SageI thought it would help him, the blowjob. I thought blowing him would take his mind off things but it didn't work.Now, I am left wondering what I could do to make him feel better.He reached out, brushing his fingers along my jaw. “You okay?”I nodded, swallowing. “Yeah. Just… thinking.”“About?”“You,” I said honestly, looking into his eyes. “Us.”He smiled, the kind of smile that always made my chest ache in the best way. “Good thoughts?”“Yeah,” I whispered. “Really good ones.”He leaned in. “Can I kiss you?”I didn’t answer with words. I leaned forward and met his lips with mine.The kiss started gentle—careful, tender. But it didn’t stay that way for long. I could feel the way he was holding back, his hand cupping the back of my head, his thumb stroking my cheek. I pressed into him, deepening the kiss, tasting the warmth of his mouth. He groaned softly, and that sound sent heat rushing through me.I climbed into his lap without thinking, straddling him as our kisses grew h
SageKaiden sat on the couch, legs folded beneath him, scrolling through his phone like the answers he needed were tucked somewhere in those pixels. But they weren’t. We both knew that. Still, I watched him from the doorway, studying his facethe way his lips curled slightly in frustration, the little furrow in his brow, that barely concealed anxiety he carried around like a second skin.I stepped inside the room and sat beside him, resting my arm against the back of the couch. "Hey," I said, softly. "Can I ask you something?"He looked at me, surprised. "Yeah. Sure."I hesitated, then gave a half-smile. "Are you ever scared? That… Professor might stop liking us?"His eyes darkened for a moment, and he dropped his phone on the cushion beside him. His answer came quicker than I expected."Every day," he said.I blinked.He laughed, but it wasn’t joyful. “I think about it more often than I should. Like, what if one day he wakes up and just… realizes we’re not enough? That he could do be
RiverI knew I’d regret this the moment I agreed. Weddings were a social performance I had no patience for awkward rituals cloaked in the illusion of romance, and always too many people pretending not to look while still watching everything.But I went. For the lawyer.I mean, we were friends now.He picked me up in a black car. He wore a charcoal suit, tailored so precisely it looked effortless. I’d gone with midnight blue, no tie.I was feeling rebellious since he was taking me alongside to mess with his ex. I felt like it would be nice to not look serious.“Ready to ruin someone’s big day?” I asked as I slid into the passenger seat.He chuckled. “Please, at least wait until the first dance.”The venue was an old colonial mansion with manicured hedges and a long gravel drive that crunched under our tires. Inside, it was the kind of place rich people booked for the aesthetic—vintage mirrors, oil paintings, and golden chandeliers that hung too low.The moment we entered, eyes turned.
RiverThe sun had risen higher now, washing the campus in a golden light that felt like mockery after the storm I’d just unleashed. I pulled out my phone and dialed Kaiden. He answered on the second ring.“Babe?”My heart thudded to a stop, I mean this is the first time he is calling me baby.“Y…yeah?”“What's going on?”“Oh nothing, just calling to hear your voice.”“You are so sweet but I know that you never call out of the blue. What's happening?”I hesitated to tell him, I didn't know how he would react especially since we all agreed to leave it alone.I had no idea how I felt by betraying Sage's trust. “Babe?”“I handled it,” I said calmly, stepping over a crack in the sidewalk.There was a pause. “Handled it…how?”“I found him near the dorms,” I replied, tone even. “We had a conversation.”“Jesus,” he muttered, voice dropping to a whisper. “You didn’t…?”“No blood on my coat, if that’s what you’re asking.”“You hit him.”“I did more than that. I reminded him that actions have c
RiverThere were many things I could tolerate in this world. Hypocrisy, academic politics. Hell, even my own quiet loneliness. But harming Sage, even whisper about hurting him, and the man I keep carefully buried under my calm tone and glasses comes to the surface with claws.“I said let it go,” Sage repeated gently, curled on the sofa like a tired cat, Kaiden hovering close. “I’m fine.”“No, you’re not.” I was still standing, arms crossed, my voice so low it felt like a distant rumble in the room. “He cornered you. You left because you didn’t feel safe, and that bastard thought he could get away with it.”“I am safe now,” he said, and though he was trying to soothe us, his voice wavered. “You two being like this is making me feel more—” he hesitated, “—trapped.”Kaiden was seated beside him, his hand covering Sage’s. “We’re not trying to trap you,” he said, softer now. “I just don’t want you going through something like that again. Screw the class, Sage. You can fail it, we’ll figur
KaidenI wasn’t the type to believe in omens or gut feelings, but when I stepped out of the café, a strange weight clung to my chest like a warning. It wasn’t the cold air or the bitter taste of everything I’d just learned, it was something else. Something I couldn’t name until I turned my head and saw them.Sage.And someone I didn’t recognize.A man, lean, sharply dressed in that academic-casual way, coat pressed, hair a little too neat for this hour. His hand lingered at the small of Sage’s back like it had a right to be there.I gritted my teeth as I stared.My steps slowed, I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. My chest tightened. I watched the man lean down, his face far too close, and then—He kissed Sage.Right there. Right in the open.And Sage didn’t kiss him back. I saw the resistance, the stillness in his frame, the awkward jerk of his head. Sage pulled away after a second, his eyes wide, shoulders stiff. He said something, I couldn’t hear it from where I stood and the man r