All Trae wants is Hector, but Hector is dating Kaden.
When Trae Naylor was nine, he met Hector Cyr, and ever since, he’s wanted to be by his side. The problem is that for the last two years, Hector has been dating Kaden effing King. A complete idiot who doesn’t deserve him.
On Hector’s birthday, Trae leaves the conference he’s attending early to be able to steal him away for a few moments, but would it be wrong of him if he never returned him?
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Contemporary Gay Romance: 4,845 words
Excerpt:
Trae Naylor leaned forward over the steering wheel and did his best to stretch his back. He’d been driving for over four hours without break, and his body was protesting. He didn’t care. He had to get back to Landown before it was too late.
Had to see Hector, if only for a few seconds.
It was Hector’s birthday, and they always spent it together. Or had until recent, unfortunate events.
They’d been best friends since Hector had moved to town when they’d been nine. He’d been a scrawny kid, and his dark eyes had bounced around every room he entered as if he suspected a monster would jump out of the walls at any time.
Trae had wanted to hug him.
It hadn’t stopped. He still wanted to hug him.
They’d hung out almost every day since the first time Hector entered the classroom, and Trae didn’t think he could function without him. These last couple of years, he’d been forced to. They’d had periods before when school or work had forced them apart, but then they’d spent hours on the phone every day to make up for the physical distance.
It had stopped when Hector met Kaden King.
Alliterations in names was a huge red flag, and Trae was shocked Hector didn’t know.
He blamed himself. He’d been away when it happened. Teagan, his sister, had slipped on the ice and broken her leg, so he’d taken time off work to help with the kids, but she lived in Hartley, so he hadn’t been able to see Hector.
Instead of the visits Trae had counted on, Hector had hooked up with Kaden fucking King, and ever since then—going on two years now—Trae had tried to come up with ways to kill someone without getting caught and without making Hector sad.
The last thing he wanted was to make Hector sad. That was Kaden’s job. And a great job he did. Fucker.
Trae wanted to grab Hector’s shoulders and shake him until the scrambled pieces in his brain fell back into place. The Hector he knew was cautious, but not to the point of trembling at the risk of making a mistake. He double-checked things, but he didn’t fifteen-check them. He dressed to blend in, not to be invisible.
Kaden fucking King had turned the brilliant treasure that was Hector Cyr into a quivering ghost, and Trae was powerless.
Every time he tried to talk to Hector about it, he made excuses. Claiming Trae imagined things, insisted Kaden was stressed about work, swore he’d forgotten to cancel the date he and Hector was going on and hadn’t meant to leave him waiting at the table at the restaurant. And so on.
If Trae squinted, he believed he’d be able to make out the invisible claws Kaden had buried in Hector’s brain.
Sometimes he’d get Hector to admit things weren’t great, but he was loyal to a fault, and he’d write it off as a rough patch in the relationship.
All relationships had their ups and downs, but they shouldn’t be as much work as theirs was.
Hector gave and gave and gave, and Kaden sometimes dropped a breadcrumb of affection. Watching Hector treat the dried-up, discarded scrap like a treasure twisted something inside Trae.
He wanted Hector. Wanted to make him his. And he’d never ever make him doubt his worth. Fucking Kaden.
Trae growled in the dark of the car and signaled to turn off the highway toward Landown. Only a few more minutes. He glanced at the clock. He’d have time to swing by his apartment and change clothes. He liked the suit he wore, but he was more of a jeans and T-shirt kind of guy.
His boss would be pissed about him leaving the conference early, but he didn’t care. Hector’s birthday was more important.
He took another turn as his phone rang. Hector. A glance in the rearview mirror showed a car in the distance. He flicked on the indicator and turned out on the shoulder of the road and accepted the call.
“Happy birthday!”
“Oh… eh… thanks.” His voice was off, and Trae instantly went on alert.
“What’s up?”
“I’m… eh… Can I borrow some money?”
Trae wasn’t sure he heard him correctly. They weren’t rich, neither of them, but they weren’t on the brink of starving either. Since they’d finished school, there had always been room for emergencies in Hector’s budget.
When Trae didn’t reply, Hector hurried along. His words coming so fast, Trae had to concentrate to make them out. It didn’t help when he spoke in a whisper that got eaten by the background noise. “It’s okay if you can’t. I might be able to get an invoice or something.”
“What’s going on?”
Hector sighed. “I’m at The Harbour. I took a cab here, and now I don’t have enough to pay for the food.”
Trae ground his teeth but turned back out on the road again. Hopefully, he wouldn’t come across any cops.
He checked his mirrors and used his elbow to steer as he shifted gears. “What about Kaden?”
Silence.
Trae checked the phone to make sure the call hadn’t cut off.
“Ugh, this is so humiliating. The waitress walked past my table again. It’s the third time in like two minutes.”
“Where is Kaden?” He stepped on the gas pedal a little harder.
Hector sighed. “He booked the table, said he wanted to take me out for my birthday. Do something nice, you know.”
“Mhm.”
“Then earlier today, he texted and said he’d be late, so could I get there on my own.” Silence followed. Hector didn’t have a driver’s license and lived outside of town in the opposite direction of the harbor.
“And?”
Another deep breath. “And I took a cab.”
“Okay.”
“I assumed he’d drive me home… or we’d walk to his place.”
Trae nodded and steered toward town. Kaden had an apartment right in the middle of Landown. He’d drive past it on his way to the restaurant.
He made a sound to get Hector to continue.
“When I’d waited for forty-five minutes, the waitress said I had to either order or leave since there were others who wanted the table after us.”
Trae winced. He’d waited for the dickhead for forty-five fucking minutes. “And now you need money for a cab back home?”
“No. Or yeah, I guess, but I ordered.”
“You ordered?”
“I was sure he was gonna show. I called several times, but he either sent it to voice mail or I’d get one of those default texts saying he’d call me later.”
Trae’s hold on the phone tightened.
“But now they’re making me leave, and I have to pay for the food. And I had a glass of wine while I was waiting.”
Trae was too pissed to come up with anything to say.
“Trae?” Hector’s voice broke on the one word.
“I’m here, I’m here, babe.” He winced. They didn’t call each other babe or any other endearments.
“You’ll send some money? I know you’re busy at the conference, but I’m so glad you picked up.”
Trae snarled silently before forcing his voice into a calm tone. “I’ll always pick up.”
“Yeah, or call back. But I’m glad you were able to right away. I think they’re gonna call the cops soon.”
“Where has your money gone?”
He could sense Hector flinch over the phone. “It’s a… eh… I was gonna tell you.”
Ice filled his veins. “You were going to tell me what?” He should hang up now. The traffic was thickening, and he needed to focus.
“I’ve terminated my lease. I’m gonna move in with Kaden before the start of next month. Moving is expensive, and Kaden needed to borrow some money, and… I get paid in two days. I’ll pay you back, you know I will.” There was a thread of desperation in his voice now.
Trae couldn’t breathe. Move in with Kaden fucking King?
“I need to hang up.”
“Trae—”
“I’ll call you back in a minute.”
He was silent for a couple of seconds. “Okay. Hurry. I’d prefer it if I can get out of here before I’m escorted off the premises by some homophobic officer.”
“Don’t worry.” Then he ended the call without saying goodbye. Blowing out a breath, he dropped the phone on his lap and rubbed his neck. Fucking hell.
Ofelia Grand 