Chapter 2: Chapter 2
But for now, in the warm dark of Pete’s bed, it could wait a little longer.
They dozed, a sticky, tangled mess of limbs. The streetlight’s glow traced a path across the floor, marking the slow crawl of time. Eventually, the need for water, for air, for the re-establishment of the wider world, pulled them up.
Cara padded to the bathroom, cleaning up with a wince and a private, satisfied smile. Pete pulled on his discarded joggers, not bothering with a shirt. The domestic silence between them was new, a quiet hum underneath the physical satisfaction.
“We should go out there,” Pete said, nodding toward the hall.
“They’ll be insufferable,” Cara replied, pulling her torn top back on. It was a lost cause. She found one of Pete’s worn band t-shirts draped over a chair and slipped it on instead. It smelled like him.
“They already are.”
He took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. The gesture was simple, unplanned. It felt more significant than anything that had happened in the bed. She squeezed back.
The living room was dark, lit by the blue haze of the now-paused television and the orange glow from the balcony. The sliding door was cracked open, letting in a stream of cool night air that carried the scent of distant traffic and Dana’s cigarette.
Ade and Dana were leaning against the railing, two silhouettes against the glittering grid of the city. They turned as Pete and Cara stepped out.
The night air was a shock, crisp and cleansing. Dana’s eyes flicked over them—Cara in Pete’s shirt, their joined hands, the specific, slept-in calm that radiated from their skin. A slow, cat-like smile spread across her face.
Ade took a long pull from a bottle of beer, his expression unreadable in the dim light. “Well,” he said. “Look what the cat dragged out.”
Cara released Pete’s hand, but only to step forward, planting hers on her hips. She felt buoyant, powerful, still thrumming with the visceral memory of it. She grinned, wide and unapologetic.
“It’s official,” she declared, her voice cutting through the quiet hum of the city. “Pete’s cock wins the day.” She turned her grin on Ade, theatrical and teasing. “He just satisfied me more than you ever have, Ade. Sorry, hun. But his cock is as thick as a Red Bull can! …And the cum, honestly Ade, it was like, I dunno, maybe 10 times yours’. A literal flood. I’m actually a bit dizzy.”
The words hung in the air, crude and spectacular.
Ade choked on his beer. He coughed, his eyes watering. He stared at her, a mixture of shock, indignation, and a reluctant, grudging amusement fighting on his face.
Dana let out a sharp, delighted bark of laughter, clapping her hands once. “Oh, my god. You absolute animal.”
Pete just leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, a quiet, deep smile on his face. He didn’t gloat. He just watched Cara, lit up by the city and her own audacity.
Ade finally found his voice, wiping his mouth. “That’s… graphic. And completely unnecessary. Also, physiologically improbable.”
“It’s not improbable, it’s a fact,” Cara said, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “You’d need a scientific study. We could get beakers.”
“I am not donating to that study,” Ade said, but he was laughing now, shaking his head. The tension—if there had been any—dissolved into the familiar absurdity. “You’re horrific.”
“You love me.”
“I tolerate you,” he corrected, but he was still smiling. He looked past her at Pete. “And you. Don’t look so smug. You’ve just been weaponized.”
Pete shrugged, the picture of relaxed innocence. “I just provided a public service. Settled a debate.”
“There was no debate!” Ade sputtered.
Dana stubbed out her cigarette. “There kinda was, babe. In the subtext.” She slid her arm around Ade’s waist. “Don’t be a sore loser. It’s not a good look.”
Ade sighed, a long-suffering, theatrical sound, and pulled her closer. He took another swig of beer, his gaze landing back on Cara. There was no malice in it. Just a long, knowing look that acknowledged the shift. The rules, whatever they had been, had just been redrawn in permanent marker.
Cara leaned back against the railing next to Pete, their shoulders brushing. The city sprawled before them, endless and buzzing. The balcony felt like a ship’s deck, adrift in a sea of light.
“So,” Dana said, breaking the comfortable silence. “Who’s hungry now?”
But before anyone could answer, Cara’s phone, still inside on the coffee table, began to buzz. Not a call. A rapid, insistent sequence of text alerts. One after another, slicing through the calm.
Pete felt her go still beside him. “Everything okay?”
“Probably my sister,” Cara said, but she was already pushing off the railing, heading inside. Her movement was quick, the earlier playfulness gone.
The three of them followed, the mood shifting on a dime. The living room felt too bright suddenly. Cara stood staring at her screen, her face illuminated by its harsh glow. The color had drained from her cheeks.
“Cara?” Ade’s voice was different now. Sober.
She didn’t answer for a long moment. Then she slowly lowered the phone. Her eyes, when she looked up, were wide, the pupils dilated with something that wasn’t fear, but a cold, sharp shock.
“It’s my dad,” she said, her voice strangely flat. “He’s been arrested.”