Date: Sat, 16 Jul 2022 04:12:20 -0500
From: Fang Saito <hokkaidohotel86it@gmail.com>
Subject: Cadence - Chapter 9

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
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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. Also, this is a story with
plot, not merely wank material. You have been warned.

I have begun posting a new story in the Gay / high school section, called A
Ghost Finds a Body. Feel free to check it out.


Cadence

Part 9

	The next day nice and sunny, but with the time of year, not
hot. Perfect skating weather. Cade was ready to hit the rails. So it sucked
when Nathan suggested they stay in for the day.

	"Why can't we go skate?" asked Cade. "It's perfect outside!"

	"Come on, man," said Nathan. "Let's just stay in this once."

	"Well can I go skate then? You can hang out here with Simon,
right?"

	"Dude, for real?" said Nathan. "What's wrong with hanging out
here?"

	"Fine."

	Simon looked back and forth between the other two. "Is this because
I don't skate? For real, I can just watch you guys."

	"No," said Nathan, looking pointedly at Cade. "We can find plenty
of stuff to do together. What's wrong with skating next week, Cade?"

	"Nothing, I guess," said Cade.

	He was trying not to sulk. He really was. But after than
conversation the night before, he felt like Simon owed him. Except he
really had no way to bring that up without being the asshole. Especially
since he had promised Simon that he would keep it between the two of
them. Nathan had come back down soon after they had dropped the joking, but
Cade was still bothered by it. More than he thought he should have
been. Nathan had tried to get Cade's attention subtly, most likely to see
if they had talked, but Cade had brushed him off, implying they would talk
the next day. Now it was looking like they would not be talking one on one
today.

	In addition, regardless of what Simon had said about the matter
being dropped, Cade was still getting some weird vibes as they got ready to
sleep. Enough that he had gone into the bathroom to change into his sleep
pants, and had left a shirt on to sleep. Nathan had raised an eye at this,
but Cade played it off. Simon had no idea that anything was off, not
knowing that Cade had a hard time sleeping when wearing a shirt. But Simon
was still making Cade feel weird with some of the looks he was giving
Cade. Almost like Simon was sizing him up, regardless of his protestations
about not being gay.

	"Alright," said Nathan. "Maybe we can compromise. Get out of the
house for a bit? We can always go check out the mall."

	"Sounds excellent to me," said Simon. "I've got some extra bribe
money. I'll treat for lunch." He socked Cade lightly on the shoulder. "That
should make up for screwing up your skating, right?"

	"Yeah," said Cade in a deadpan. "Sure. Let's go to the mall." He
looked over at Nathan. "Just the three of us? Or are the tater tots tagging
along?"

	Cade loved Jordan. He really did. But Saturdays were his one day he
didn't have to be a big brother. Or honestly, the one day he didn't have to
be Jordan's parent. It didn't bother him necessarily if Jordan and Brian
tagged along on their outings to the skate park or wherever they went. But
it was also nice when he got to have an afternoon he didn't have to keep up
with his brother.

	"I don't know. I haven't checked with them." Nathan looked at Cade
with a not so subtle look. "Unless you have a preference?"

	"Let me go check with them," said Cade, which pretty much let
Nathan know he was looking for some time without the younger brothers.

	Nathan nodded, then turned away and grabbed Simon by the shoulder,
prompting him to help Nathan tidy up the basement. Cade had barely made it
to the top of the stairs when he heard Simon yell out, "Nothing!" His
curiosity getting the best of him, Cade carefully shut the door and crept
back down to the basement landing, the furthest down he could get without
being seen. He could hear Nathan and Simon talking, most of it any way, and
could tell by his tone that Nathan was annoyed.

	"What do you mean, 'nothing'? I left you two alone for barely half
an hour, and Cade spent half the night acting upset, and now he's shutting
down today."

	"Why are you so worried about Cade for?" asked Simon. "And why is
it my fault if he's having a bad day? Why's it even your fault?"

	"That's not my place to say. I'll tell you the same thing I told
him yesterday. If you want to know something about somebody, ask them
yourself."

	"So he did try to talk to you about me?"

	"He asked why you were spending the weekend over here, yeah. I
didn't get into it. I didn't even imply there was a problem. But he's
smart. He saw a pattern and deduced something was off." Nathan laughed. "If
he can walk through the toughest puzzles I set up for you guys in the game,
do you honestly think he wouldn't be at least a little curious about
something as unusual as you staying over?

	"Like I'm not welcome or something?"

	"Quite the opposite. I've invited you dozens of times. You and
Rusty both. You always decline. And no, he wasn't worried that you were
over here. He was worried that something bad bad happened to you. He was
worried about you."

	It was quiet for a moment, with the rustling of clothes and various
items being picked up, and Just as Cade had decided the conversation was
nothing, and done, Nathan spoke again.

	"I'm taking my own advice here, my guy. I want to know something
about somebody, and I'm asking them directly. What happened with you and
Cade last night?"

	"I misread a situation." Simon was doing that weird thing where you
try to yell, but at a whisper. "But I swear, we're cool! Misunderstanding
resolved!"

	"Want to try to attempt number two?" Nathan asked, clearly
annoyed. "I'll give you a re-roll if you want to try that again." Nathan
had a bad habit of putting everything in D&D terms. It got him in trouble a
fair few times, but Cade loved it.

	Nathan was silent, obviously waiting for an answer. Cade wished he
could see their faces, but he knew they wouldn't be having this talk if
they knew he could hear them. And Cade really wanted to see what Nathan was
going to do here. He had sworn, SWORN, he would never tell another living
soul about Duncan. About eight months back, Cade had finally come clean
after some conversation slipped, and told Nathan about his deal with
Duncan. Despite his frustration and clear desire to talk to his parents
about it, Nathan had sworn he would not tell. He had agreed that it was
Cade's situation to deal with. But he had also extracted his own promise in
return. That he would be the first person Cade contacted if he ever got in
over his head, or if he wanted help getting out of the agreement.

	"I'm not sure what else to say," said Simon, abashed. "I
misunderstood-"

	"What exactly did you misunderstand?" asked Nathan, cutting him
off.

	"I, uh," Simon sighed. "I thought something was going on with you
two."

	"Something going- Like what, going on?"

	"Like, he's... gay? And he's always spending... the night?"

	"Fuck," sighed Nathan. "So you put two and two together and came up
with sixty-nine?"

	Simon giggled, but immediately stifled it. "Yeah, something like
that." he said, sadness in his voice.

	"How long have you and I been friends?" asked Nathan. It sounded
like he was speaking with his hands over his face. Cade could almost
picture it.

	"I don't know. A couple of years? Longer than Cade's been around, I
know that much."

	There was an almost sloppy sound. Cade was picturing Nathan was
wiping his palms down his face, a gesture he often did when he was
frustrated over something.

	"So if I told you that Cade is one of the bravest and gutsiest guys
I know, and that he is every bit as much a brother to me as Brian? Would
that mean anything to you?"

	"I... Well, I don't-"

	"And would it mean anything to you if I were to tell you that from
what I saw," Nathan said in a low, quiet growl, "Cade was afraid of you
last night?"

	"What?" squealed Simon. "Afraid of me? I wouldn't do anything to
hurt him! I swear! I didn't threaten him. I didn't bully him. I didn't do
anything like that!"

	Simon was getting loud now, and sounded like he was a cross between
nervous and pissed. Nathan, in contrast, was getting quieter. Cade was kind
of marveling at Nathan's sense of self control. Cade knew how he would
react if he knew Simon was conning sex out of someone who didn't want it.

	"Tell me what happened."

	"Nothing. I asked him if since he was gay, would he help me out!"
Again, back to the whisper shouting. "He said no, we joked around about
it. When I saw he was kind of offended by it, I apologized. I swear, he
said we were cool. If he still has a problem, he didn't tell me!"

	Nathan let out a loud sigh that made it obvious his face was in his
hands again. "Alright, fine. I've made promises that mean I can't tell you
why, but that was probably the dumbest thing you could have done."

	"I'm sorry! I apologized to him, I'm apologizing to you. I already
told him I was a moron for asking. Want me to apologize again?"

	"No. You're fine. This is something I'll work out with him later. I
wish it hadn't happened, but thanks for being real with me."

	Afraid Nathan was going to try to come find him immediately, Cade
stealthed his way back up to the basement door, eased it open and closed it
as quietly as he could after he was through it. He bolted upstairs in case
Nathan was coming up behind him, and made his way quickly to Brian's room,
where he knocked quietly.

	Jordan opened the door a crack, and seeing Cade, opened it further
to allow his big brother to enter. Cade had to give a chuckle at the state
of the place, as the floor was a disaster area of clothes, toys, books,
papers, and who knew what else. Not yet having shoes on, Cade tiptoed
gingerly into the room, afraid to know what Matchbox cars or Legos he might
impale himself on. Both boys were still wearing the underwear briefs they
had slept in, and Jordan leaped back into the beanbag chair he had
obviously been occupying, next to Brian's. Cade made his way over to sit on
the closest of the two twin beds as they restarted the video game they were
obviously in the middle of.

	"What are you two up to today?" asked Cade. "Any plans?"

	"You're looking at 'em, if I have any say," laughed Brian. Jordan
giggled his agreement.

	"So you are cool if Nathan and I go hang out today with Simon?"

	"Yup!" squealed Jordan. "Mrs. Sendic said she was making tacos for
lunch. And I told Brian I would help him and his dad out with some yard
stuff. So we are all cool.

	"Alright," said Cade. "Sounds like you have your day all planned."
He paused then added with a laugh, "Even if you are going to ignore all of
it and hang out playing video games!"

	"We can't ignore all of it," piped up Brian. "We gotta eat tacos!"

	"Well, we are heading out to the mall for a few hours then."

	"Aww, the mall?" said Jordan. "I haven't been to the mall in
forever." He looked over at Brian, almost like he wanted to ask if he could
change his mind. But then he looked back at the TV. "It's all good. We got
plenty here."

	Cade's heart fell down in his shoes. He hated leaving Jordan out of
a trip to the mall. Sometimes he felt like he had to treat his brother like
an under-stimulated pet, desperately in need of enrichment. But on the
other hand, taking Jordan to the mall, an entire afternoon of failed
promises where he could see everything he might ever want, and yet couldn't
buy anything, would be pure torture.

	But on the other hand, and this felt totally selfish to admit, Cade
really wanted just an afternoon with his friends. One afternoon where he
could just be Cade. Fourteen years old, a freshman. Just Cade. Skating
usually let him do that. Jordan hated skateboarding. Thought it was too
tough to do, and too boring to watch. It was another reason why
skateboarding would have been a way better way to spend the day. But if
Cade had learned anything, it was that you took whatever life handed you,
and tried to make it work.

	After waiting for an opportunity to not interfere with their game,
Cade leaned forward and laid his hand on Jordan's bare shoulder. "I get
it. But Thanksgiving break is coming up. Maybe I can talk Duncan into
taking us to the mall for Black Friday or something. Okay?"

	"Okay," said Jordan cheerfully. "Go do dork things with your dork
friends!"

	Cade laughed. "Where did you hear that word? Dork? The hell is
that?"

	"I don't know," said Jordan with a giggle. "It was in some movie we
watched last night!"

	Standing up to leave, Cade said, "Well then... dorks... Get some
clothes on or something, before you two get busted by Brian's mother!"