All Chapters of A Love Mess: Who loves who?: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

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

Justin had timed it carefully. He knew Cade's schedule well enough by now, had watched the pattern of comings and goings from a careful distance over the past week, and knew precisely when the house would be empty except for Arlen. He pulled up down the street rather than in the driveway, some old instinct for discretion still intact even now, and walked the last stretch on foot, rehearsing what he planned to say.Arlen answered the door with visible surprise, then quickly hardened wariness. "What are you doing here?""Can I come in?" Justin's voice was soft, carefully pitched, the same practiced sorrow he'd worn in the café weeks earlier. "Just for a few minutes. Please.""No." Arlen moved to close the door, but Justin's hand came up against the frame, not quite forcing it, but not quite letting it shut either."Arlen, please. I've been thinking about everything. About us. I know you probably hate me right now, but I needed to see you.""There is no us." Arlen's voice was flat, thoug

Cade spent the better part of the week making arrangements for a dinner date with Arlen. He wanted it to feel thought through and personal. The kind of gesture that told Arlen, without needing to say it outright, that Cade had been paying attention all along.He thought of the lavender candle sitting on Arlen's nightstand, the one Arlen still lit most evenings, the small, private ritual of it. And then the way Arlen's room had string lights on the window. An idea began to take shape, something that could weave that thread of comfort into an evening that still felt elevated, still felt like an occasion worth remembering.He called a small event company that specialized in private dinners, walked them through what he wanted—an outdoor setup in the back garden, string lights woven through the trees, a long table dressed simply but elegantly, lavender sprigs tucked into the centerpieces and scattered lightly across the tablecloth, the whole space smelling faintly, warmly of it by the time

The apartment was quiet, city lights filtering faintly through the blinds, the aftermath of the evening still hanging comfortably in the air. Dylan lay half-sitting against the headboard, scrolling idly through his phone, while Justin stared up at the ceiling beside him, mind clearly somewhere else entirely. "You're quiet," Dylan said eventually, glancing over. "Everything okay?" They have been having one night stands for a while now. Justin had come onto him, crying about heartbreak and Dylan was there to help him sexually. "Yeah." Justin's voice was distant, distracted. "Just thinking." "About?" Justin was quiet for a long moment, weighing something, before he finally turned onto his side to face Dylan properly. "Can I ask you something? Something serious." Dylan set his phone down, giving Justin his full attention now, some curiosity flickering behind his expression. "Sure. What's up?" "You know about Arlen," Justin said carefully. "And Cade." Dylan's jaw tightened slightly

Cade sat in a small, sterile conference room at the police station three days after the accident, Arlen still recovering in the hospital, stable now but with a long road ahead of him, and listened as Detective Reyes laid out what they'd found. "We pulled footage from a security camera two blocks from the scene," Reyes said, sliding a folder across the table. "Partial plate matched a rental vehicle. Took some digging, but we tracked the rental agreement back to a man named Dylan." Cade burned with anger, the name familiar. "I know him." The nodded, "he's someone with a fairly recent, fairly intense connection to a person you apparently know well," Reyes said, watching Cade's face carefully. "Justin Dresky." Cade felt something cold slide through his chest even though, some distant part of him realized, he wasn't entirely surprised. "You're saying Justin was involved in this." "We're saying we have enough now to bring both of them in for questioning," Reyes said carefully. "Dylan r