36. Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Not the Morning I Expected to Have
Luke
I wake to my phone screaming at me to pick it up. I finally get to it after the fifth shrill, “This better be important.” I check the time on the phone and see its nearing seven in the morning.
“Any time I call its important and don’t you forget that mister.” G’s voice is never bothersome to hear, even this early.
“How could I ever forget?” I join in her laughter.
“Did I interrupt any hanky panky with that handsome guy of yours?”
“That’s none of your business, G, but no you didn’t.”
“Darn, next time I’ll wait an hour longer.” I hear her fingers snap in the background along with her quip.
“G, is there a reason you called me at the butt crack of dawn?” Kaden groans next to me, obviously annoyed being woken up so early.
“Your aunt’s birthday is coming up next week. Make sure all you kids get here for the BBQ.”
Damn it, I almost forgot about the party. “We’ll be there. I’ll make sure everyone comes.”
“Okay, just an FYI, your parents will be here, too.”
Wonderful. That should be fun. “It’s not a problem. I can manage for a day. I always have, right?”
“Alright, kiddo. I’ll talk with you later. I love you.” G never forgets to tell me.
“Love you, G.”
“You’re too loud,” Kaden’s sleepy voice comes out from under the covers.
“Sorry, G called and wanted to make sure we were all coming to Brenda’s birthday BBQ next weekend. I’m sorry I forgot to tell you, but if you don’t come with me I think G might send out a search party for you.”
“Of course, now shush and go back to sleep.” Kaden’s days of early rising to run have lessened over the past month. I think he likes cuddling more than running at this point.
I’m proven right when he climbs on top of me and wraps his body around mine, koala bear style. His head rests on my chest, his shaggy morning hair tickling my chin.
“I can hear you thinking, it’s so loud it echoes in the room. What’s going on?” Kaden must sense the tension in my body.
“I haven’t seen my father in more than a year. He wasn’t home the last two times I went to visit them. They’re going to be at Brenda and G’s house next week.”
“Are you worried about seeing him in general or about me? I’m figuring he doesn’t know anything about us since you haven’t seen them.” He says the last part as a statement more than a question.
“Yeah, it’s not like I really talk to either of my parents besides the occasional text or call with my mother to let her know I’m still alive.” Kaden’s lips brush my chest, and it relaxes me enough to continue. “Those always go the same way. The third degree about when I’m getting married and giving her grandbabies.”
“That sounds like so much fun. She’s going to love me.” He sighs and I can already tell his anxiety is going to be through the roof at the BBQ.
“Nothing either of my parents say will matter when it comes to us. I don’t want you worrying about that.” Kaden gives a half nod against my chest as I tighten my arms around him, hopefully reassuring him that I mean what I said.
Before he starts to relax too much, I nudge him to get moving. “No more sleeping. You need to start getting ready for work. I’m going to make us a quick breakfast.”
He gives one last groan, gives a hasty kiss, and rolls off me and the bed onto his feet. He grabs some clothes from the couples drawers I cleaned out for him since he’s been staying over a few times a week now, and heads towards the bathroom. “Good, because I’m starving. We never got to eat the food we ordered last night at the bar.”
“If someone would behave themselves in public then we wouldn’t have missed eating now, would we?”
Kaden replies in his singsong tone, “If someone would stop rewarding me with his cock every time I misbehave then I wouldn’t have a reason to now, would I?” I throw a pillow at him just as he makes it to the doorway.
Fred’s starving wail drowns out Kaden’s amused shriek as he runs into the bathroom. “Go feed that poor thing, or I’ll call the ASPCA on you.” He yells as he shuts the door behind him.
Feeling like Kaden deserves a dose of his own medicine, I get ready to cook breakfast as unconventional as I possibly can.
When he arrives in the kitchen a little while later I am in front of the stove frying bacon, bare naked except for my full coverage apron. The lack of reaction I get is not what I was hoping for, though. Kaden is staring down at his phone wide-eyed scrolling.
“What’s going on?”
He looks up at me like he didn’t expect me to be there, instead of answering he hands me his phone. When I see the messages app on his screen is filled with incoming messages from an unknown number, I scroll to the beginning of the chat that started last night.
Nice show you just put on for the world to see.
Since when did you start having sex in public?
First a bathroom stall in a club. Now the middle of a parking lot.
Were you always a little whore?
If you had told me you liked this sort of thing I would’ve taken you out in public more often.
I won’t lie and say I didn’t miss seeing the face you make as you’re coming.
You never let me fuck you raw before. We’re going to have to correct that sooner rather than later.
I feel the temperature in my body rise the more I read on. The next set of messages came in about 30 minutes later.
Sleeping at your boyfriend’s house. Guess I’ll have to plan a visit another time.
See you soon, Kaden.
“What the fuck? How did he know where we were last night? And the night we met? How long has he been following you?” My thoughts are circling like a tornado in my head. Imagining Tyler stalking Kaden, watching us together, has me spiraling. I call back the number the text messages came from instead.
“What are you doing? Don’t call him, Luke. Please, you’re just asking for trouble.”
The call immediately goes to the recording stating the number is no longer in service.
“What do you mean asking for trouble, Kaden? You never said anything about Tyler behaving any way remotely close to this.”
Kaden silently stares at me. Turning off the burners on the stove, I take his hand and lead him to the bedroom. I cannot have a serious conversation with him when I’m naked in an apron.
I throw clothes on while Kaden sits on the bed with his eyes closed, fiddling with his fingers. Climbing on the bed behind him, I wrap my legs and arms around him and pull him in close to my chest.
Attempting to control my anger at Tyler, I rest my chin on Kaden’s shoulder and address the current situation first. “Kaden, what’s going on? Talk to me.”
“Tyler wasn’t always the nicest of guys.”
“Tell me everything.” I’m on full alert mode now, ready to find Tyler without even knowing the whole story, yet.
“It wasn’t that bad. He has a temper, especially when he’s jealous. He can be controlling.” Kaden rests his head back onto my shoulder, eyes still closed. “Everything was always his way or nothing. I told you I believed all his reasoning for keeping us a secret. It was more like mind games. I see that in hindsight.”
The moment of silence is deafening as I wait for Kaden to gather his thoughts. Obviously, a lot of emotions flowing through him right now.
“Every time I would start to pull away, he knew exactly what to do to make me stay. He would make me feel loved and important. Then once I was comfortable with our arrangement again, he went back to being a jerk. He was always right and nothing I said mattered. It was a vicious cycle.”
“Kaden, did he ever hurt you, physically?” The words leave my lips like poison stinging them. His answer doesn’t determine if, rather how bad I hurt Tyler.
“I wouldn’t say he hurt me. Did he scare me sometimes? Yes. Any time a guy talked to me too long or maybe flirted with me in front of him, he’d wait until we were alone and harass me about it. A couple times he pushed me up against the wall and would grab my jaw, making me look at him while he scolded me like it was my fault. I was never allowed to hang out with those guys ever again, even though I told him I had no interest in them.”
My mind races back to Kaden in the restaurant and the desperate look he gave me when Tyler had him against the wall. He must have been terrified.
“He tried to get me to stop being friends with Ender and Connor so many times, but that was a hard line for me. I always stood my ground on that demand. Instead of forcing me in some other way, he would just be an asshole to them, so they wouldn’t want to hang out with us.” Kaden let’s out a small laugh. “He underestimated their love for me. That just made them come around us even more. They hated him so much. I wish I would’ve listened to their warnings sooner. It would’ve saved me a lot of time and heartache.”
“Where does he live, Kaden?”
Kaden turns around to face me, mimicking my arms and legs around him. “Please don’t go do anything stupid. I don’t want you getting hurt or worse getting arrested for hurting him.”
“Kaden, where does he live?” I stare him directly in his eyes letting him know how serious I am about this.
“I don’t know, Luke. He got married and disappeared from my life. I let it be. I wasn’t going to interact with him ever again. Ender and Connor wouldn’t have let me if I tried.”
“Where does he work?”
“Luke, please.” Kaden rests his forehead against mine.
I don’t want to give in. Tyler is not going to get away with any of this, but I also don’t want to upset and worry Kaden.
“We’re changing your phone number, today. I won’t bend on that.” I compromise, at least through his eyes.
He kisses me softly, “Thank you for wanting to protect me.”
“There’s no ‘wanting’ needed in that sentence. I protect what’s mine.” He doesn’t need to know the lengths I will go to with this, for now.
Fred decides this is the perfect time to interrupt, wedging himself between us but favoring Kaden, of course. He’s all but forgotten me when he is around.
We leave the conversation at that and go about getting ready for work. I know I have a phone call to make once Kaden leaves, though.
Brenda’s Birthday BBQ
I have been indifferent to seeing my parents since G told me they would be here today, until we pull up to Brenda and G’s house for the BBQ. Now my stomach decides to cramp with nervousness. I grab the bottle of wine from the backseat and get out before I have a chance to change my mind.
“You sure you’re okay with this? Brenda and G will understand if it’s too much.” Kaden can sense the tension in my hand when I grasp his for support.
“I’m fine. I don’t want to make a big deal out of this.” He sees right through me, squeezing my hand.
Walking into the backyard Kaden severs our connection, anticipating my parents have already arrived.
“We’re not doing that, ever.” I wrap my hand around his once more, kissing the back of it for reassurance. I know he wants to make this day as easy as possible for me, but I refuse to make him uncomfortable or hide our relationship for them.
“Kaden!” I’ve been shoved to the back burner by G now, as well, as she runs to greet him with that powerful hug of hers.
“I’ve been forgotten already,” I tease her, ready for the snarky comeback.
“I talk to you every other day. You don’t need special treatment.” She finally decides to share the love, practically squeezing the life out of me.
“G, you’ve called Kaden almost every day this week to make sure he was still coming. He spent almost an hour talking to you Monday night.”
“Leave her alone. She can call me as much as she wants. Green doesn’t look good on you, Bug.”
“Great, now I’m being ganged up on. Why am I here again?”
“Maybe to see your parents since it’s so hard to visit them at home.” The deep voice that joins the conversation instantly makes me catch my breath. I still don’t understand why I have that reaction every time I hear my father’s voice.
“Hey, dad. How’s it going?” I offer my hand to him, knowing a hug is never a greeting he partakes in.
“Same as its always been. About to retire in a few months. That’s the bonus to being an officer. Early retirement instead of working your entire life.”
The dig at me not following the family tradition of career choice doesn’t escape me.
“That’s good to hear. I’m glad you’re happy with your career choice, as am I.”
His grimace confirms I hit the mark I aimed for. He glances at Kaden and down to our connected hands. When his eyes return to mine I see exactly what I expected, displeased judgement.
“Hey pop, good to see you.” Jackson’s timing couldn’t have been planned more perfectly. The poor guy still has hope for the affection we’ve never received when he comes between us, attempting to give our father a hug. He gets a friendly tap on the shoulder from him when he turns towards the rest of the party goers behind him, walking away with only a ‘hey son’ in return. Jackson stands silently as he watches his father leave him like he was a stranger on the street. I will never understand how clueless he is to how much emotional damage he has done to us.
“C’mon boys, let’s go find a beer and some food.” G walks arm-in-arm with Jackson and I farther into the backyard. Kaden and Lanie by our sides with unwavering attention on us.
My mother approaches us, giving me a soft hug and peck on the cheek causing me to internally question her motives.
“Hi, mom. Nice to see you.”
“Hello, my boy. Glad you could make it. It’s been too long.” Her half-hearted smile is present.
“And who might this be?” Her question aimed at Kaden makes me brace myself for whatever reaction will come that I will have to avoid to not start trouble at Brenda’s party.
“Mom, this is Kaden, my partner.”
“Oh, I didn’t know you and Gabe took on another partner for the restaurant. When did that happen?” I can tell her feigned ignorance is more of a prompt for me to explain further.
“No, mom. Kaden is my partner, as in a loving, committed personal relationship.”
“Nice to meet you , Kaden.” Her nodding and addressing Kaden doesn’t surprise me. She doesn’t like being perceived as blatantly rude.
“Alright, enough of the pleasantries. Give your aunt a birthday hug and let’s get some grub.” Brenda takes the moment to break up the awkwardness of all that’s occurred.
“Happy Birthday, Brenda.” Kaden embraces Brenda like they’re old friends and I can’t help smiling at his obvious disregard for my parents but lovingly greeting my aunts. I’m not the only one that notices by the looks on some faces around us.
I greet Brenda and clasp my hand around Kaden’s walking to meet with our group of friends that arrived before us, not sparing any more of my attention on my parents. Brenda and G join us in support.
As expected, our friends ignore the exchanges they witnessed and carry on with their conversations as we join in seamlessly. All of these people have become more important to me than I ever thought they would. From our outings at The Garden, to the nights we just sit around one of our apartments, we’ve all grown close over the past couple months. Even moody Ender and I have been getting along well.
The backyard starts to fill up with some of my aunts’ friends. Dakota’s parents showed up at some point without any of us noticing, including Dakota. Maybe because Faith is paying attention to him today and looks like she’s actually enjoying his company instead of the usual tension between them.
“I’m going to get a drink. Do you want another?” Kaden sneaks up on my side, startling me. He had disappeared with Lanie and G a little while ago.
“Hey, babe.” I softly peck his lips. “Yeah, I’ll come with you.” We link hands and head towards the beverage table and coolers.
I tense up a little when I see my uncle standing by the beer cooler talking with someone. I try not to make eye contact, so I don’t have to bother pretending to like talking to him.
“What do you want? Beer, water, or a real drink?” Kaden asks at the same time we hear, “Luke, how’s it going? You haven’t been around in a while,” upon approaching the table.
“Hi, Jack. Nice to see you.” I put on the best fake smile I can stomach making.
“What’s going on up in the city life for you?” Jack eyes Kaden curiously without introducing himself, to which I’m not surprised at all.
“My new restaurant opened last month. It’s doing really well.”
“Yeah, looks like a bunch of new things happening up there, huh?” He looks from Kaden to our hands, then finally looks at me.
The average person would react differently than I feel the need to in this situation. I don’t grant him the reaction he is looking for, or any for that matter. Instead, I pass Kaden’s hand to my free hand and move my other hand to his back. “Let’s get that drink.” Guiding Kaden to the other side of the table without responding to Jack at all. He isn’t worth the time or effort to educate on how awful of a person he is for many reasons. It would fall on deaf ears. I won’t subject Kaden to any of his behavior, either.
We grab our drinks and are able to walk away without Jack bothering us further. “I don’t want to tell you to ignore his bigotry because you may only be experiencing it for the first time today. I don’t want to invalidate anything you’re feeling. Do you need or want to talk about it now or later?” Kaden knows the right things to say, and I couldn’t love him any more than I do in this moment.
“No need. His opinion means nothing to me. Let’s enjoy the rest of the day.”