Ren

I HADN’T REALLY expected or wanted any kind of reward for the party. I’d just been so surprised to see how close his birthday was, and the idea of celebrating had seemed fun, and like it would make him happy. I knew how stressed he was with winter break coming up and some big trip with the swim team. I’d just wanted to make him smile and maybe call me a dork for planning such a silly, childish party. I definitely hadn’t expected him to kiss my brains out and shove me down onto his bed, with everyone out in the living room waiting for us to come back out. I wasn’t the type of person to look a gift horse in the mouth, though.

“Uh, Maddy…” I swallowed hard as he dropped down to his knees on the mattress in front of me. His eyes were intensely blue, and shining with absolute affection for me. It made me really happy, but… “You sure you want to do this? Everyone’s going to hear us.” At least there was music playing in the living room that could possibly drown us out a little.

“I’ll be quiet,” he assured me, keeping his eyes locked on mine as he dragged my zipper down. I shivered at the sensation, already fully hard. I’d pretty much been hard since the moment he’d started sucking on my tongue. As far as him being quiet… I was pretty sure he wasn’t capable of that. It wasn’t exactly my first rodeo with him. But he always sounded so incredibly hot that I could definitely not complain. Everything about him was incredibly hot. “And this will be really quick.”

With the way my blood was pumping in my veins, and how much of a turn on it was for him to not care about everyone hearing us, I had a feeling he was definitely right.

Once he’d pulled my cock all the way out, stroking his fist over it a few times, he flipped open the cap on the lube he kept on the nightstand. He’d already shoved his shorts and boxers down to his knees, his stiff dick on display for me. It bobbed with his movements, and I could barely tear my eyes away from it.

“Can I take your shirt off?” I asked softly, groaning a little in appreciation when he complied by ripping it over his head. His body was so ridiculously sexy, like something out of a magazine. Perfect, firm muscles down every inch, covered in smooth, warm skin. Even the dark little freckles dotted around his torso were completely adorable.

He squeezed some lube out onto my fingers, moving in close so he was straddling me, hovering over my lap. Reaching around so I could slick up his hole, I huffed out a little moan when his mouth latched onto my neck, licking and sucking at my skin.

“You’re so fucking cute,” he purred, his breath hot against my neck. “And you make me so happy.”

“Oh. That’s good. I’m glad.” Was I really expected to be able to comprehend and respond to full sentences while he was sucking on me like that, and rolling his hips back to get my fingers deeper into his ass?

“And your cock is so big and so fucking thick. I love it.”

“Thanks,” I said, practically drooling as his tight hole clenched around my fingers. And I was the only guy who’d ever been in there. Everyone else was definitely missing out. “I grew it myself,” I added.

Slowly raising his head up to meet my gaze, he blinked a few times before shaking his head. “Dork.”

“But I’m your dork,” I countered, shuddering when he tore open a condom packet and rolled it down onto my shaft. “And I’m really cute and I make you happy.”

“Definitely.” He chuckled a little, reaching down to line my cock up with his hole. I leaned forward and captured his lips as he slowly sank down onto it, muffling his whimpers. “Ngh, Ren. Fuck.”

“You’re so, so good at taking me in, Maddy,” I panted, clamping my fingers around his waist. His abs flexed under the pads of my thumbs as I bottomed out. I couldn’t tell him, because I was sure he didn’t want to hear about the sex I’d had with my ex-girlfriend, but she’d never been able to take me all the way in. I always had to be really careful, always measuring my thrusts to make sure I didn’t hurt her. But with him, I could just let go and focus on how amazing it felt.

His arms were around my neck again, our tongues slicking against each other as he rolled his hips, letting my cock fill him up over and over until his thighs were quivering on either side of my lap, his weeping cock grinding into my stomach. I pulled my shirt up over my head, tossing it aside so he wouldn’t smear all over it.

Sliding my hands around him, I gripped onto his ass, tugging him up and then pulling him back down onto me to meet my thrusts. His head fell back as he moaned, and with my mouth free, I dipped down to drag my tongue over his nipple. Whimpering and arching his back, he pulled my head closer to his chest, encouraging me to keep going. He had really sensitive nipples. He curled his fingers into my hair, his moans filling up the small bedroom. He definitely wasn’t being quiet.

“Oh my god, fuck me just like that,” he gasped out, when I shifted under him so I could buck up at a different angle into his prostate. Part of me knew I should try to cover his mouth or tell him to hush or something, but… Another part of me loved the idea of everyone knowing how good I could make him feel. Not that I thought any of our friends were gunning to take my place or anything, but… If anyone had any ideas, they could forget it. Only I could make him feel like this.

He was so tight and so hot, his ass constantly clenching and twitching around my cock as I rocked my hips up into him, desperate for the incredible friction. I could always tell when he was getting close, because I could feel his shivers and shudders start pulsing around me, like he was trying to hold it back.

When he raised his gaze to stare at me, I almost came on the spot. He looked so blissed out, his eyes half-lidded and his lips swollen from our rough kisses. Biting down into that deliciously plump lower lip, he let out a really gorgeous whine.

“ Fuck . Ren, I’m close.”

Intense heat was gathering in the base of my spine, radiating out to burn all my nerve endings. “Me too,” I panted. It was so good, hovering right on that line of ecstasy, just before it all came crashing down.

He bowed back, digging his fingernails into my shoulders as he cried out, his come splashing up onto my chest. The way his ass spasmed around me when he was having an orgasm was indescribable, dragging me over the edge with him. My balls drew up and I groaned out his name, letting my forehead drop onto his shoulder as I spilled into the condom.

Shivering as the waves of pleasure began to fade off, he cupped my cheeks in his hands and pulled me into another kiss. “Thank you.”

“What are you thanking me for?” I asked, grinning against his mouth as he pecked me with kisses. “You definitely did most of the heavy lifting there.”

“I meant thank you for the party. For thinking of me. For being so sweet to me all the time.”

“No thanks necessary,” I said, holding him tight to me, if only for the moment. I knew we’d have to go back out eventually, but I wasn’t ready to let him go yet. “I like making you happy. I really, really like you, Maddy.”

“I really like you too,” he answered, nuzzling into me so my neck muffled his words. He wasn’t the most cuddly usually, so I must have really earned his affection with the silly party. “You’re like the only thing keeping me sane right now.”

“You know… If you have too much going on, you don’t have to do everything,” I told him softly, running a hand down his back. “It feels like swimming is making you really stressed. Maybe you should just quit.”

He was silent for a while after that, and I worried that maybe I’d pissed him off. But finally, he spoke, sounding exhausted.

“I just can’t,” he said, shaking his head. “My dad would be so upset.”

I wanted to protest, to ask him to reconsider. They didn’t deserve his loyalty or commitment and his dad wasn’t the one living his life. But I knew arguing about it would only stress him out more, so I just held him like that for a few minutes. Eventually, we stood up, briefly cleaning ourselves up before slipping our shirts back on.

“Okay, now I get cupcakes, right?” Maddy asked as we sauntered back into the living room.

“Need to replenish your carbs, do you?” Caelyx wondered. Maddy shot him the finger, but otherwise ignored him. Maybe it was part of Maddy’s birthday present from everyone that they didn’t tease us mercilessly about leaving to do it.

They were all in more or less in the same position we’d left them, only the TV was on and paused at the beginning of a movie. I’d forgotten Arie’s stipulation for helping me set everything up was that we all watch the next installment of the horror series he’d gotten us all hooked on. He’d even ordered Caelyx and Cyprian to be caught up on the series before the party. He was small, but he could be pretty intimidating when he wanted to be, so I was pretty sure they’d complied with his wishes. And since we’d started watching them here, we didn’t have to all be crammed up in the tiny dorm room anymore.

“Cupcakes, then movie,” Arie confirmed, like the sparkly little drill sergeant he was. Aspen hopped up, scurrying into the kitchen to retrieve them. We’d all hung out here so many times now, everyone was comfortable and didn’t feel like guests in the house.

“I want to be clear I used my employee discount for this order, but I had no hand in requesting any of these design elements,” Aspen pointed out, setting the white bakery box in front of us. When he lifted the lid, I was confused but Maddy scoffed, rolling his eyes to the ceiling. But he was smiling. There were two dozen cupcakes, some with basketballs and music notes iced onto the top, and some with a logo that said Wildcats.

“Is this about that musical thing?” I wondered. “Do I need to watch those movies?” Was I missing out on some cultural masterpiece?

“No, you don’t,” Maddy assured me. “I barely even look like the guy, from like one angle maybe.”

“You sure you don’t want to quit playing sports and sing?” Arie teased, clearly pleased with himself for the cupcakes. I glanced at Maddy, a bit nervous that he’d take the joke badly, since we’d just had the conversation about him quitting the swim team, but he just laughed it off.

“I can’t carry a tune even if I did,” he admitted, reaching down into the box to pull one out. “But I’ll take your insistence of our resemblance as a compliment.”

“Totally intended,” Arie promised him with a wink. “You should let me color your hair. You’d look great as a blonde.”

“Pass,” he answered flatly.

“I think you look great like you are,” I inserted. He turned to me, giving me another one of those really affectionate looks that turned my stomach inside out. I thought for a second he might have actually kissed me even though we were in front of everybody, but everyone’s attention was suddenly yanked in another direction.

When Aspen emerged back from the kitchen with a stack of the small paper plates to serve the cupcakes on, he ended up crossing paths with Caelyx right as he was turning the corner to the hallway. Stumbling over Caelyx’s foot, Aspen let out a kind of squealy sound that I just knew he’d agonize over later as he plummeted toward the ground. Caelyx’s arm whipped out, catching Aspen by his chest and preventing him from smashing his face on the floor.

“Watch it, Cupcake,” he suggested, and Aspen immediately bristled. They didn’t get along and usually bickered back and forth anytime they were together. I was pretty sure the only person Caelyx liked annoying more than Maddy was Aspen. And he was really, really good at it.

“Why don’t you watch where you’re walking, moron,” Aspen spit back at him. “And don’t call me Cupcake. Fucking creep.”

“Why?” Caelyx wondered, his grin looking sadistic at Aspen’s reaction. “You’re small and cute, and I’m sure under all that Hot Topic glamor, you’re just a misunderstood little sugar cube.”

I winced. If there was anything Aspen hated, it was being referred to as small or cute. Ironically, Caelyx was barely bigger than him. An inch taller, maybe two. But it was obvious he knew exactly how to get under Aspen’s skin. Straightening himself so he was standing upright, Aspen gave him a shove into the wall, stalking past him to set the plates down onto the table.

“Now, now, children,” Cyprian chided gently. “It’s a party. Let’s be civil.”

The cupcakes were really tasty, and I was glad to see Maddy actually ate two of them. It made me feel kind of sad when he obsessed so much about nutrition and stuff. But maybe that was stupid. Maybe I should have been paying a little more attention to my own diet. But fat and sugar were so good.

As we snacked, Aspen brought up the fact that Maddy had agreed to download Federation of Fables and play with us, and Che seemed particularly excited. He didn’t like playing with randoms, and that would mean one less random on the team to be toxic or throw the game.

As we were all discussing the basics to get him started, there was a knock on the door. Caelyx happened to be the closest person to the door who actually lived here, so he swung it open. From the angle on the other side of the room where I was standing with Maddy, I couldn’t see the open doorway.

“No solicitors,” he said automatically, which probably sounded rude but I could understand. Because it was a college town, they actually did get a lot of people going around door to door trying to sell stuff or enroll people in those multi-level marketing scams. After a few moments, Caelyx turned around to talk in my direction. “Ren, you have a visitor.”

“But I don’t even live here,” I responded in confusion. And pretty much anyone who would be looking for me was already in the room.

My stomach dropped into my guts, my blood suddenly feeling icy cold in my veins, as Gwen emerged from the doorway, glancing around at the streamers and balloons floating in the room before her eyes landed on me.

“Gwen?” Her name flew out my mouth automatically, but hearing it out loud, even in my own voice, was so unpleasant. Even when I talked about her to other people, which I tried not to do very much, I just said my ex . Maddy was kind of pressed against my side, and I felt him tense as he realized who she was. “What are you doing here?”

“I drove up here to surprise you. I went to the dorm building your mom said you were staying at, but you weren’t there, so…”

So this was something she’d planned with my mom. I inhaled deeply, trying not to scream in frustration. What exactly did I have to do to make it clear I didn’t want to talk to her?

“Okay, but why are you here ?” I asked, still not understanding. It’s not like she could have asked someone where I’d be and they’d know Maddy’s address to give her.

“Well…” She hesitated, like even she knew her answer was sketchy. “Your phone is still registered on my Apple Maps. I just never deleted you, so…”

I really, really hated that answer. She could have ambushed me anywhere, anytime. But I’d completely forgotten that I’d shared my location with her at one point. I would definitely be disabling that option through my app as soon as humanly possible.

“I’m kind of in the middle of something right now,” I said, gesturing around the room. The room that was very obviously housing a party. “It’s not a good time.” Actually, there would never be a good time, but I wasn’t sure how to say that without sounding like a supreme jerk.

“But I drove all the way up here,” she repeated, brows furrowing.

I was pretty sure she’d dressed up, too. She was wearing a cute sweater and a short skirt with tights and boots, and nice makeup that complemented her pretty features. She was objectively a really attractive girl, but that wasn’t what I’d liked about her. I’d liked the chubby, glasses-clad girl I’d met in sophomore year who’d actually been nice to me.

“But you didn’t even ask me if I’d be busy or anything,” I countered. Everyone in the room was staring at me and it was uncomfortable and awkward and I didn’t want to be there. I just wanted her to leave.

“It was supposed to be a surprise,” she repeated. Her voice had a twinge of hurt to it, but she was pretty good at playing the victim and making me look bad in that way. “Can we just… talk outside?” She asked.

It was the last thing I wanted to do, but I also didn’t want to keep having this conversation in front of everyone. When I turned to Maddy, I couldn’t exactly decipher the expression on his face. I hoped he wouldn’t be mad at me for bailing on his party, even if it was just for a few moments.

Every step was agony, but I followed her out, closing the door behind me so that no one else would have to hear us.

“You shouldn’t have come,” I said, after we’d walked around to the side of the house so we weren’t in direct view of the street.

“Why are you being so shitty?” She asked, shaking her head in disbelief at me. “First you block me for no reason, now you’re chewing me out for trying to be nice and visit you?”

“I don’t want you to visit me, Gwen,” I said.

It was weird. Before, I’d always felt bad about saying anything I knew would upset her. I’d do anything to avoid pissing her off, because I knew she’d chew me out and nag me over it every chance she got. But since breaking up and having her presence out of my life… I didn’t care what she thought of me. And all the stuff she’d told me about how annoying I was, and how people wouldn’t like me if not for her… It was all bullshit. I knew that now.

She sighed, looking uncomfortable. “Look, I know you’re pissed that I came up here without telling you, but… I think we should talk.”

“I’m not pissed that you came up here without telling me,” I corrected her. “I just don’t want to be friends with you. Like, I don’t know what else I can say to make you or my mom understand that. We broke up for a reason, and I don’t want to go back.”

“We broke up because I was stupid and thought I wanted something else, but-”

“Please, stop,” I interrupted her, rolling my palms over my eyes. “You’ve seriously got to be kidding me with this.”

“Ren, I’m sorry,” she insisted. “I made a mistake, and I was wrong. You, of all people, should understand a mistake.”

“You didn’t make a mistake. We were miserable together. Why would you want to go back to that?”

“You were miserable with me?” She asked, looking stunned, like I’d physically shoved her or something. Her shock was… shocking, to say the least. How could she not know how bad it had gotten? Or was she just trying to gaslight me into thinking things were good?

“We argued all the time,” I reminded her. “Everything I did was wrong or annoying in your eyes. Every time we’d see each other, you’d have some laundry list of complaints after.”

“I…” She scoffed, rolling her eyes. “That was me trying to help you! God, you’re always so sensitive about everything.”

“See?” I reiterated. I wasn’t going to lose my temper. That wasn’t the kind of person I was. But she made me so incredibly frustrated. Part of that intense frustration was channeled toward my mom, too. She should have known that surprising me with a visit was a horrible idea. “You think I’m too sensitive, you think I’m annoying. You obviously don’t like me, so what is the point of coming here and acting like us breaking up was a mistake?”

“God, Ren, you’re so stupid. You realize that basically any guy would-”

“Okay, that’s enough.” Maddy sailed around the corner from the back of the house. I guessed he’d gone out through the back door.

“Uh, were you listening to us?” Gwen asked, sounding amazed at his audacity.

“Yeah, I was,” he answered her flatly, with absolutely no abashment. “Was there anything else you wanted to talk about, or are you pretty much done?”

“How is this any of your business?” She demanded, cocking a hand on her hip.

“I’m the birthday boy, so I get whatever I want today,” he said, reaching out to grasp my arm, yanking me over toward him. “And I want him back in the house, and you gone.”

“Are you going to let him talk to me like that?” She asked, turning to me with an incredulous look.

“Um… Yes?” I answered, reflecting her expression back at her. “I told you I don’t want you here. Oh, and stop talking to my damn mom. It’s weird.”

“Whatever. You’re going to regret this,” she promised me. “And if you keep hanging out with fucking freaks like the ones I saw in there, you’re going to turn out like one.”

She whirled on her heel, stomping off back around the house and toward her car.

“That was rude,” I stated, once she was out of sight. I was used to her insulting me, but there was no need to bring my friends into it.

“I’m sure she just meant Caelyx,” Maddy said reassuringly. Turning toward him, the tiny smirk on his face made me lose my composure, and I started cracking up, despite the situation.

“Yeah, totally,” I agreed sarcastically.

“Anyway, forget everything she said.”

“No, I know,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m okay.”

“If you were too sensitive, there’s no way in hell you’d have stuck around with me,” he said.

I chuckled a little. “Okay, that’s true… Still, I’m sorry she ruined your party.”

“My party is definitively not ruined,” he assured me. Taking a step toward me to get rid of the space between us, he slid a hand up my chest to hook it around my neck. “We still get to watch people brutally die in all those creative ways.”

“Arie really knows how to pick them,” I said, growling a little in my throat as his fingers stroked the back of my neck. It was so relaxing. “That feels really good.”

“Oh yeah?” He asked, rubbing a little more firmly. “If you stick around for the after-party in my room, I’ll give you a full body massage.”

Even though it had barely been an hour since we’d done it, my cock twitched with interest at his suggestion.

“But you’re the birthday boy. I should be the one giving you a massage.”

“We’ll switch off, how about that?” He offered, bumping his forehead into mine so there was barely any space between our faces.

“Wow. Very generous, birthday boy.”

“We’ll discuss payment at the time of service,” he said, and I grinned.

“Always a catch.”

He kissed me, his lips warm and soft, moving against mine just the way I liked. When I hooked my fingers into the waistband of his shorts, pulling him against me, he curled his fingers into the back collar of my shirt, parting his lips so I could slip my tongue in.

“You’re gay!?” Gwen’s voice rang out at a volume that felt like it could shatter windows. I groaned, squeezing my eyes closed as I felt Maddy’s warm body drift away from me. When I cracked one eye open, she was standing there, gawking at us. “God, that explains so much. No wonder you don’t want to get back together.”

“Yeah, that’s why I don’t want to get back together,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “Not because I don’t like you or anything.”

“You’re unbelievable,” she said, but at least she sounded repulsed enough by catching us that any fantasies about us working out were definitely off the table. “You’ve really changed.”

“You’re right,” I agreed. “I have changed. But you’re still the same judgmental, self-absorbed, entitled bitch that I remember. So I hope you change one day, too.” I shouldn’t have said that last part. But it had just come out, and I hadn’t been able to hold it back. Maddy’s eyebrows raised at my statement, but he looked impressed.

She shook her head at me, looking hurt at my words but I didn’t regret them. Still, she didn’t say anything else before storming off again. This time I followed behind her, making sure she got in her car and actually left this time. When she did, I sighed, a sense of relief overtaking me. I was still pissed at my mom, but that could wait until Maddy’s birthday was over.

“You know she’s going to tell your mom about this, right?”

“There’s not a doubt in my mind,” I said. “We should go back inside.”

He nodded slowly, tilting his ear up into the air like he was listening for something. “Yeah, I think I hear the tormented screams of agony calling our name.”

“That’s just Aspen being forced to sit next to Caelyx on the couch.”

Throwing his head back, Maddy laughed before hooking an arm around my waist to lead me inside.

Definitely, definitely worth throwing a party for.