LOGINAiden's POV I woke up the next morning still naked and still lying on top of Macmillan. I quietly rolled off of him and out of bed. I stretched once and went straight into the bathroom. I knew the previous night had left its mark on me, so I chose the bath over a standing shower. I turned on the water and waited for the tub to fill while I sat on the edge.Macmillan entered before the water had risen far. His hands settled around me from behind and he drew me back against him. "Did I hurt you last night? Was I too rough?" He asked slowly and I nodded. He kissed the top of my head and said; "I am so sorry for losing myself, I promise to be considerate next time." "I'm not complaining but I'd like that." I muttered and leaned deep into him. He kissed my hair again.He finished filling the tub for me and guided me into it and made me sit in between his legs, both of his legs on each side of my body.He washed me himself, moving with care and without hurry. When he was done he hel
Aiden's POV The moment we entered the house, Macmillan slammed me against the wall and claimed my mouth in a hard, open kiss that left no room for breath or thought. His body pressed flush to mine, pinning me there with the full weight of him, one hand already fisted in my hair to tilt my head back while the other shoved my shirt up and off in a single rough pull. “Five,” he repeated against my lips, voice low and rough. “Good. That means you still have enough in you to take what I’m about to give you.”He didn’t wait for an answer. His mouth dragged down my throat, teeth scraping, tongue following, until he found the spot just above my collarbone and sucked hard enough to leave mark."Macmillan your parents are just upstairs, stop." I whispered but didn't do much to push him away."I know they are." I muttered.I can't fool myself, I want this, I need this, I crave it so I shut every protest up but not here for sure, the bedroom would be the perfect place.I grabbed him and mutte
Aiden's POVWe managed to finish all the work Orlando's father had given him, but by the time we were finally done, it was around five in the morning. My entire body ached from sitting for so long, and my eyes felt heavy with exhaustion, but there was also a strange sense of satisfaction in knowing that we had actually gotten everything done.Not long after we finished, Orlando's father called to ask where he was. Orlando told him that he had gone somewhere peaceful and quiet to get the work done because being at home had been making it difficult for him to concentrate. It was strange to know that they took this long to find out that he was gone. I pulled Orlando into a hug, wrapping my arms tightly around him. His body relaxed against mine, and I could feel how much lighter he seemed after finally saying everything he had been keeping bottled up away from his friends."You did well sharing how you feel," I whispered into his ear before pulling back just enough to press a firm kiss a
Orlando's POV The remaining paperwork was heavier than it looked. I carried it to the restaurant where we'd agreed to meet, I dragged all the way to the car and since my parents weren't home, I was happy.Macmillan, Jordan, and Aiden were already at the table when I arrived. They'd claimed the corner booth, the one with enough room to spread out papers without a waiter complaining. I dropped the stack in the middle and took my seat across from them."That's all of it?" Jordan asked, already reaching for the first folder."That's all of it," I said. "Have fun."They split the work between them without much discussion. Macmillan took the financial summaries, Jordan went for the historical records, and Aiden started in on the correspondence, the pen in his hand moving steady and neat across his notebook as he wrote out summaries. I had my own section, technically, but my mind wasn't in it. I kept turning pages without reading them, watching the three of them work instead.I knew it wa
After Aiden and Macmillan left, the house settled into a silence that felt almost staged. The front door had barely clicked shut behind them before the air inside thickened, I knew what was coming next so I braced myself.My phone buzzed against my palm, it was a message from my mother telling me to come to my father's study.“Orlando.” Her voice was clipped, “Why were Aiden and that Macmillan boy here?”I leaned my shoulder against the wall, eyes on the door because it was my only way out. “They were worried. I hadn’t answered their texts for a while. They’re my friends too. They decided to come check on me.”“Friends don’t arrive unannounced and talk in corners. What were you discussing with Aiden in private?” my father asked.The question landed exactly where it was meant to. I could still feel the pressure of the earlier conversation, Aiden’s careful wording, the way he’d watched my face like he was measuring how much truth I was willing to give. I kept my own voice even.“Not
**Aiden's POV**The next day, Macmillan and I set out to find Orlando.Jordan couldn’t come. He was buried under a stack of assignments and taking care of his siblings. “Text me if anything goes sideways,” and left us to it. Macmillan’s father had already done the hard part, tracking down the address through some quiet network of contacts that neither of us asked about. The house sat on a quiet street, locked away in a gate.Macmillan parked a little way down the block. We sat in the car for a moment, neither of us reaching for the door.“You sure about this?” he asked.I nodded. “We need to talk to him. Properly.”He didn’t argue. We got out and walked up the path together. The gate was opened by gatekeeper, after we introduced ourselves and showed him pictures of us with Orlando, he let us.The front door opened before we could knock. Orlando’s mother stood there, smiling the kind of soft, practiced smile that made you want to trust her on sight. She was neatly dressed, with warm
Mysterious Stranger’s POVThe boy was light, carrying him was no sweat. Slender and fragile, just how I like. Once I got him out from under the bar’s neon haze and into the back of the cab. His head lolled against my shoulder the whole ride, breath shallow and uneven, lips parted like he was sti
Aiden's POVI stood in front of the teacher's office, my heart pounding in my chest not because I just ran all the way here but because I was scared.I can't lose my scholarship, I did everything I could to get it because I knew I wouldn't be able to sponsor myself to school and I can't depend on m
Aiden's POV The cold air hitting my face felt like nothing, it wasn't soothing at all, nothing could sooth me at this moment.I wanted to book a cap, and go back to campus not caring about the pricing but I couldn't because there's a boy waiting for me to tutor him.There was a store nearby, I wen
Aiden's POVI have always hated mirrors, they always told the same story, thin shoulders, a narrow chest and messy red hair that refuses to lie flat no matter how much water I use on it. At twenty one, in a school that I never really belong to, I still look like the type of guy teachers asked to c







