37. Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Jamie
M y top rides up, leaving my abs to scrape against the hardwood floor as I stretch my arm further under the sofa. Beside me, Ford mimics my position.
“Don’t you even think about it,” I warn the cat. “He’s going to kill me if you kill Basil, so back off.”
Fur brushes my fingertips and I lunge forward as best I can in this position, my hand opening but only finding air.
“Fuck.”
The front door opens and closes and I sit back on my knees.
“What are you doing?” Caiden asks as he enters the lounge, still dressed in his work clothes, and giving me a once over. “I thought you’d be ready by now. We need to leave in less than an hour.”
Ford tries to shimmy under the sofa, but thankfully, he can’t fit. I bat him away with an open hand, ignoring the way Caiden’s staring at me questioningly.
“Jay, what are you doing on the floor?”
When my eyes meet his, I’m certain he can see the guilt in them.
“Don’t panic, but I took Basil out of his cage and he got away. The fucker is under here and I can’t get him out and your cat is determined to make the demon rodent his next meal.”
I flop down again and start fishing around under the sofa. “Way to end the year, by killing your pet,” I mumble, growing frustrated when I can’t get a hold on Basil.
Caiden joins me on the floor. “He bit you didn’t he?” he asks, pushing the sofa backwards. Basil darts across the floor and all three of us shoot towards him, but he hides under the TV cabinet.
“Yes, he fucking bit me again. I have no idea why he hates me.”
Catching movement out of the corner of my eye, I dart left and the same time Caiden does and we end up in a heap on the floor, my body splayed over his.
“Hi,” I say, looking into his mesmerising blue eyes.
“Hi,” he says back.
“Missed you today.” I lean down and press our lips together, momentarily forgetting why I’m on the floor in the first place. Caiden had a project to complete once we got back from our folks, and has worked every day between Boxing Day and today. Thankfully he has some time off at the start of the new year. “I’m sorry I lost your hamster.”
He smiles, and even though he does it often now, it steals my breath every time.
“We’ll catch him. It’s not the first time he’s escaped.”
Just then, Basil makes a brave attempt at crossing the lounge right in front of me. I dive forward, my knee catching Caiden in the side as I do. He curses, and I end up face first with one arm outstretched and the other bracing on the floor.
“He’s so bloody fast! You should have rescued a tortoise.” I eye Caiden, who’s lip twists into a smirk. “Do not even think about it, we are not having any more of your strays, and certainly not a reptile.”
Caiden climbs onto my back like a spider monkey, wrapping his arms around my neck. “If I ask nicely, you’d be powerless to say no.”
I flip him over, and he hits the ground with a hmph and a carefree laugh that seeps into my soul.
“You know I’m right. You’d do anything for me.” He makes a play at batting his eyelashes and I dart forward and bite his cheek. Seeing him this happy is like winning the lotto. He makes me feel like the luckiest guy in the world.
“You’re not wrong, Mr Carrington. Use it against me if you will.”
He laughs again before turning serious. “We really are going to be late if we don’t start getting ready.”
After a few more futile attempts, I rest my head on the floor, huffing like I’ve returned from a run, sweat sticking my shirt to my back. Ford has been locked in our bedroom - having been no help at all - and Caiden has popped to the kitchen, returning with a takeaway container and piece of cheese.
“Last attempt.” He lifts both items up and shows them to me. I take the cheese and he takes the tub, and together, we coax the demon out from under the sofa, his whiskers working frantically as he cautiously follows the cheese I’m dragging along the floor. As Basil grabs for the bait, Caiden acts fast, trapping him and then lifting him up and depositing him safely in his cage.
Walking over to me, Caiden says, “Hit the shower then get dressed, we need to go.” His lips brush mine, sending a bolt of electric hunger through my body. My body is hot, and not just from rolling around the floor. His is just as warm and I have this desire to feel his naked skin against mine.
“Five minutes,” I say, my hand lifting the hem of his hoodie and skimming the dips and grooves of his stomach. Caiden sucks in a breath when my fingers skim below the waistband of his jeans. “That’s all I’ll need, promise.” My lips find the fluttering pulse in his neck and I pepper it with kisses and pop the button on his jeans at the same time.
He shakes his head. “Nothing is ever five minutes with you. If we’re late for Darius’s party, he won’t let us forget it.” He kisses me with a closed mouth. “Get,” another kiss, “ready.”
“You’re no fun,” I say, walking backwards out of the room, keeping an eye on him. Caiden smirks and follows me, teasingly stripping out of his clothing as he does and leaving a trail of them along the corridor.
By the time he’s down to a pair of black boxers, my cock is hard and we’ve reached the bathroom. I strip off my clothes until I’m completely naked and standing in front of my boyfriend.
“Three minutes,” I beg.
Caiden says nothing, just bites his bottom lip, removes his boxers and starts the shower. He climbs in wordlessly and I take a second to watch him.
Water cascades down his toned muscles, over his plump ass and down his calves. He adds shampoo to his hair, lathers it and then turns around to give me a full view of his hard cock nestled in dark, wet, pubic hair.
He’s gorgeous. Beautiful. Equal amounts arrogant and modest, a combination of soft curves and jagged edges, gentle touches and fierce kisses. He’s my favourite song - the melody that stirs my heart and the rhythm that pulses in my blood.
Opening the shower door, I step inside and push him against the wall. “One minute,” I say, lining my cock up against his and circling them both with my hand.
“Oh,” he gasps when I start stroking us together. His hips twitch and he moves in time with me, fucking into the tight hold I have on us.
With my free hand, I dribble body wash between us, making our movements slick.
“I’d rather turn this water off and make you dirty,” I groan into his ear, my free hand skimming over his lower back. His hands find my hips and dig in, using me to anchor us. Letting go of our cocks, I pull Caiden firmly against me, trapping our dicks against each other as we grind them together. “I want to cover you in my cum and make you wear it all night.” Tingles of bliss start in my toes, working up my limbs and along my spine.
Caiden throws his head back, water spraying into his face as his hold on me tightens and he erupts, thick ropes of cum hitting my cock and stomach before being swiftly washed away. My stomach tightens and I slam my eyes closed as he leans in and whispers, “Come.” I make an unintelligible sound as pleasure shoots out of me, obeying his command.
I kiss him simply because I can, then rinse us both before turning off the shower.
“That was longer than five minutes.” He grins while he dries his hair. “If we’re late, I’m blaming you.”
I pat down my body then wrap the towel around my waist. “Totally worth it.”
“This place is…wow…I don’t even have words for it.” I look around the ballroom we’ve stepped into, completely taken aback that it’s part of Darius’s house. The room is grand with dark wood floors, black walls and deep red velvet drapes. Large windows look out onto a well lit, rolling lawn and pool. On one end, a stage has been set up, a mic and piano and drums sit on top of it and to one side, a DJ perches on a stool, behind a turntable and laptop. “He has a ballroom in his actual house. It’s like something out of the movies.”
Caiden, looking fucking sensational in all black - shirt, tie, and three piece suit - shrugs. “I told you his family is rich.”
“Yeah, but there’s wealthy and then there’s ‘ballroom off the side of the dining room’ wealthy.” I close my mouth, afraid that I’ve been gawking at all the finery like a starstruck child.
“It comes with its downsides,” Caiden says, but doesn’t elaborate because Darius walks towards us, dressed fully in white, with a set of feather lined angel wings over his pristine suit. Caiden embraces him and we take turns wishing him happy birthday.
“I thought you weren’t going to make it,” Darius looks between us.
Caiden snorts. “We’re not that late. Jamie lost the hamster, it’s his fault.”
“I don’t know what that’s a euphemism for but I’m glad you’re here. You both look stunning.” Darius looks us over from top to toe. I peer down at my navy blue suit and white shirt, appreciating that yeah, we do look good. Especially together.
“This is supposedly my party,” Darius says. “But I barely know anyone, thanks to my dad. I’m sure he’s trying to set me up with someone here too.” He pushes up onto his tiptoes and scans the crowd, his eyes snapping to the door to our right. A slow smile grows on his face and his sparkly blush covered cheeks turn a bright shade of crimson.
“If you run into my dad, which I doubt will happen because he no doubt has somewhere else to be, Oliver is here as your friend, okay?” Darius says all of this to us, while his attention is somewhere behind us.
Caiden and I both turn in time to see Oliver approaching, dressed in red and black and donning a pair of plastic devil horns on top of his head.
“You haven’t told your dad about him?” Caiden asks.
Darius shakes his head. “He’d never approve.”
Oliver ignores us, sweeping Darius off his feet into a tight hug. “Hi angel, happy birthday,” Oliver says, loud enough for us to hear.
When Oliver finally remembers they’re not alone, he turns around and greets us, his body still turned as if drawn to Darius.
“Right, here’s the details for tonight,” Darius says, clapping his hands together. “Buffet and bar are in the annex over there.” He points to a door on the far side of the room. “There’s a casino set up in the parlor room down the hall - it’s using real money so go carefully - and later there’ll be a band and karaoke. And at midnight, that ball -” We all look up at a giant disco ball hanging above our heads. “-will deposit sparkly streamers over all of us. Oh and there’s a champagne fountain.”
“You thought of everything,” I muse.
“My dad goes all out for his only child.” There’s something in the way his words come out and the set line of his lips that shroud the comment in sadness. I’ll try to remember to ask Caiden about it another time.
“If you’ll excuse us for a moment,” Darius takes Oliver’s hand then looks around before continuing. “We need to um..talk about…something,” he flails, the flush spreading to his neck.
Caiden pats his friend on the back and we watch as the two of them disappear through the crowd, Oliver’s hand on Darius’s lower back.
“Are you okay with this?” I ask Caiden, tipping my head in the couple’s direction.
He turns and slides his hands onto my waist. “Surprisingly, yeah. It’s weird in some ways, but Darius deserves to be happy and who am I to judge?”
Wrapping my arms around his back, I nudge Caiden closer and sway us towards the dancefloor.
“So, karaoke?” I raise an eyebrow.
“No.”
Our hold on each other tightens as we move through the crowd of dancing bodies.
“We could do a duet.”
“Definitely not,” he grumbles, giving me a glimpse of the grumpy man I fell in love with.
“But you’ll dance with me?”
“If I have to.” Caiden’s lips settle into a smile when I kiss his forehead then spin him around in time with the music.
We spend the next few hours dancing, drinking and having a really good time while simultaneously hanging out with Darius and Oliver. Caiden and I avoid Oliver as best as we can, but it’s hard to completely ignore him when he’s following Darius around like a lost puppy.
I’m sweaty and exhausted, and ready to find somewhere to sit, when Darius climbs onto the stage. We sing happy birthday - everyone in the crowd getting involved and cheering once the song is over. Darius takes a bow like he's royalty before taking the mic and thanking everyone for spending their New Year’s Eve celebrating with him.
He leaves the stage and someone starts the karaoke. The crowd gets involved - I’m thrilled by the enthusiasm - and even Darius takes a turn, belting out two songs, reading from the large screen set to one side. He disappears after that and a group of girls about our age get on stage, laughing more than singing.
It’s the most fun I’ve had out in a long time, and while I listen and sing along, I keep my arms wrapped around Caiden. It feels right. Perfect.
“I want to hold you for the rest of my life,” I say into his ear. I want to touch him and kiss him, to cook for him and laugh with him and tell him bad jokes for as long as I can. His head whips around, his eyes wide and sparkling thanks to the disco ball.
Caiden’s mouth opens but he doesn’t get anything out before Darius is back with us, his cheeks flushed and a hickey blossoming in a dark shade of purple on his neck. Caiden’s eyes don’t look away from me and I feel it - this is the moment.
I drop my hold on him and address Darius. “Watch my boyfriend for me.” Then dash off before either of them can say anything.
There’s only a few people ahead of me in the line, but by the time I take my turn on stage, my body is humming with nerves. It’s been years since I stood in front of a crowd and never one this big, but that’s not why.
With mic in hand, I find Caiden in the crowd. When he notices me, he pushes forward, dragging Darius behind him, until he’s right at the foot of it. I focus only on him as the background music for Crack The Shutters by Snow Patrol starts. I don’t need the lyrics - I know them off by heart because it’s one of Caiden’s favourites. Each word I sing is just for him, the crowd completely forgotten. It’s too dark to read the expression on his face, but I get a glimpse of a smile when the disco ball casts a light across it. We don’t take our eyes off each other for the entirety of the song.
As the words pour out of me, I see it in bright, beautiful technicolour. Our future. The one we’ve both been too afraid to speak about out loud. The one we deserve because love isn’t finite and we both have so much of it to give each other. This is us living, this is us taking back what fate stole. This is us. Jamie and Caiden.
Before the song is even finished, I jump off the stage and find him, taking his cheeks in my hands, my thumbs gently caressing his jaw.
“I love you.”
Caiden’s eyes go glossy and he blinks rapidly. Resting one hand on the back of his neck, my fingers threading in his curls, I pull him forward so our foreheads are touching.
“I love you. I can’t promise you forever, because we both know that’s not a promise anyone can make. But I can promise you every breath and every beat of my heart.” My free hand finds his and lifts it, coming to rest over my heart. “It beats for you, Caiden.” Then I move our hands to my ribcage so he can feel the rise and fall of my chest. “For you.”
His hand comes up to my neck, and rests on the back of it, mirroring my hold on him.
“I love you, too. More than I think I could ever express, but I’m going to show you. Every day.”
I didn’t realise it was so close to midnight until the crowd starts counting down.
Ten. Nine. Eight.
I hold Caiden tighter, slotting our legs together.
Seven. Six. Five.
Tipping my head to the side, I hover my lips over his.
Four. Three. Two. One.
I close the gap and kiss him on the stroke of midnight as glittery streamers rain down on us. He kisses me back and we lose the first minute of the new year in each other’s arms and I fall even deeper in love with him as every second passes.