LOGINChapter 4
Ethan leaned back in his seat, trying to focus on the conversation happening around the dinner table, but his mind was elsewhere.
He could still feel the strange energy from seconds before, the way Nathan had suddenly excused himself, the look in his eyes before he left.
“Guess he really had to go,” Sarah muttered, smirking as she stabbed her fork into her salad.
Ethan glanced at her. “What?”
She grinned knowingly. “Oh, nothing. Just that it is interesting how you are suddenly excusing yourself too.”
Ethan felt his face warm, but he played it off with a small chuckle. “Yeah, yeah. I will be back soon.”
As he stood up, Sarah gave him a teasing look. “Tell “Daddy” I said hi.”
Ethan nearly tripped over his chair. Vanessa and Lily did not seem to catch the joke, but Sarah’s point told him everything. She knew.
Ethan shook his head and walked off toward the restrooms.
*****
Inside the men’s restroom, Nathan stood in front of the mirror, hands gripping the sink. He stared at himself pouring some water on his face. His thoughts were a tangled mess.
He had been trying to push away what had happened at the table, Lilly’s advances, the way her foot had deliberately brushed against his leg, how she had looked at him with those seductive eyes.
She was Ethan’s date. That fact alone should have made it easy to shut her down. But now, standing here, he felt frustration bubbling inside him.
The door creaked open, and Nathan’s gaze snapped up just as Ethan walked in.
Their eyes met in the mirror.
Ethan tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable. “You good?”
Nathan hesitated. “Yeah.”
Ethan stepped closer, leaning against the sink beside him. “You sure? You kind of bolted out of there.”
Nathan exhaled, shaking his head. “It’s nothing.”
Ethan did not look convinced. “Come on. Something happened.”
For a moment, Nathan considered telling him. He considered explaining what Lilly had been doing the whole night, how uncomfortable it made him, how infuriating it was. But the words never left his mouth.
Instead, he forced a smirk. “Just an upset stomach. That’s all.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow but did not press further.
He stepped toward Nathan, planting a kiss on his lips, Nathan held his neck, taking in the scent of Ethan's Cologne. He grabbed Ethan's trousers.
Ethan pulled down Nathan’s trousers and went on his knees, within a flash, he deepthroated Nathan's dick. Nathan let out a soft moan, grabbing Ethan's head and shoving his dick in and out of Ethan's mouth.
Ethan spat on the penis and jerked it really fast, hitting all the right places and stimulating Nathan properly. He gave Nathan a deep hickey which gave a large mark on his neck, but it was all fun for them. He dragged down his trousers, and turned over, holding the sink as Nathan spat on his hand and inserted his hard cock into him.
This feeling gave him a feeling of both pleasure and pain and he let out a light groan.
“Faster.” Ethan said as Nathan kept on thrusting in and out of him, he increased the pace being that Ethan wanted it some more.
Nathan felt the sensation in his tummy that he was about to cum, he informed Ethan and immediately pulled out, Ethan then turned and stuck the dick into his mouth, taking in all of Nathan's cum. He sucked it clean.
“Can't you mess up the place now, can i?” Ethan smiled as he spoke to Nathan.
“That was amazing,” Nathan confirmed. They shared a kiss and wore their clothes back, washing their hands and cleaning up properly in the process.
They shared a nice, warm hug before releasing themselves from it. Helping each other put the finishing touches of their suits, they kissed one more time. “I love you” Escaped the mouth of Ethan. “I love you too.”
“Oh my God, hope this does not hurt.” Ethan asked, noticing the large bite mark on the neck of Nathan.
“Nah, not really.”
“Great, you will have to cover that up though, don't want to know suspicious questions, Sarah is on to us.” Ethan said.
“To hell with Sarah, the scar would fade eventually during the night.” Nathan responded.
And then…
The door opened.
Both of them straightened instantly.
A man walked in, barely sparing them a glance as he headed into the toilets.
Nathan cleared his throat and adjusted his collar. “We should get back immediately.”
Ethan nodded, his gaze lingering for just a second too long before he turned toward the exit.
*****
When they returned to the table, Vanessa looked up at Nathan with mild concern, she stood up and gave him a peck. “Everything alright? You left in such a hurry.”
Nathan let out a short laugh. “Yeah. Just, uh… a little stomach emergency.”
Sarah snorted but quickly masked it with a cough.
Lilly, on the other hand, continued her silent game. She rested her elbow on the table, propping her chin on her hand as she gazed at Nathan. Her foot brushed lightly against his again under the table. He raised his head and noticed her winking at him.
Nathan stiffened but refused to react.
Beside Lilly, Ethan noticed everything.
Sarah, ever the observant one, smirked and took a sip of her drink. “Nathan, you look a little… tense. Is there something on your mind?”
Nathan gave her an annoyed look, signifying that she needed to mind her business, but she just chuckled, playing innocent.
The rest of the dinner passed with unspoken tension. Lilly kept trying to draw Nathan’s attention, Ethan remained unusually quiet, and Sarah continued her quiet amusement at the secret she seemed to be holding.
By the time they were leaving, Nathan exhaled in relief.
They stepped outside into the cool night air, heading toward the car.
Nathan opened the driver’s side do
or, but before he could get in, he caught a glimpse of Lilly smiling at him again.
He knew this was not over.
Chapter 86 – The Cost of Visibility(Sarah POV)The first brick hit the window at 6:42 a.m.It shattered the glass of the community center’s front office in a violent burst, sending shards across the linoleum like fallen stars. The alarm screamed seconds later sharp, relentless cutting through Sarah’s half-sleep as she bolted upright in bed.Her phone was already buzzing.ISABELLE: Are you awake?ISABELLE: Turn on the news. Now.Sarah’s heart pounded as she fumbled for the remote. Every muscle in her body felt tight, wired, like she’d been waiting for this without knowing it.The local news filled the screen.“an apparent act of vandalism overnight at the Shelter in the Storm community center, a queer youth support space launched just weeks ago”The camera cut to the building.Her building.Police tape fluttered weakly in the morning breeze. The mural, the hands, and the flowers were defaced. Red paint dripped down the wall in ugly, deliberate slashes.GO BACK TO GOD.PERVERTS RECRUIT
Chapter 85 – The Weight of SilenceNathan had learned long ago that silence could be louder than confession.It followed him now through the glass corridors of the firm, through the low hum of servers and the polite nods of employees who no longer met his eyes for more than a second. Respect still lingered but it was cautious. Conditional. Like everyone was waiting to see if he would crack.He closed the door to his office and leaned his forehead against the cool wood.Breathe.The city stretched beyond the windows, gray and restless, the kind of skyline that never slept and never forgave. Somewhere in that maze of buildings were people who wanted him ruined not because he had broken laws, but because he had broken expectations.And at the center of it all was Ethan.Nathan straightened, moving to his desk where a thin manila folder waited. No label. No letterhead. It had arrived that morning through a private courier untraceable, deliberate.Inside were printouts.Screenshots.Emails
Chapter 84: What We Don’t SayEthanThe silence between us has weight now.Not the kind that comes from anger or slammed doors, but the heavier kind the one that settles in the spaces where words used to live. It follows Nathan through rooms. It lingers after his footsteps fade down the hall. It hums beneath every conversation we pretend is normal.I notice it most at night.Nathan sleeps like someone who doesn’t expect rest to last. One arm flung out, jaw tight even in dreams, breath shallow. I lie awake beside him, counting the seconds between each inhale, wondering when love became something that required vigilance.I turn onto my side and watch him. The streetlight outside paints his face in pale gold and shadow, familiar and suddenly distant. This is the man who once kissed me like the world couldn’t touch us. Now he kisses my forehead like he’s already bracing for impact.I miss the recklessness.In the morning, he’s already dressed when I wake up. Dark hoodie. Baseball cap. Pho
Chapter 83 – The Weight of SilenceNathan had learned, long ago, how to sit inside silence without letting it break him.Boardrooms taught you that. Courtrooms sharpened it. Marriage, its beginning and its ending had sealed the lesson into his bones. Silence, when handled correctly, could be armor. It could be restraint. It could be dignity.Tonight, it felt like punishment.The house was too quiet for a place meant to hold two people. The lights were on, but nothing felt warm. Nathan stood in the kitchen with his phone face down on the counter, untouched since Ethan had left for the community center hours ago. He hadn’t asked him to stay. He hadn’t told him not to go.That was the problem.Nathan poured a glass of water and forgot to drink it. His reflection in the darkened window looked older than he remembered shoulders still broad, posture still careful, but something in his eyes had dulled. Not fear. No regret.Distance.He hated that word. Hated how easily it could slip into a r
Chapter 82 – Without HimThe studio smelled like cold coffee and nerves.Ethan noticed it the moment he stepped inside the sharp tang of artificial calm, the kind that lived in waiting rooms and green rooms and places where people rehearsed empathy before turning it into performance. The walls were painted a soothing gray, meant to disappear behind bright smiles and careful questions.A production assistant handed him a bottle of water. “We’ll be live in three minutes.”Ethan nodded, though his mouth felt too dry to drink.Across the room, a flat-screen TV showed his face frozen mid-blink from a pre-roll clip. The chyron beneath it read:ETHAN RIVERA ARTIST • ADVOCATE • SURVIVORSurvivor.The word pressed into his chest like a weight he hadn’t agreed to carry.“Ethan?” the host said gently, approaching him with practiced warmth. “Thank you for being here. I know this isn’t easy.”Ethan managed a smile. “I’m glad to be.”It wasn’t a lie. Just incomplete.The host gestured toward the e
Chapter 81 – What the World Wants From UsThe quiet didn’t feel peaceful.It followed Ethan like a second skin thin, invisible, suffocating. It lived in the corners of rooms, in the pause before people spoke his name, in the way conversations softened when he entered a space as though his presence required caution. Silence had become a language everyone else seemed fluent in. Ethan was still learning how to survive it.The apartment was too neat.Nathan had cleaned earlier methodically, obsessively. Every surface wiped, every chair aligned, every stray object removed as though chaos itself had become something to fear. The order felt unnatural, like a set staged for a life that hadn’t yet begun.Ethan stood by the window, fingers curled around the frame, staring out at a city that no longer looked at him the same way.Outside, the world continued, cars moved, lights blinked, laughter floated up from somewhere down the street. Life, uninterrupted. He wondered how many people passing be







