Chapter Five
Kaiden and Dylan stood outside of Himbos, waiting on Rus.
While Kaiden did his best to avoid eye contact with folks making their way up and down the busy downtown streets, Dylan held onto a lamppost, casually twirling around it.
There wasn’t a worry on his face as he scrolled through his phone, absentmindedly dangling on the post.
As Kaiden crept further away, he studied his friend.
Always a bit envious of Dylan’s carefree nature.
Dylan finally looked up from his phone, laughing and searching for his friend.
Kaiden stopped in his tracks as he nearly slipped the corner of Himbos club into the alleyway beside the building.
It was the perfect hidden nook to avoid passersby.
“What’re you doing all the way over there?” Dylan cut through a crowd of strangers.
His steps were effortless. There was a gracefulness in the way he weaved between each person, not disrupting their flow or being deterred from his own. When Dylan reached Kaiden, he snatched him by the arm and pulled his friend away from the alleyway.
“For someone who spends so much time perfecting his look, you sure do tend to hide it every time we go out.” Dylan grinned, his goofy expression further illuminated by his big white teeth and devilish, finely trimmed beard.
It was true, Kaiden put a lot of effort into his image. His corset vests were the most expensive part of his wardrobe, and up until recently, he often had to have them taken in or replaced when his sizes changed. But they gave him confidence that he didn’t know how to explain to Dylan.
Unlike Kaiden, Dylan let it all hang out.
His tight stomach and perfect abs were almost always on display in some type of crop top.
In fact, the only time Kaiden had seen him in a full-length shirt was for very formal events like the recent fundraiser or if he spotted Dylan in a work uniform. Even those he’d occasionally modify.
“You’re going to be the envy of every guy here tonight.” Dylan interlinked his arm around Kaiden’s. “In fact, if you’re not careful, I’m going to spend the night cockblocking the hotties coming to sweep you up. Can’t have you ditching me too early.”
Kaiden snorted, rolling his eyes in the process, but allowing himself to be pulled over to the lamppost and overcrowded street.
Kaiden didn’t have a perfect stomach, a perfect body.
In fact, he had the furthest thing from it.
But he’d busted his butt to lose over a hundred pounds and finally take back his life.
He really believed he’d finally feel comfortable in his own skin once he lost the weight.
And most days, he really did, but with such a drastic loss of weight, Kaiden’s skin didn’t shrink with the rest of him.
The corset vests wouldn’t tighten the saggy skin, but they helped give him the waist and illusion he craved.
The look he longed for after years of dieting and exercise.
There weren’t many people who knew Kaiden before the weight loss.
Sure, former classmates, but he didn’t hang out with any of them.
Old co-workers from the ghost of retail past. And, of course, there was his family, but they knew so little about him in general, he doubted they understood the effort he put into his health journey.
Dylan knew Kaiden at his highest and his fittest weight.
The thing that always kept Kaiden close to his friend was how Dylan’s attitude never changed.
He didn’t get nicer the more weight Kaiden lost. Most people weren’t directly rude to him when he was fat, but they did pretend he didn’t exist. Not Dylan, though.
He didn’t see Kaiden in a new light all of a sudden.
It was comforting knowing Dylan always appreciated him, always saw him for who he was, and always knew how to drag his introverted friend out of his shell.
Kaiden was the introvert who desperately craved being an extrovert, whereas Dylan seemed like the extrovert content with the life of an introvert.
Having spent most of his life hiding under baggy clothes and long, unkempt hair, Kaiden now went the extra mile to stand out.
Hair always styled, makeup flawless but not extreme, outfits ridiculously sexy, and even his nails were perfectly polished and on point.
All the same, despite peacocking most days, he shied away from the attention he craved. A true enigma, perhaps.
“Aren’t you looking all snazzy?” a raspy voice called out, drawing Kaiden’s gaze.
Rus approached with a woman.
“This is my friend Daysha.” Rus gestured to the woman beside him.
She wore a white dress, accentuating her dark brown complexion. The dress was tight at the top and flowy at the bottom, cut off at her knees. Daysha had a crimson belt that Kaiden suspected was supposed to match her bright red heels and fingerless gloves.
“Love the look,” Daysha said, eyeing Kaiden up and down.
“Thank you.” He blushed. “Right back at you.”
“Yeah, it’s really cool.” Rus nodded. “I thought that whole thing was for the fundraiser, but it’s really…yeah.”
“I’d ask you to use your words, sweetie,” Daysha said, rolling her eyes so rapidly her lashes fluttered. “But given you’re the last living grunge in the world, we can’t expect much.”
“I was being nice.” Rus’ jaw dropped, and Kaiden couldn’t tell if he was actually offended by Daysha’s comment or if the two were joking.
Rus did look like a slacker, wearing a faded band shirt with bleach stains, tight jeans with frayed rips at the knees and thighs, and aggressively large combat boots. Were his feet actually that big?
“The corset thing is cool,” Rus said, turning to make a face at Daysha, who merely pursed her lips and side-eyed her friend.
“It’s not for everyone,” Kaiden replied, understanding his corset vests received more crinkled expressions of disbelief than smiley faces of flattery, but he loved the confidence that came with wearing one.
Sure, anxiety too, but Kaiden could never shake away the anxiety.
He might as well throw a little confidence in there, too.
They all made their way into the long line of Himbos, paid their cover, and flocked to the bar.
Even by nine, the crowd had swelled, making the wait for drinks chaotic.
Rus ordered a blue motorcycle and seemed to regret it from the first sip, so he grabbed a beer to join the nasty gin cocktail.
Dylan didn’t order since he never drank.
Daysha got a cranberry vodka and ordered a second one before the bartender walked away.
“Whoa.”
“It’s been a week,” she shouted over the music. “The semester just started; it shouldn’t be this stressful.”
“Oh, yeah, for sure.” Kaiden nodded in agreement, not knowing a damn thing about semesters or college coursework or any of that headache.
He turned to grab his vodka water and squeezed a fruity blue raspberry flavored spray into the drink.
He was about to drink his calories tonight and then some.
He also suspected that after a sugary buzz of booze, he’d be convincing Dylan to take him for two-in-the-morning pizza.
So, being sensible, he kept his calorie count safe during the drinks. Hopefully, he’d dance away his deficit.
The group slowly made their way to a couple of free seats, including a couch that Rus leapt onto, securing a space for him and Daysha.
“So, are you two, you know, like an item?” Kaiden asked.
Rus snorted, pointing a thumb at Daysha. “Am I dating her? No.”
“Like I’d date some scrawny, pasty boy with so many anger issues even the drywall punching Kyle’s of the world would be shocked.”
The way she rolled such a convoluted insult out so quickly took Kaiden a moment to piece together. He still didn’t understand the full context, but he laughed with everyone else.
“Like you’d date any boy,” Rus quickly countered.
“True, but come on, if I were going to date a guy, I’d have standards.” Daysha waved a hand, gesturing to all of Rus. “I can do so much better than this tiny tyrant.”
“Not tiny where it counts,” Rus boasted.
“OhMyGod,” Daysha gagged. “You’re giving off small dick energy.”
“Wounded.” Rus clasped his chest and collapsed in his seat, sinking until his knees reached the floor. “I am moderate, I swears.”
The group laughed louder, taken aback by Rus’ pinky measurement as he held both together.
“That’s a snow day in the South.” Rus nodded frantically. “Lots of inches, right?”
Kaiden turned his attention to Daysha, composing himself. “So, you’re a lesbian?”
She shook her head. “Ace.”
“Ace ace baby,” Rus said to the tune of a song. “But she’s also my lavender wife in case the world goes to Hell.”
“More to Hell,” Daysha clarified. “The fire’s bearable right now.”
Kaiden chuckled, enjoying the conversation, and sinking into this seat as he listened to Rus and Daysha go back and forth for another five minutes, lovingly insulting each other.
“I need another drink,” Rus said, guzzling the last of his blue motorcycle. “It shouldn’t be this goddamn abomination, but I think I’m starting to like it.”
“That’s what my folks said about me,” Dylan blurted with a laugh.
“Oh my fucking god, Dylan!” Kaiden roared, cackling at the comment. “You can’t just casually drop trauma as a joke mid-conversation.”
“Is there any other way?” Dylan smirked, goofy and slightly oblivious.
“Oh shit,” Rus said. “Are your parents not cool with…” Rus gestured at Dylan up and down.
“Nope, not even the tiniest,” Dylan replied. “Part of why I’m so involved with Dorothy’s Home.”
“Okay, okay.” Rus nodded. “I gotta ask. Why name it Dorothy’s Home and not Jasmine’s Home? Like, didn’t she found it?”
“You don’t know the story? Okay, I got you.” Dylan leaned forward.
“I’m going to get everyone another round,” Kaiden said, double-checking drink requests before walking away.