I willnotlook at those pictures. If I never set eyes on this guy, it’ll make me a happy man. Hopefully, he leaves faster than he arrived in Kaden’s life.
“Did he send you dick pics? Please tell me he did and share them with your friends.”
“Please don’t.” I’ve never wanted to tell Connor to shut up so much before in our almost two decades of friendship.
“No, he hasn’t, and I wouldn’t show you even if he did.”
Thank goodness for that. I need to shut them out for my own well-being; this conversation is killing me. I can’t take listening to Kaden showing interest in another straight guy. I’ve finally let my feelings for him go. Still, every now and then when my thoughts go to a dark place, I wish it was me he was choosing to love—to not feel lonely for even a moment.
“Oh, okay. I get it now. I couldn’t turn down anything that man offered me, either. He’s hot. I bet he has a huge dick, doesn’t he? Can we share him?”
For fuck’s sake. Obviously, the guy is good-looking. Connor has good taste, so I’m confident he’s beyond hot.
“No. Stay away from him, you manwhore.” Kaden’s not wrong about that—Connor sometimes has more sexual partners in aweek than there are Mondays in a month. More often than not, it’s more than one at a time. To each their own, though.
“Don’t slut-shame me! When I find someone who measures up to my expectations, I’ll be monogamous. I refuse to settle for the bare minimum. Until then, the world is my playground.”
Kaden getting an incoming text message saves me from this agonizing conversation. I should go for a drive. Listening to music and driving aimlessly has to be better than this, right?
“You guys are still coming to The Garden for Lanie’s birthday, right?” Whoever is texting Kaden is asking about our plans in a couple of weeks with his sister, Lanie. Great, it’s most likely his boyfriend, and they’re going to force me to be in the presence of this guy and watch him fuck with Kaden’s heart like the last one.
“Of course, wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Connor never misses a chance to go out.
“Who will be there?” I hate to ask, but I need to prepare myself.
“Just us, Jackson, and probably his cousin, Dakota. Not sure anyone else will be there.”
Jackson is Lanie’s boyfriend, who also happens to be Luke’s younger brother.
“Your boyfriend isn’t coming?” Kaden’s face twists a little at my question.
“He’s not my boyfriend, and he hasn’t said anything about it, so I assume not. Plus, he’s super busy with the restaurant, so I doubt it.”
“Fine, I’ll go.” Maybe it won’t be such a bad time after all.
Kaden responds back to whoever is on the other end of those messages. Connor tells us all about how hot his date for tomorrow night is and what his plans are for him—and I’m not talking about their public part of the date. Connor is not a shy person; he shares everything and anything without caring what people will think of his sexcapades. It’s something I admireabout him, but I also don’t want to hear about every detail right down to the size and taste of each man he’s ever been with.
I’m not saying I’m a prude—I enjoy sex and everything that goes along with it, but my experience in that department is far less than my friends think it is. I’ve only had sex with two other guys, aside from the short period of time Kaden and I messed around with each other. The first one took my virginity in college, and I picked up the second guy in one of the few gay clubs in the city, when I tried going by myself to forget about Kaden. Both encounters turned out to be awkward and barely enjoyable situations—for me at least.
“Are you guys even listening to me?” Connor whines, and I realize I haven’t been paying attention to his story time.
“No,” Kaden and I admit in sync. Both of us laugh while Connor huffs and runs off to the kitchen.
“You okay over there?” Kaden asks. He’s always checking in on me. It’s what’s made loving him that much harder for me—knowing he cares so much, just not in the way I wanted him to.
“I’m good. Just thinking.” I sat up, facing him, only to regret seeing those eyes—a big part of what kept me drawn to him all those years. He sees right through me every time.
“You say that like it’s something new. What’s got your wheels spinning at the moment?”
Point made. I choose my words carefully. “This guy you’re hanging out with—he’s straight?”
“He was, I guess, but that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.”
The images running through my head make me want a lobotomy ASAP.
“What’s he like?” I’m not sure why I’m digging into getting more information about this guy, but I have to know.
“Completely different than you would think looking at him.”
