Cade didn’t respond right away, but finally, slowly, he nodded, his hair tickling Aiden’s neck.
That was enough. For right then, it was enough.
Chapter Thirty
They didn’thave sex that night. Aiden was already in bed by the time Cade got out of the shower. And Aiden had always liked the way Cade looked when he was wet. But Aiden kept his eyes shut as Cade dried off and pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. It was more clothes than Cade needed in an apartment without air-conditioning in the Indiana summer. More clothes than he usually wore to bed. But Aiden didn’t say anything. He was wearing more clothes than he usually did too, although he hadn’t gone as far as long pants.
But when Cade shuffled toward the bed, Aiden held the sheet up for him and turned on his side, and Cade spooned in right where he was supposed to go. It felt like comfort, if not excitement, and Aiden figured it was the best thing for them that night.
The next morning Cade was already out of bed by the time Aiden woke up. That was hardly unusual, but it was a little disappointing. At least until Aiden caught a whiff of the smells coming from the kitchen. Coffee and baking.
Aiden showered and shaved, then made his way to the kitchen. He stopped in the doorway and stared. “Jesus. Are we having a party? A bake sale?”
“It will all freeze,” Cade said. “We have a good freezer.”
Aiden had never really known there was such a thing as a bad freezer, not until he’d moved in with Cade. He lifted a cookie off the nearest tray and said, “How long have you been up for?”
“We went to bed early,” Cade said defensively. “And I know it was only an hour’s time difference at the cottage, but I think it messed up my internal clock.”
“Did you sleep at all?”
“Yes.”
“You give short answers when you don’t want to tell me stuff,” Aiden observed neutrally. “Or else long answers. Ones with extra information about internal clocks and other bullshit.”
Cade didn’t answer. He just grabbed a mixing bowl full of batter and started pouring it into muffin tins.
“If this wasreallysecret, you wouldn’t have baked so much,” Aiden said. He was pretty sure he was right. “If you absolutely didn’t want me to know you were having trouble sleeping, you would have hidden the evidence.” But where did that leave him? “So you’re okay with me knowing that you didn’t sleep, but now you won’t actually talk to me about why you couldn’t?”
“Sometimes people don’t sleep well,” Cade said.
“Sometimes people who are tense and unhappy have extra trouble with it.” Aiden set the cookie down on the counter and shifted around so he was standing right behind Cade. Not touching. Not yet. But close enough that he bet Cade could feel the warmth of his body. “There’s more to all this than just you and me.” The realizations came to him as he spoke. “There’s you and Warren too. I think you and me are okay, right? I mean, we need to do some talking and whatever, but we’re okay. Right?”
Cade’s nod was almost imperceptible, but it was there. And he’d set down the damn batter bowl and was listening. So maybe Aiden was on the right track.
“You and Warren, then? That’s… yeah. That’d bug me too.”
Cade stared at the wall for a while. Aiden waited. “I hate how I was around him,” Cade finally said. Aiden wished he’d turn around so they could see each other, but maybe it was easier for Cade this way. At least he was talking. “I hate how I was when I was younger, but how I was this time too. I… I hid. Itriedto play his game. I told him he had as much to lose as I did, but he laughed it off. And after that I… fuck! I wish I’d punched him in the face!”
Aiden froze. He wasn’t sure if it was serendipity or whether he’d be making things worse by pointing it out. But he decided to give it a try. “Well, as it happens…,” he said cautiously, and he stretched his right hand out in front of Cade, showing him the cuts on two of his knuckles. “I might have taken care of that for you.”
Cade grabbed Aiden’s hand as if needing to see the evidence, then spun around and stared at him. “Seriously?” he demanded.
“He was talking some shit. So I hit him. Hard as I could, right in the mouth. He didn’t spit any teeth out, but I bet some of them are loose at least.”
“Are you lying to me? Did he fall down? Shit, he didn’t hityou, did he?” Cade anxiously scanned Aiden’s body, looking for damage.
“My dad got between us. Actually, myparentsgot between us.” Aiden waited for Cade to make the connections in his mind.
“Your parents know,” Cade said finally. His excitement about the punch had clearly drained away. “Warren was talking shit in front of your parents. He said something bad enough to make you hit him. So your parents know all of it?”
“I didn’t tell them any extra, but, yeah. They put the pieces together.”
Cade swallowed hard. “Okay,” he said. His grin was a little wan, but he held on to it. “Not like your mom liked me anyhow. Too bad about your dad, though.”
“It’s none of their business. And they might surprise you. They might be a bit more understanding than you think.”
“Yeah,” Cade said doubtfully.
