” Daniel whispered into his ear, gently nibbling on it. “I finished all my work, so I decided to come early.”

Raine giggled, burying his face into Daniel’s neck and whispering softly, “I missed you.”

“Missed you too. Why did you skip class today, Raine?”

Raine’s body froze, not because of the question, but because of Daniel’s answer. Daniel had never come during the daytime, and now he was saying he missed him back. Something he had never done before.

Raine pulled away slightly and stared into Daniel’s eyes. “Is something wrong?”

Daniel pulled him back into his arms. “Nothing you should worry about.”

“But...” Raine didn’t finish before Daniel silenced him with a kiss. Their mouths moved together in sync, breaths mingling. Raine moaned quietly when Daniel squeezed his ass.

They pulled back, hearts beating fast.

Daniel pecked his lips, then lifted him up while Raine straddled him to keep from falling. “Since you’re still sleepy, let’s take a nap.”

Daniel closed the bedroom door behind them and gently laid Raine on the bed. He climbed in beside him, pulling Raine against his chest, wrapping his arms around him, and covering them both with the blanket.

Daniel breathed in deeply, then said, “Baby, if you keep pushing your ass against my dick, we won’t be sleeping anytime soon.”

Raine giggled and snuggled deeper into his arms. Minutes later, he was fast asleep.

Daniel couldn’t sleep. He was angry, his thoughts loud and restless. He couldn’t involve Raine in royal business.

He wasn’t supposed to come at this time, he never did. But he needed an anchor. He needed someone who could calm him down. And Raine was the only one capable of doing that without even trying.

Daniel’s arm tightened around Raine. He remembered the day he first saw him, a scared young boy huddled in the corner of a club, trying to hide from the world.

Three years later, he was in Daniel’s arms because of a contract that either of them could terminate at any time.

The thought of Raine ending the contract and saying he no longer wanted to be his sex partner did something to him, a feeling he couldn’t quite decipher. But he knew he couldn’t let Raine go.

Daniel didn’t know when sleep finally claimed him. For the first time in a while, he felt peaceful.

The ringing of a phone woke Raine up. He opened his eyes slightly and reached out to grab the ringing device.

It was Daniel’s phone.

He stared silently at the screen after seeing the caller ID. It was Betty.

Anger surged through him. He felt like throwing the phone across the room, but he didn’t.

The phone rang once more before stopping. Before he could put it back, it started ringing again.

Jealousy flared hot inside him. Without thinking, he answered the call.

Both Raine and Betty stayed silent for a few moments. Then Betty spoke.

“Daniel, are you there?”

Raine couldn’t hold back his anger and jealousy any longer. He snapped, “It’s not Daniel, and he would appreciate it if you stopped calling him. Kindly fuck off.”

“Who is this? And what are you doing with Daniel’s phone?”

Raine wanted to snap back when he felt Daniel stirring behind him.

“Raine, what are you doing with my phone?”