SageI had no right to be jealous.That was the first thought that crossed my mind when I saw Kaiden sitting close to another man, the two of them exchanging teasing smiles over their drinks. The bar’s dim lighting did little to hide the way Kaiden leaned in, his lips quirking up in a rare, genuine smile. His body language was open, relaxed, like he was actually enjoying himself.I hated it because I knew that’s what he looked like whenever he was flirting with someone. I have seen it one, two, many times to count when he is putting on a show for his fans.And it infuriated me.I gripped my glass tighter, trying to tell myself that I was overreacting. That Kaiden was free to do whatever the hell he wanted. But no matter how much I tried to rationalize it, that burning feeling in my gut wouldn’t go away.So that’s why he left. All those things that he said didn’t matter, he was just in a hurry to see someone else.I had to admit, I was hurt and a little taken aback by the whole thing.
KaidenMy eyes were dilated, I was sure. The thought of the professor fucking the attitude out of me was so promising that I found myself biting down on my lip. He looked at me and I just stared, both of us waiting for the next to make a move. I spied a look on Sage and I almost chuckled, he was eating this up. The sight of the two of us, arguing and oozing sexual tension made him so excited that it rubbed off on me. Okay, I had to admit. It was pretty exciting to be in the middle of their desire. I never thought I would be back here, then again I was never given a choice. I was pulled out of my thoughts when the professor offered his hand to me, I stared at it for a while. Knowing if I take that hand then I must have signed my fate. They would know that I wanted this. I took his hand and he led me out of the car. Sage locked the car and opened the door. The second we got inside, he kissed me. Sage jumped on me and started kissing me, his hands wound themselves around my neck an
Kaiden"I want your cock so fucking bad," His fingers in my ass got rougher, almost painful. He's testing me to see if I would really chicken out. "Beg me. Beg me to fuck your tight ass, Kaiden." The feeling from his fingers morphed into the most euphoric pleasure I've ever felt. I moaned long and loud."Please, fuck my ass, professor."His fingers disappeared, and he pulled me to my knees by my hair. "Grab the condom and put it on me." He doesn't let go of my hair, so when I reached down for it, the bite of pain makes a moan rip from my chest. "Hurry, or I'm taking you raw." I ripped the packet open with my teeth and rolled it down his impressive length, surprised that iteven fits. “Now make me nice and slick." I snatched the lube bottle, squirt some into my hand, and massaged it onto his cock. His hips started moving, fucking my fist. He kissed me hard. "Face the headboard." I kissed him one more time before turning around and sticking my ass out for him.His big hands slid up
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
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.
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 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
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
Kaiden The clock on the bedside read 3:12 a.m. I rolled onto my side, confused by the soft glow seeping under the bedroom door. I blinked the sleep from my eyes, and when I looked over, Sage was still fast asleep beside me, his breathing steady and rhythmic. I reached out, touched his hair lightly, then slid out of bed. The hallway was silent except for the distant hum of the fridge and the occasional rustle of the wind brushing the windows. I padded barefoot across the wood floor, and as I neared the living room, the scent of whiskey hit me first. That, and the sound of papers being shuffled with irritation more than purpose. The soft overhead light in the corner cast a gold sheen across the professor’s back. He was hunched over the coffee table, glass of whiskey in one hand, papers spread out like an autopsy, calm chaos wrapped in tension. He didn’t look up when I entered. “You’re still awake?” I asked, keeping my voice low. “I have work to do,” he said, not looking at me. His
KaidenI watched Sage’s chest rise and fall steadily, his breathing finally even and calm after a long, exhausting day. The faint hum of the heater filled the small apartment as the evening air drifted colder through the windows. He looked peaceful in sleep, peaceful in a way that didn’t match anything we’d been living through lately. It was a lie his body told, one I was grateful for, even if I knew it wouldn’t last. The last thing I needed was for him to keep worrying about the unknown.Today took a toll on him.I sat at the edge of the couch, elbows resting on my knees, hands folded, but my thoughts weren’t still. They kept drifting back to the question he asked earlier about whether we’d ever go back to how things were. And now I knew for certain: we couldn’t. Not with this storm closing in around us, not when every time I let my guard down, something tried to take Sage from me.I haven’t even figured out how to apologize to the professor, it took me a lot of thinking to realize
SageThe next morning, Kaiden and I walked to school in silence. The meal we shared was so brief and he stayed with me. The professor didn’t come home and when I called him, he said he was working late and we should enjoy ourselves.I knew it was because he didn’t want to spend time with Kaiden. After their argument, they have been tense with each other.I didn’t want to Interfere in their problems as it could escalate into something I wouldn’t be able to control.I looked at Kaiden, I know we have already talked about this but I was so curious.I wanted to ask him again about where he’d really been that day, but the tension in his jaw warned me off. Still, I couldn’t help myself. “So,” I started, kicking a loose pebble on the sidewalk, “you never really told me where you went. Like, actually went.” His steps didn’t falter, but his grip tightened around the strap of his backpack. “I told you. I needed to clear my head.” “Yeah, but that could mean anything,” I pressed. “You just
SageI stood just outside the hospital’s main entrance, staring at the parking lot like it was a war zone. The discharge papers were crumpled slightly in my grip. I could feel my fingers tremble, but I didn’t loosen them. The sun was bright, the day clear, but I felt like I was standing in the middle of a fog, one that hadn’t lifted since I was attacked.Kaiden mentioned he would come and pick me up, hence the hesitation. I felt like if he wasn’t here to do that, I wouldn’t go. “Ready?” His voice pulled me out of my head.I turned toward him. He had one hand in his pocket, the other adjusting the strap of my duffel bag slung over his shoulder. His hair was a little messy, like he hadn’t even bothered with a brush this morning, and his hoodie looked slept in. But his eyes, his eyes were alert. “I don’t know if ready’s the word I’d use,” I admitted. My voice sounded too thin to my own ears. “I feel like I’m being pushed out of safety and right back into the middle of whatever this me
KaidenI slept at my place after the detective dropped me off. He was looking at me like he had a lot to say about what happened but I didn’t.Yes, I overreacted but I couldn’t go back there. I felt suffocated and the only thing I needed was freedom. I needed to find my answers and not let it extend to my relationship.I decided to go see Detective Bryan. The man in charge of narcotics. The one who might know what the hell was really going on. I hadn’t told Sage or the professor anything. Not yet. I couldn’t, not until I had something real. Something more than just paranoia and late-night shadows tailing me.I sat hunched over my laptop in a dingy little café two blocks from my apartment, the place reeking of burnt espresso and desperation. I typed in “Detective Bryan, Narcotics Division, city PD” and hit search. A few articles came up. He was decorated, involved in several high-profile raids. One article had a photo, square jaw, stern face, early forties. Not someone you’d expect to
SageI woke to silence. Not the peaceful kind, the kind that sets your skin crawling with dread, like the air itself is holding its breath. The clock on the wall read a little past 3am and I could see the shadows stretched along the floor, motionless. I looked around and noticed with a slight disappointment that Kaiden wasn’t here. I blinked twice and turned my head toward the small couch across the room. No professor either.My heart sank.They were gone. Both of them.I have never felt so alone. I thought they would both stay with me so I won’t be scared. But I was a big boy and could handle myself.I sat up slowly, the sheets slipping off my chest as I scanned the dim room. Maybe they went for a walk. Maybe Kaiden needed air and the professor tagged along. Maybe I was being paranoid.Or maybe something was very, very wrong.I was about to slide out of bed when the doorknob turned.I froze.The door creaked open, and the harsh fluorescent light from the hallway spilled into the r
KaidenI left the hospital with a gnawing unease in my gut. I hadn’t told Sage or the Professor the full truth, that I needed to test Raines myself, to see if he was really on our side or if he was playing us. If I had voiced my suspicions, the professor would have warned me against it, and Sage… well, Sage would have insisted on coming with me, injuries be damned. But this was something I had to do alone. I couldn’t pretend for the life of me. If the detective wasn’t on our side then I needed to know now, to save myself the trouble of finding out later.I know that the professor was just trying to be cautious but the detective was kind of my friend so I needed to give him the benefit of the doubt.I stared at my phone for a long moment before making the call, my thumb hovering over his contact. This was a gamble, if he was dirty, I might be tipping my hand. But if he was clean... I needed to know. Taking a steadying breath, I hit dial. He answered on the third ring. "Kaiden?"
KaidenThe note terrified me, I wouldn’t lie. I kept the smile on my face for the nurse’s benefits. I didn’t want them to be asking if I was okay and interrupting my peace.Those words, scrawled in jagged letters sent a chill down my spine that lingered long after I first read them. I had spent the night restless, checking the locks on the doors twice, then three times, before finally settling into a chair beside Sage’s hospital bed. He was still unconscious, his face bruised, his breathing steady but shallow. Whoever had done this to him had a message, and now it seemed that message was meant for me. I had no idea how to protect him or even protect myself. It felt like everything we did was a waste of time and we were heading nowhere.I didn’t bother sleeping again because I was so anxious. I was tempted to call the professor and explain to him but I knew he would drive down here the second I call him.By morning, Sage was stable, still asleep but no longer in danger. I made sure
Kaiden I stood next to the professor, watching the detective’s face shift between concern and indifference as he closed his notebook with a heavy sigh. “We’ll look into it,” the detective said. “But if you’re asking me for guarantees—” “I’m not,” I cut in, trying to keep my voice steady. “Just… do your job.” He gave me a nod that felt more like a dismissal. And then he walked off, disappearing into the murmuring noise of the precinct. When I called detective Raines, he said he had been assigned to a case and directed us to his partner in the precinct. We had to go there but it didn’t seem like it was working out for us. The professor hadn’t spoken since the detective left us. His arms were crossed tightly, jaw locked, his usual calm gone. He looked like a man barely holding himself together, and that scared me more than anything. He usually had answers. He always had a plan. But now? His phone rang. He glanced down, muttered something under his breath, and answered. “Hello?”