Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2023 02:59:38 -0500 From: Fang Saito Subject: Cadence - Chapter 28 This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any real people or places is purely coincidental. This story is the property of the author and is protected under copyright laws. The author retains all rights. No reproduction is allowed without the author's consent. Conversations and feedback are appreciated to Greyson B. via email at hokkaidohotel86it@gmail.com. I love hearing from readers. If you enjoy this story, please support the Nifty archives today with a thoughtful donation by visiting https://donate.nifty.org/. This story will contain graphic depictions of sex between males of teen and adult ages (M/m, m/m). If this is an issue for you or the laws where you live, you are obviously in the wrong place. A couple of people wrote to me about the last chapter. I appreciate all the comments, both positive and negative. The story is nearly complete, and I promise that if you stick with it, you will be able to see Cade and his brother off to a good ending to their story. I've been reading a lovely story with some well written characters. https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/highschool/heartbeat/ Give it a try, and then write Don Cornelius and tell him you were sent over from here! Cadence Part 28 Cade stayed quiet through the uncomfortable breakfast. Duncan explained that he had wanted the extra day for them to just hang out together and relax. Cade pretty much ignored most of what he said. He picked at his food for a bit, then without even saying anything, He got up and walked down the hall to get a shower. He took his time cataloging his bruises and other spots he hurt. His ass was sore as hell, but a new examination didn't seem to bring anything like blood this time. When he got back to his room, he skipped right past his dresser and, still only with a towel wrapped around his waist, he knelt down in his closet and dug out some of his older clothes. When he finally made it back to the living room, Cade was wearing boxers with an old pair of sweatpants. Over his tshirt, he was wearing a bulky pullover sweatshirt. He entered the living room where Duncan was sitting on the couch, and instead of joining him, went and sat in a chair near the other end of the couch. Duncan watched the teen come into the room, seeing the way he was dressed, and making note of his body language. "It's pretty obvious you're upset," he said quietly. "We need to talk about this." Cade looked up at Duncan, but didn't say anything. Duncan tried again. "Look, I knew going in that not everything was going to be your cup of tea. But you knew going in that we were going to be doing some kinky shit, right? You did agree to this. To a BDSM session, right?" Cade just stared at him. At first, there was no personality behind the stare, no emotion, no passion. But then something clicked, and suddenly there was a person behind the stare. Then Cade spoke. "Duncan, you mentioned something, but I don't think I understood what you were saying." Duncan seemed encouraged, lighting up a bit that Cade was finally engaging with him. Nodding his encouragement, Cade continued with his question. "Duncan, what's a safe word?" His shoulders slumping a bit, Duncan said, "Yeah, I'm sorry about that, bud." "No, Duncan," he said, a cold anger in his voice, "Tell me, what is a safe word. You can't apologize for something if I don't understand what happened. What is a safe word?" Duncan sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry." Cade started to interject, but Duncan held up his hand to forestall him. "You're right. A safe word is supposed to be a word that the submissive can say that will tell the Dominant person to stop." "What did you tell me I should say as my safe word?" "Cade, I-" Cade nearly shouted, cutting Duncan off. "What safe word did you tell me to say?" Silence reverberated around the quiet living room. Finally, Duncan muttered, "Runaway." "Were you able to read my mind when I was saying `runaway' in my head when I was gagged?" "No, but-" "Did you tell Greg this safe word?" "Look, about that-" Cade stood up, fists at his side. "Did you tell Greg the safe word? Because I know for a fact that I was screaming it by the time he started in on me! You know, when I was yelling for you to save me?" "Look, I-" "Does BDSM automatically mean `sex with lots of people'?" Cade yelled. His hands were turning white from how tight he was squeezing his fists. "Did I misunderstand what I was agreeing to?" "Cade, I-" "Did I ever give you a hint that I was interested in being shared around?" "Now look here." Duncan was getting upset as well, raising his voice to match Cade's yells. "Greg helped me out on your favor with your bully. He did his part!" "You just don't get it!" screeched Cade. "You didn't tell me shit, then expected me to just be good with all of it!" Duncan stopped, the fight going out of his body language. In a more normal tone, he said, "You're right." Cade tried to match the man's more normal tone, but he was obviously having more trouble calming himself. "Right about what?" he asked. "I fucked up," Duncan said. "I made assumptions about what you would be okay with." "Make me believe it," said Cade coldly, quietly. "You walked away while I was calling for you. You ignored me when I was," He yelled the next word, "screaming your so-called safe word. How can I trust you? If you lied to me," Duncan winced at that. "about being allowed to use a safe word, what else have you been lying to me about?" Duncan stared at him. His face was unreadable. Dead. "What's with all the money lately?" Cade asked. "Is it really a promotion at work? Is it a new job? A new girlfriend? Boyfriend?" He looked Duncan in the eye. Standing, he looked down at the sitting man. "What is it?" The silence spread between them, the teen waiting for an answer, the man waiting to make sure the teen was finished speaking. Finally, Duncan said, "It's just a new position at work. A new job title, with a raise and some new benefits. I really like you and your brother. I'm trying to share some of the good fortune." Almost as a whine, Cade asked, "Why did you think it was okay to bring someone else like Greg into this?" Shrugging, Duncan said, "You've started dating that other kid, James. Is this so different?" Cade was shocked, and his face showed it. "How does that even make the remotest sense?" "It did at the time," said Duncan. "Look, it was a mistake. I'm sorry. I apologize. Let me make it up to you." Shaking his head, Cade said, "You're blowing this off too easily. I don't want to talk to you any more right now. Can you please take me over to Nathan's?" "I don't think that's a good idea. I planned the extra day to let you relax and recover, in case there were any issues with something we did last night." Cade just gave him a deadpan stare that said there was obviously an issue. "Fine, I'll call him myself, and see if he can come get me." "Please, Cade. Take today. Relax a bit. I'll make us a nice dinner. I promise, I'll take you over to your friend's house first thing tomorrow. But for now, you need to decompress from everything that happened yesterday." Defeated, Cade sighed, "Fine." Gesturing to the couch next to him, Duncan said, "Come sit with me. I'll help you relax." Cade just wandered off down the hall to his bedroom. Some time later, Cade woke up, in his own bed, but feeling Duncan laying behind him, holding him and stroking his hair. Once he realized where he was, he sat up, looked at Duncan, then got up and left the room. Duncan gave him a few minutes, then went out to find Cade sitting on the couch, scrunched at the far end, his arms crossed. Duncan didn't try to join him on the couch, but sat on the arm instead. "Would you like to go out and get some food? It's almost dinner time." He watched the teen to get a feel for his reaction to the suggestion. "I'm not sure I want to be around people right now," said Cade. "Why don't I cook here, then," Duncan suggested. "Or I can order out?" Cade just shrugged. The rest of the evening went about as well. Cade picked at what Duncan cooked, but considering this was really his first meal of the day, he ended up eating more than he expected to. Later that night, Duncan insisted that Cade join him to sleep in the master bedroom, but he promised they wouldn't have to have sex. To Cade's surprise, Duncan just held him and didn't try to do anything sexy. By the next morning, Cade had bounced back and was excited to be going over to Nathan's. He started a few times to apologize to Duncan for his attitude the day before, but something kept holding him back. Instead he just relaxed and enjoyed the fact that he was going to hang out with his friends and his brother. Jordan called him early, making sure he was still coming over. He had forgotten their purchases from Medieval Times, so Cade packed the whole bag of their stuff, planning to show off the pictures, banners, and everything. "Happy Christmas Adam!" called out Nathan as he opened the front door for Cade. "Get it? Because tomorrow is Christmas Eve, but Adam cums before Eve!" "Nathan!" scolded Mrs. Sendic, trying to cover a laugh. It was Sunday, so no skate parks were open. The Sendic's had made it a family day. They played some games with all six of them, things that everyone could keep up with. After dinner, they all piled into the living room and watched a whole collection of all the animated and stop motion Christmas classics, many of which Cade and Jordan hadn't seen in years. At one point, Cade ended up sitting on the couch between Jordan and Mrs. Sendic. Jordan was laying with his head in his brother's lap, and Cade was cuddling against his friend's mother. After a bit, she thought that Cade was asleep, but then realized that the teen was softly crying. She didn't make any deal out of it at the moment, but looked over at her husband, and when she caught his eye, she nodded her chin at him, implying he was a topic they needed to discuss at some future point. By the end of the movie, Cade was back to normal and no one else was the wiser. Monday. Christmas Eve. All six of them, Nathan, Brian, their parents, Cade, and Jordan, all spent the morning spreading tasks all over the kitchen and dining room, all having fun and egging each other on as they did prep work for that night's dinner. They were planning on a feast even bigger than Thanksgiving. Nathan's grandparents, who lived around two hours away, were coming in at 7. In addition, Simon's stepdad and mom were on the outs, so Simon and his mom were staying for dinner as well. All in all, it was going to be a crowded dinner. Cade and Jordan were both very happy to help any way they could. Lunch was a handful of frozen pizzas, which everyone quickly devoured before the D&D crew started showing up and all the boys migrated downstairs. Nathan had planned a special holiday themed game, where someone suspiciously like the Grinch was running around stealing everyone's festival decorations and feast-time foods. Everyone was having a blast at the game, cutting up and just enjoying the goofiness of the premise. At one point, however, the group was split up and running around, when someone asked where Cade's character was. Simon jokingly said, "Eh, Caliban is probably in the inn, hitting on the `paid entertainment'!" Chaos erupted as Cade yelled and launched himself across the couch at Simon, anger and hatred spewing as his arms flailed everywhere. The only saving grace was that Cade had leaped over Rusty, who had instinctively grabbed the smaller boy around the waist, at first to protect himself from getting hurt, and then when he realized Cade's intentions, to hold him back from attacking Simon. In the process of struggling, the folding table with all the maps, miniatures, dice, and books was knocked over, scattering supplies all over the carpeted floor. Everyone was yelling, trying to talk over one another, each trying to calm someone else down. Cade finally managed to wrestle himself free and half crawling, half running, scampered across the basement to go lock himself in the bathroom. Everyone else sat around, gathering their wits and trying to figure out what had just happened. "What the fuck was that about?" muttered Simon as he looked around at everyone else. He was honestly trying to figure out what he had possibly said or done wrong. "What did I do?" Nathan shook his head, reaching out a fist toward their resident Dwarf. "You're good, man." Simon reached out with his own fist and tapped his DM. Nathan said, "I'll go see what's up." "No," said Jordan. "Let me talk to my brother. You guys can clean up the table." "Cade? Can you unlock the door, please?" asked Jordan as he rapped softly on the bathroom door. He glanced over his shoulder while waiting for a response, ensuring that nobody was giving them too much attention. "Please, Cade? It's just me, Jordan." There was a soft "click", and Jordan was able to open the door. The bathroom light was still off, and he was able to see Cade sitting on the floor by the sink, his back against the wall and his arms wrapped around his knees, which were pulled up to his chest. Jordan shut the door and sat down cross-legged in front of his brother in the dark. Neither of them said anything for a moment. Jordan wasn't sure, but he thought his brother might be crying. Finally, as his eyes were adjusted enough to use the scant light coming in from under the door to see Cade's vague shape, Jordan finally spoke up. "Hey, you know you don't have to talk to me," he said quietly. "But you also know if our situations were reversed, you wouldn't let me out of here until I'd told you exactly what's wrong." "Asshole," muttered Cade, with a bit of a hiccuping laugh. "Yeah, yeah, I got an asshole, and like my opinions, it stinks," chuckled Jordan. He smiled as he got a giggle from his big brother. "Oh," moaned Cade, rubbing his face with his hands. "I'm so embarrassed. I just made an ass of myself. I can't face everybody out there." "They aren't going to care, dude," said Jordan. Then with a grin he said, "Don't you remember? They already know you're a dork!" "Double asshole," came the grinning reply. "But really, are you okay, bro? Did something happen the weekend with Duncan?" asked Jordan. With a laugh, he asked, "Do I need to go kick his ass and straighten him out?" Suddenly Jordan was knocked on his back with Cade landing on top of him. His shoulder smacked the door and he had to catch himself to keep his head from bouncing off the floor. His big brother was laying on top of him, pinning him down and snarling. "You fucking stay away from Duncan!" Cade practically yelled in a stage whisper. "No more jokes about sex with him. No more talking about `paying bills' with him, either about you or me." "Fuck, Cade, you're hurting me!" "If he so much as looks at you funny, you have to tell me!" Neither of them were being very quiet anymore, and before either of them could say anything further, there was banging on the door. Then the door opened a crack, stopped as it bumped into Jordan's shoulder. "I'm sorry," cried Cade in a whisper as he released Jordan. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry." "Ten minute break," called out Nathan from just outside the bathroom door. "Everybody upstairs to get some air and grab drinks." After a few minutes, the door was opened further, and the Dylan brothers came out, blinking at the reintroduction of the lighted basement. Nathan grabbed both of them with arms over their shoulders, and led them back over to one of the couches. The gaming table was back to its typical, chaotic state, but everything was picked up and back in place. "I'm sorry," said Cade once he was seated. "I don't know why I did that." "Are you okay?" asked Nathan. He clearly was not mad, but instead was concerned. "Did something happen this weekend?" "I don't wanna talk about it," muttered Cade. Jordan and Nathan shared a look. "Fine," said Nathan. "I'm sure Rusty and Simon will be okay with you, too. You can say `sorry' if you can, but they'll get over it. But Cade? If this happens again, you're going to have to talk to me or somebody. I can't let my best friend go around fucking people up over a bad joke, yeah?" "Yeah," said Cade, working to gather his emotions back under his control. Then turning to his brother, he said, "I'm really sorry. And you're right. I should tell you. But not now, okay?" Nathan hugged Cade, then left upstairs as he saw his mom poking her head down the stairs. The two brothers hugged it out, and by the time everyone came back downstairs, everyone was ready to jump back into the game. Cade took a second to offer a quick apology to the others, and soon enough the game was back on. Christmas morning was as shiny as a postcard for Cade and Jordan. Among a bunch of clothes and a bunch of other wonderfully useful presents that other kids might collect as daily disposable necessities from normal parents, Cade got a new set of trucks and wheels for his board, and Jordan got a shiny new pair of glowing cat eared headphones. Cade caught the brand name, and if he wasn't mistaken, they ran in excess of $200. He was shocked, but he didn't say anything, so as to not make anybody feel embarrassed. Nathan loved his pewter Dragon that the boys had picked out for him, and Mrs. Sendic laughed at the silly Goblin salt and pepper shakers Jordan had found at the mall. The rest of the holiday vacation was like an extension of Thanksgiving. Cade and Jordan both ate up the attention given to them by the Sendics, and Cade was constantly busy, either hanging out with Nathan, or helping Mrs. Sendic with whatever cooking or housework she happened to be doing. He was so anxious to be helpful that she started teasing him that she was getting too far ahead, and running out of things to keep busy. Nathan had to assure Cade that she was half teasing, and half thanking him, because he was helping her have more free time of her own. Cade was also thrilled to see that Mr. Sendic was just as involved as Nathan's mom with laundry, cleaning, and various other chores. She just always playfully bullied him out of the kitchen every time her husband tried entering "her domain". However, true to his word, the day before New Year's Eve, Cade was woken up by Nathan and, once breakfast was out of the way, he dragged Jordan and Cade downstairs, locking the basement door. "Time to spill, my guy," said Nathan in a serious tone. Jordan had a look on his face that said he knew what was going on. "What?" exclaimed Cade, looking between the two. "Why? What did I do?" "Cade, my guy, you've gotta talk." "But why? I didn't have an outburst. I haven't done anything!" Nathan looked away like he was embarrassed. Maybe it was secondhand embarrassment. Jordan sighed, then looked up at his brother, sitting on the couch next to him. "Dude, you're freaking out about something," Jordan said. "You may not be jumping Simon in any more games, but... um..." "But what?" said Cade, confused. "Bro..." muttered Jordan. He looked at Nathan, who nodded without looking at Cade. "Dude, you were sucking your thumb this morning in your sleep," blurted out Jordan, as if getting the words out as fast as he could. Cade stared back and forth between the two, trying to figure out if they were playing a prank. Nathan wouldn't make eye contact, but he nodded. Cade looked down at his right hand, paying close attention to his thumb. Was he really that close to cracking up? He sighed, and without trying to make eye contact, he started telling them about his night at the cabin. He didn't give a lot of details, but he filled them in on the really bad stuff, including Duncan's seeming dismissal of events the next day.