KaidenWhen I made the decision to follow Sage, I didn’t expect to find him on a date, and definitely not with that bastard.I also didn’t expect to overhear him talking to some old flame, reminiscing about a love I never even knew existed.The Ethan guy looked at him like Sage walked the moon for him, which made me wonder if that’s how I looked at him.The Sage I knew had always been into women. Or at least, that’s what he claimed. He had never been comfortable enough to explore beyond what society expected of him, beyond the limitations he had built for himself.I had to manipulate him to fuck him.And yet, there he was, standing with a man who spoke of their past love so openly, so naturally, like it had always been an undeniable fact.It made me feel like a fucking fool. I had been the one manipulated all this time.Like I didn’t know my own best friend.I watched him leave without looking back with his shoulders tense and his steps showing his anger. The moment he disappeared fr
KaidenI didn’t know when I nodded. It was like my body made the decision before my brain could catch up. One moment, I was staring at him, caught in some hazy mix of resentment and something I wasn’t ready to name. The next, his fingers wrapped around my wrist and he was pulling me up from my seat.My legs followed numbly. I let him lead me out of the restaurant, through the dimly lit parking lot, and to his car. The night air was crisp, sobering in the way that only reminded me how much I’d been drinking.The soft click of the passenger door opening barely registered until he guided me inside. He crouched slightly, reaching across me to buckle the seatbelt, the scent of his cologne wrapping around me. It made my stomach clench with desire and longing. For someone other than Sage.I couldn’t remember the last time someone had tucked me in. Buckled me up. Taken care of me.It had always been me taking care of everything. Even when I was spiraling. Even when I was breaking, I had to
Kaiden I don’t know how we got to his house or how I ended up in his bed but the night was a blur and what I had was the memory. *** The sound of the door shutting was what alerted me that we were inside, he grabbed me by the back of my throat and brought our lips together. Like a mellowed kitten, I allowed myself to be controlled by a more dominant male. A moan escaped my throat and I closed my eyes as his tongue thrust into my mouth. He ripped my clothes from my body and dropped me on the bed, a yelp left my lips but I was on him. My nose was rubbing on his bulge as I struggled to free his cock. The professor had the nerve to laugh when he saw how I rubbed on him like a depressed kitten. God, he smelled so good. My felt warm and funny. He was teasing me and like a sucker, I was falling for it. He took off his clothes and turned me so I laying on my back, legs spread like a loser. I was far too gone to care about how stupid I looked in front of him. His hips moved
KaidenI was surprised the words left my lips, he didn’t strike me as the type of person who took defiance well.I was so afraid he would spank me for talking back at him, I don’t know why my body reacted to the thought of him spanking me.My cock was now hard.I looked at him, expecting him to react negatively to my words, but he just grinned.“The claws are back, huh?I opened my mouth to defend myself but he shocked me even more.""Better get started then." With another of his cocky grins, he leaned in and wrapped his lips around my cock."Holy fuck, shit," I gasped.The wet heat of his mouth was incredible, and the little groan of pleasure he let out nearly sent me over the edge.My back arched and I struggled to get my bearings a bit. He was making it hard to do so, seeing as his lips worked wonders on me.My cock was big too, just that he was bigger. I was in awe of his cock. I didn’t have the time to admire it when I was blowing him by the road side but right now, with the litt
SageI paced my apartment, phone clutched in my hand, eyes darting between the screen and the window like staring at the night sky would somehow make my messages go through.Nothing.Every call went straight to voicemail. Every text remained unread.Either he was avoiding me or he was so busy but I would bet good money on the latter.And I had no one to blame but myself.I disrespected him by leaving without a word, without even a proper excuse. Just stormed off, letting my anger and frustration dictate my actions. I knew better than that, I wasn’t some impulsive kid who threw tantrums. But God, I had been so mad.Not even at the professor.At Kaiden. At Ethan.The two of them had collaborated to make my evening miserable. Especially Kaiden, where does he get off calling me a liar.He is the one who had manipulated me, he was just mad that I also did it to him. It doesn’t even help that I left him behind with the professor.He must have said a lot to him behind my back, another desper
KaidenI woke up alone.At first, I thought maybe I was still dreaming. That the warmth, the scent, the feel of last night had been nothing but a cruel trick of my subconscious.But the ache in my body and the faint scent of cologne on the sheets told me otherwise.I blinked up at the ceiling, my heart thudding against my ribs as the weight of what I had done settled in.I had slept with him.With the professor.With Sage’s professor.I sat up abruptly, running a hand down my face. What the fuck was I thinking?What had I been trying to prove? That I could get under his skin? That I could mark my place in Sage’s life in some twisted, backward way?It was fucked up because I felt like I was closer to him now. Now that we have slept with the same man, then maybe he would see how inlove with him I am.I scrubbed a hand through my hair, exhaling sharply. The worst part was, I didn’t even regret it.Not the way I should have.I spotted his shirt on the floor and pulled it over my head befo
KaidenNeither of us spoke.Then the front door opened again.We both turned at the same time, just as the professor stepped inside.His eyes flicked between us, taking in the situation and then, he shook his head. As if this entire mess was nothing more than an inconvenience to him.Like we haven’t been discovered, we broke Sage’s heart. He didn’t say a word as he dropped his keys onto the counter and toed off his shoes, moving around the space like this was just another ordinary evening.Sage, however, wasn’t having it.“You have nothing to say for yourself?” The professor barely spared him a glance. “Nope.”Sage’s eyes widened. “Are you serious right now?”The professor sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Look, I could say something, but I have a feeling you have a lot more to say than I do.”His jaw tightened. “Unbelievable.”I stood there, stiff, hands clenched at my sides. I wanted to say something to diffuse the situation but my tongue felt heavy in my mouth.Sage let out
SageI shivered the second as I stepped out of the professor’s house, but it was nothing compared to the numbness spreading inside me. My hands clenched into fists at my sides, my pulse pounding in my ears. The world outside made me so angry like reality was mocking me for ever thinking I could be happy.Kaiden followed me, his footsteps hurried as he struggled to keep up. He had finally worn his clothes despite the shame coating his cheeks. The professor kept staring at us with those cold eyes and I wondered when everything changed.He just changed and the warmth he looked at me with was suddenly nowhere to be found.It was just gone.Kaiden was still lingering behind me, waiting for me to say something. I couldn’t even find it in me to look him in the eye without feeling disgusted with him.So I decided to walk, I didn’t slow down and I didn’t look back either. I couldn’t.“Sage, wait—”I ignored him.“Please, just—listen to me!”Silence.“You owe me that respect at least. Just lis
KaidenWhen I woke up, the sunlight was already spilling across the living room floor. My neck ached from the weird angle my head had been resting on, and when I shifted slightly, I realized why, River was curled against me, both of us tangled on the couch, our legs overlapping. His arm was still loosely draped over my waist, and for a second, I just lay there, taking in the quiet moment.It was strange, waking up like this. Peaceful. Natural. My body didn’t feel tense for once, like it usually did when I woke up alone in the echo of my own thoughts. Instead, I felt…warm. Not from the blanket. From him.He had stayed with me all night. We talked and got to know each other. There was nothing sexual about it even though I had been tipsy. He had been the perfect gentleman and had broken the ice with me.As soon as I moved, River stirred. His eyes blinked open slowly, landing on me, and then a lazy smile pulled at his lips.“You drool in your sleep,” I said, voice hoarse with morning.“I
Kaiden“You know, you have asked me that question so many times and yet, you keep wanting to know the truth. Why is that?” He asked instead.I shrugged, “I don’t know. Maybe I want to hurt myself by knowing the truth or I just want to know where I stand.”He shook his head like he was disappointed with my answer, “you can’t have your cake and eat it, Kaiden. The world doesn’t work that way.” I started walking towards the house, eager to escape this conversation. Yeah, I know I couldn’t have my cake and have it but I just wanted to.So much, it was killing me.I didn’t want to look at him when we stepped into my condo, not really. But I could feel the weight of his presence behind me like a shadow I wasn’t ready to shake. I tossed my keys into the bowl on the counter and exhaled, not sure why my chest felt so damn tight.“Do you want wine?” I asked, already reaching into the cabinet.“Sure,” he said. His voice was soft and devoid of his normal arrogance.I poured two glasses and hande
KaidenThe professor didn’t expect to see me. That much was clear from the way his eyes widened, like I’d caught him with his hands where they didn’t belong.“Kaiden?” River blinked, his voice caught somewhere between confusion and amusement. “What are you doing?”He wasn’t the only one surprised. I hadn’t planned this. But the moment I saw him sitting here in that dimly lit corner of the restaurant, laughing too easily with the guy across from him, this tall, handsome, and entirely too comfortable man. I couldn’t stop myself. My stomach twisted with something that felt a lot like jealousy. And maybe that was exactly what it was. I was too afraid to voice out the feelings I had twirling inside of me.I noticed he didn’t answer my question, so I asked it again, more directly. “Is this my replacement?”His eyebrows shot up. Nathan, whoever he was, looked between us awkwardly, clearly trying to figure out if he should smile or disappear into the upholstery.River composed himself quickl
KaidenThe second I left the funeral, I had a lot of thoughts clouding me like smoke. The wind tugged lightly at my jacket, but I hardly felt it. My mind was a storm of thoughts. Michael’s words still ringing in my ears, Ethan’s death twisting like a knot in my gut.I pulled out my phone and texted the detective.Me: “Need to talk. Now.”He responded almost immediately.Detective Raines: “Name the place.”I sent him the name of the Italian place a few blocks away. Low-lit, quiet, and not too busy on weeknights. I needed privacy for this conversation.It had taken a toll on me. I needed to talk to someone about this. Could it be I saw something I shouldn’t or….I was really sure about it. I was more confused the more I thought about it. I thought the rivalry between Micheal and I had just because of the job.Apparently, it’s a little more than that.By the time I got to the restaurant, the detective was already there, sitting in a booth near the window. He looked up as I approached, g
KaidenAfter my conversation with Sage, I wasn’t sure what to feel.He’d looked so earnest, so... broken, even though he tried to cover it up with words that felt like resignation. And for some reason, the thing that kept looping through my mind wasn’t what he said about wanting me or even what he said about the detective. It was what he said about the professor.That River had already started thinking about someone else.He didn’t even try to convince me to stay.That realization dug into my chest like a shard of glass. I kept wondering if it had meant nothing to him. If the way he touched me, kissed me, looked at me, it had all just been physical. A game. A passing thrill. And I hated that I couldn’t figure out whether I was more upset at him for possibly seeing it that way… or at myself for wanting it to be more.Was I that easy to replace?Did I really feel something deeper for him? Or was I just clinging to what felt good because everything else in my life was falling apart?My p
SageI continued, quieter this time, “I mean, I guess I’m glad things are finally working out, for the three of us. Or at least, they were. You accepting what River and I have, trying to be honest about what you want… I thought we were finally reaching some kind of peace.”He didn’t meet my eyes. “It didn’t mean I stopped caring.”I swallowed hard. “But it did mean you don’t want this. Not really. You want monogamy. Simplicity. And I can’t give you that. Neither can River. Maybe the detective can.”He finally looked up, sharp and unreadable. “You think I should give him a chance?”I tried to smile, but it faltered. “He wants you. And he’s not caught in all this mess. Maybe he’s what you need.”He didn’t answer. His silence felt louder than any rejection he could’ve given me.I couldn’t believe I was saying this in the first place but isn’t that the growth I had embraced. If being with us doesn’t make him happy then he is free to go ahead and do his own thing.It’s my job as his best f
SageFor the first time in a long time, things felt… quiet.Too quiet.The professor and I had fallen into this domestic rhythm, waking up in the same bed, sharing coffee before our classes, and eating dinner together in the evenings. He kissed me before he left. He kissed me when he returned. We made love sometimes. It was predictable. And it was driving me crazy.At first, I welcomed it. I thought, maybe this was it, stability. Maybe if I just leaned into the calm, I’d find peace. Maybe I didn’t need the storm that was Kaiden. Maybe he and I were enough.But each time he smiled at me across the breakfast table, I saw Kaiden’s smirk instead. Each time he touched me, I imagined Kaiden’s hand too instead, rougher, hesitant, real.I couldn’t lie to myself anymore. I didn’t just want Kaiden in my bed. I wanted him in my life. I wanted the whole messy thing, his silence, his fire, his contradictions.So I did the one thing the professor hadn’t expected.I texted him.Me: Can we talk? Jus
SageI didn’t think he’d find me so quickly.Raines showed up like a shadow after dusk. I was by the vending machine outside the lecture hall, watching the spirals reject my snack, when I felt his presence behind me.“Sage,” he said, his voice deep and low like it carried weight. I turned, heart instantly drumming. “Got a minute?”I nodded, stepping aside, away from the line of students still waiting for coffee. He gestured for us to take a walk, and I followed, unsure what this would be about. I didn’t even know how I felt about him anymore, Kaiden’s friend. The one who made Kaiden smile in ways I hadn’t seen in weeks.The reason why he wanted to break away from something we had going on.“I want to ask you something,” he said, once we were out of earshot. “About the people Kaiden mentioned… the ones that tried to hurt him. Do you remember any faces?”“What?”“You know, Kaiden mentioned it the other night.”“Who are you, really? Why do you want to know this?”He sighed, “I am sorry.
Kaiden The night was too quiet. The kind of quiet that made your thoughts louder, louder than your heartbeat even. I rolled over in bed for what had to be the tenth time, sheets twisted around my legs, sweat clinging to my skin despite the cool air filtering in from the slightly open window. Sleep was a distant dream, and my chest felt heavy with too many thoughts, too many questions. With a sigh, I pushed the covers aside and sat up. My feet hit the cold floor. I needed air. I padded barefoot through the hallway, careful not to make too much noise. I didn’t think anyone would be awake, but still, habit. The house was dim, bathed in silver from the moonlight pouring through the windows. I opened the sliding glass door to the balcony and stepped outside, letting the cold night wind slap me awake. God, I needed it. The city buzzed below, lights flickering like stars that had fallen and decided to settle among the streets. I leaned on the railing, arms crossed against the br