Ch.11: Touch me Without Saying

The next morning was hell.

Kael woke up tangled in his blanket, hair messy, skin still tingling where Riven's lips had been the night before. He stared at the ceiling, heart pounding like he'd run a damn marathon.

He kissed Riven. Riven kissed him back. And now?

Now, Riven was gone.

Kael found him downstairs, sitting on the couch in nothing but basketball shorts, headphones on, tapping through something on his phone like nothing happened. Like they hadn't just made out so hard Kael forgot what year it was.

"Hey," Kael said cautiously.

Riven looked up, one earbud falling out. "Hey."

Silence.

That loaded, suffocating silence again.

Kael sat beside him, not too close but close enough to feel the pull.

"You good?" he asked, voice quieter than he meant it to be.

Riven didn't answer right away. Then: "I didn't sleep."

"Me neither."

Kael leaned back, eyes on the ceiling fan. "You thinking about last night?"

Riven snorted. "Kinda hard not to when your mouth's still bruised from it."

Kael laughed once, nervously. "Yeah. Sorry for attacking you."

"You didn't. I wanted it."

Kael turned his head to look at him. Riven was staring at the ceiling now, jaw tight, like he was trying not to feel too much.

"But now it's real," Riven said, voice rough. "And I don't know what the hell that means."

Kael sat up straighter, heart pounding. "It means we stop pretending."

"You're not scared?"

"I'm fucking terrified," Kael admitted, "but I'd rather be terrified than keep lying to myself."

Riven's gaze finally met his—and there it was. That tension again. Electric. Dangerous. Addictive.

Riven leaned in just a little. "You say one more honest thing, I might kiss you again."

Kael licked his lips. "Then I guess I should shut the hell up."

But he didn't. Instead, he whispered, "I haven't stopped thinking about your hands on me."

That was it.

Riven surged forward, slamming their mouths together again, rougher this time—like he'd been starving and Kael was the only thing that could feed him. Kael moaned into the kiss, his hands gripping Riven's waist, pulling him closer until there was no space left, only heat and breath and desperation.

"You make me insane," Riven muttered against his lips.

"Good," Kael breathed, nipping at his jaw. "You deserve it."

They broke apart panting, foreheads pressed, their hearts racing in sync like drums in a warzone.

"I want you," Riven confessed, raw and trembling.

Kael's throat went dry. "Then fucking have me."

But Riven didn't move. Didn't kiss him again.

Instead, he whispered, "Not yet."

Kael blinked. "Why not?"

Riven touched his face gently. "Because this... whatever this is between us... I want it to mean something."

Kael's chest clenched.

He wasn't sure if he was falling in love or already deep in it.

So he just nodded and whispered, "Okay."

But inside?

He was already his.