Cade
CADE
With a low, pained groan, rose to consciousness. It was a slow, uncomfortable process, not helped by the realization of what he knew was a hangover. As his mind sluggishly roused itself, he became aware of an ache in his neck, radiating down to his back and up into his skull. He’d apparently laid in one spot for too long, and it felt like the entire upper part of his back had seized up.
With another dull noise, he rolled over, wincing as the sunlight from the bedroom window spilled over his face. This time, he let out a soft whimper, burying his face in the pillow to escape the wretched sunlight. He’d known the night before that he was going to wake up miserable as hell, but being prepared didn’t make his suffering any less.
Yet, his bladder would not let him stay in bed much longer.
“Yeah, yeah, I hear ya,” he grumbled at his body.
Pushing himself up with excruciating slowness, he winced against the sunlight again. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like his headache was too bad. A big glass of water and some medicine would have that gone within the hour. Yet that wouldn’t be enough to shake off the gross feeling running through him. And that included his mouth. He swore he didn’t remember licking any garbage last night, but it tasted like he had.
Stumbling gracelessly to Elias’ bathroom, he made his way to the toilet. As he finally gave his bladder what it wanted, he couldn’t help but be glad he hadn’t ended up praying to the porcelain god at any point. The few times he’d been stupid enough to drink so heavily he’d thrown up had resulted in the worst hangovers of his life. This one was a pretty bad one, but it’s one he could live with. Hell, if he had to, he could work through it, so long as he didn’t have to do too much.
Good thing he didn’t have to work.
It was Sunday, and he could spend the remainder of his day off without going to work. That was probably why the chief had given him Sunday off. No doubt, the older man knew the state would have been in if he’d been forced to come to the station. While would have preferred to enjoy his day off, it beat trying to nurse a hangover at work.
Washing his hands, he shuffled to the kitchen, groaning. First, he grabbed a bottle of water and snatched the pill bottle off the counter. Elias must have set it there before leaving for the club, knowing he and would end up back at his place. popped a few into his mouth and downed the entire bottle of water in a series of heavy gulps. With that out of the way, he made a big pot of coffee. The only times he ever wanted coffee was when he met someone for a fancy, sugar and fat-laden cup at a cafe or when he was hungover and just needed the caffeine boost.
His neck twinged as he poured the water into the reservoir, and he silently cursed Christine. If it hadn’t been for her petty need to play some stupid game, he wouldn’t be standing in Elias’ kitchen in his boxers, hungover and sore. He’d been thrust in front of a bunch of people, half of whom were perfect strangers, and made to dance. It had been humiliating and stressful, and he hoped he never had to repeat the process.
Well, at least Elias had been by his side. His friend had come through for him, just as he knew he would. smiled faintly as he hit the brew button on the machine. Elias had put up with a lot the night before, and it hadn’t even been his fault he and were in that mess. But Elias had stood by him, escorting him, playing the part, even dancing with him. paused, remembering the kiss and remembering?—
’s eyes widened, spinning around to stare toward the living room. He turned too quickly and had to grip the counter before the dizziness forced him to fall over. barely noticed his near fall, however, his mind firmly on the previous night’s conclusion.
Shit, how had he almost forgotten?
The kiss had been one thing. Sure, it had been shocking, and would never have believed that Elias would kiss him, let alone that would have, well, maybe not liked it, but not...or maybe he had. But even then, he could brush that off, and he thought he had. Yes, the kiss had lingered, as had the memory of how easily, confidently, Elias had taken over the dance, moving so fluidly, and even kissed him without the slightest trace of hesitancy or doubt. But it had been a strange night, with weird circumstances. Surely, odd things were bound to crop up.
But then he’d laid there, his head in Elias’ lap, and he’d...felt the man’s cock. They’d seen each other naked before, but had never seen, let alone felt, Elias’ hard cock. In his drunken haze, he’d been amazed by it. He could remember thinking Elias had nothing to be ashamed of. It was no monster, but it was eye-catching.
And he’d kept touching it.
’s breath caught, and his fingers gripped the edge of the counter fiercely. Elias had touched him too, and the next thing he knew, both their cocks were out and in one another’s hands. Neither stopped to think about what they were doing or if they were even supposed to be doing it. had just felt the strong, calloused hands of Elias wrapped around his cock, and all he could think was how much he didn’t want it to stop.
The smell of coffee began to fill the kitchen, turning his stomach. He clenched his eyes shut, shaking his head in a dull attempt to fight off the rising wave of nausea. He’d had a guy get him off, and not just any guy, but his best friend, his straight best friend.
God, could he even use that word to describe them anymore?
Still refusing to let his stomach flip so hard that he got sick, turned around and walked to the sink. Turning the cold water on full blast, he splashed his face. The frigid water was a welcome contrast to his warm skin, jolting him enough that his stomach stopped feeling like it was at sea during a storm. He continued to splash water on his face as the images of Elias’ cock, the man’s hand around ’s cock, and the sound of Elias’ deep groan as he?—
shook his head again. No, this was not happening. He was not going to do this. He would not let his mind fall down the rabbit hole of last night. His life was already weird enough. With his mother breathing down his neck, Christine prepared to hound him every chance she got, and everyone unwittingly playing along with her little game.
“God, Christine, what the fuck,” muttered, turning the cold water off with a shove of his arm.
What had they done?
He was no closer to an answer or remotely calm when he heard movement down the hallway. ’s head jerked up, fingers tightening around the edge of the sink as he strained his ears. The sounds weren’t coming any closer, and after a moment, he heard the bathroom door click closed quietly. continued to stand at the sink, heart racing furiously, as he heard the toilet flush. A soft breath of momentary relief left him as the shower turned on.
Maybe it wasn’t the noblest thing, but he knew what he had to do.
Knowing Elias would probably stand under the hot water of the shower, hoping to evaporate his own hangover, hurried to the bedroom. Careful not to thump around, he snatched up his phone and ordered a ride. Pulling on his pants and shirt, he searched for his socks. A thud from the bathroom brought his head up, and he listened. Only when softer thumps followed did allow himself to relax and resume his search.
He had to give up on his socks when his phone beeped, alerting him that his ride was there. Shoving his bare feet into his shoes, he gathered his phone and keys. With another glance toward the bathroom, he hurried as quietly as he could to the front door. He locked the door behind him and finally fled down the stairs and out the front door of the apartment complex. His ride awaited him at the front curb, and threw himself into it and rattled off the address.
Only when they were out of the complex and on the road did allow himself to take a deep breath. He couldn’t face Elias, not right now, not when his thoughts felt thick and heavy, swirling around like molasses being forced down a greedy drain. He couldn’t deal with what happened right now. He would message Elias, tell him he was going to suffer through his hangover in solitude, and he’d see him tomorrow.
God, he needed to think, just for a few hours.
* * *
It turned out that a few hours were not enough to make him feel better. Sure, his hangover was dwindling. All it had taken was a hot shower and a vast quantity of hot food, and he was physically feeling better as the hours ticked by. Another dose of pain relievers later, and even the kink in his neck and back had eased.
None of that did anything to ease his nerves, however.
rubbed his face, groaning. He’d tried to zone out on something, but nothing held his attention. Watching a movie resulted in him losing track of the plot within ten minutes. Trying to read had been an equal failure, with having to reread the same paragraph half a dozen times before he realized he still didn’t understand what was on the page.
It didn’t matter what he did. He couldn’t keep his mind off what had happened. had determined that if it had been anyone else, he might have been able to deal with it. Hell, sometimes a guy got drunk and did something completely out of character born of the moment, and the drinks pounding through his system.
But it hadn’t been just any guy.
And as much as he wanted to blame the alcohol, he couldn’t. Sure, they’d both been pretty damn drunk, but he’d been drunker before, and so had Elias. Yet in all the times they’d got shit-faced drunk, they’d never groped one another. Hell, they’d slept in the same bed several times and never did so much as cuddle.
They weren’t afraid to be close, physically, away from prying eyes. Being around Elias was warm and comforting. Elias was the first person had ever met who he felt he could just…be. There was no need for pretense. didn’t have to act a certain way or present a front to make Elias happy. And while he’d never outright admitted it, he liked touching Elias and being touched by him. A hand on the shoulder, or when would read and lean against Elias. The man had a sturdiness, a quiet strength that seemed to ooze out of his pores. wasn’t ashamed to admit that he loved those moments.
But how the hell did that translate into a full-blown drunken moment of mutual masturbation?
For what felt like the hundredth time, he picked up his phone and stared at his messages with Elias. Just as he promised himself, he’d messaged the man and told him his plan. There was no way Elias didn’t know why had mysteriously disappeared. wasn’t one to leave without warning, and he knew if he remembered what happened the night before, then Elias most certainly did.
Yet Elias had said nothing in his return text, telling to remember to drink plenty of water and text if he needed anything. found himself continually returning to the message, wondering if he should say anything. The problem was that he had no idea what the hell he was supposed to say.
“Hey, remember when we jerked each other off last night?” said aloud, giving an ugly snort.
Yeah, right, that was just what he was going to do.
shook his head and shoved his phone in between the couch cushions. There was no way in hell he was going to bring it up. And from the looks of it, neither was Elias. Maybe that was precisely what they needed to do, just let the sleeping dragon lie and not disturb its little nap.
It wasn’t like they didn’t already have enough on their plates. They didn’t need to add something that was just...so outside the realm of normal to the mix as well. Sure, it had happened, but that didn’t mean they had to give it more attention than necessary.
No need to go into detail about how Elias had kissed him again and that suspected he liked it. Unnecessary to go over how right Elias’ hand felt around his dick or how he’d found his mind drifting to other things they might be able to do if they were feeling bold enough.
And there was definitely no need to mention that the memories were enough to make his stomach tighten and his cock give an interested twitch.
“No more, no more,” repeated, closing his eyes and forcing a deep breath.
He managed two breaths before his phone started ringing. jerked, fumbling beside him to pull out the phone, his heart in his throat. His heart sank when he stared at the caller ID.
“Aw, hell,” he muttered, just what he needed.
Gritting his teeth, he answered. “Hey, Mom.”
Pamela huffed. “Do not ‘hey’ me, Kaidan. You’re a full-grown man with a good education. Use your words properly.”
stared up at the ceiling. “Hello, Mother.”
“Better. Now I was hoping to get your opinion on the celebration at the end of the month.”
stiffened. “Celebration?”
“Yes, Kaidan, dear. The City Council is holding a charity celebration for, what was it again? Oh yes, crime and fire damage have decreased for a few years.”
“Oh right, that.”
“Yes, that. And you know full well everyone of any importance will be there. So I was thinking about what you might wear.”
rolled his eyes, settled on the couch, and prepared for a normal conversation with his mother. “Were you now?”
“Yes.”
And without prompting, she immediately launched into her ideas. listened long enough to realize he would probably have to go for another fitting. After that, he lost track of his mother’s words, zoning out as she droned on.
It might not have been the solution he sought, but at least his mother was a good distraction.