While the end of Spring term was in full swing, Jay heard little from either Ryan or Alexis and saw them even less. He sent Ryan the occasional text to check in or to share a meme, but he was careful not to be obsessive or horny, lest he distract Ryan too much from his studies. This left Alexis as the recipient of his eager and anxious texting.

Jay knew he had a habit of falling hard and fast for guys when he clicked with them early on. Alexis knew it too, and he knew the kind of guys Jay clicked with, which meant he knew what he was setting Jay—and Ryan—up for when he orchestrated their meeting. Alexis hadn’t said as much in words, but that conscious decision made it clear as day to Jay.

Alexis didn’t just think Jay and Ryan would hit it off. Alexis—who had zero filter when it came to critiquing Jay’s past boyfriends—thought Ryan would be good for Jay. And it wasn’t exactly hard to see why.

Ryan was a fucking gem.

As much as Jay enjoyed getting the guy flustered, he was also glad to see a more confident side to Ryan. He’d struggled to keep his composure and stick to his plan when Ryan had asked Jay to finger him while sucking him off. The initiative was unexpected but not unappreciated. He didn’t tell Ryan so as not to burden his new boyfriend with his own anxieties, but those little shows of confidence and open, forward desire helped ease Jay’s fears that he was maybe taking advantage of someone almost ten years younger than him.

Jay was walking into his apartment late Saturday morning, sweaty from the gym, when Ryan texted him. They had plans for that evening—and night—to celebrate the end of finals week, but Jay would have happily spent the whole day with his boyfriend. He’d nearly suggested it before deciding it was a bit much for only a month and a half of dating.

Ryan: morning! random q, how do u feel about naughty txts?

Jay: sexting? nudes?

Ryan: sure, any of it

Jay groaned and sat heavily on the foot of his bed. He decided to go for a humorous response and sent a GIF of the old cartoon wolf howling and banging the table, eyes literally bulging out of his head. He was relieved when Ryan laughed at it before typing.

Ryan: found this in my bed this morning

The photo that accompanied the message showed Ryan’s hand resting on a tented bed sheet. Jay swore under his breath, his mouth going dry. Before he could think up a response, though, another photo came through. The sheet had been pulled back to reveal, not Ryan’s morning wood, but a metal ruler sticking up from between his thighs. Jay laugh aloud at that.

Jay: tease! y do u have a ruler in ur bed? what r u measuring?

Ryan: wouldn’t u like to know (probably from staying up too late to finish some final project or another)

Jay: i’ll make sure u sleep good tonight ;*

Jay watched as Ryan started and stopped typing a few times. Then nothing for several seconds. Jay imagined Ryan flustered and at a loss for words, and he was debating what to follow up with when a video came through.

Ryan’s hand wrapped around his cock. Not stroking, just holding, thumbing his foreskin a bit. Jay could hear his breathing. Then, in a low, husky whisper, Ryan said his name, and the video ended.

It was only a few seconds long, but it had Jay’s mouth watering.

He didn’t have a chance to think of how he wanted to respond because his phone started ringing, and a banner dropped down that said “Mama calling…”

“Hey, Ma,” Jay greeted after hastily—if regrettably—shoving the image of Ryan fondling himself out of his mind.

“Morning, sweetie. You wouldn’t happen to be with Alexis at the moment, would you?”

The hairs on the back of his neck and arms shot up. “No. Is something wrong?”

His mom sighed into the phone. “Well, that may be for the best. Mom had a run-in with Robert in town this morning.”

“What did he do?” Jay snarled at the mention of Alexis’ father.

“Showed his ass, like he always does. Mom’s alright. Really, Jay, we’re all fine. The man may be a piece of shit, but he’s at least smart enough not to do something foolish in broad daylight.”

“He’d be smart not to do something foolish after dark,” Jay grumbled, and his mom responded with a weary laugh. As his initial flash of rage cooled, Jay felt more uneasy rather than less. He knew such run-ins happened from time to time. She wouldn’t have called him just to tell him that. “What is it?” he asked softly. “What are you afraid to tell me, Ma?”

“There was a young man with Robert—one of Alexis’ brothers or cousins maybe? We’re not sure, but…he let it slip that he knows where Alexis is. At least, where he goes to school.”

A deep pit opened in Jay’s gut.

“Apparently, Robert was pretty furious about it. It may not mean anything—”

“Or it means they’re coming after him. Fuck. I gotta go, Ma.”

“I know. Promise you’ll keep us posted?”

“I will. Love you.”

Jay made the trek to Alexis’ apartment on autopilot, not taking in any of his surroundings. He was so fixated on getting to Alexis and not panicking in the process that, when Ryan opened the door, he stared in confusion for a moment.

“Wow, didn’t think that video was going to affect you this much,” his boyfriend said smugly. His boyfriend. His boyfriend who was roommates with his best friend. His best friend who might be in imminent danger.

Jay’s focus snapped to movement in his periphery. Alexis was peering out from his bedroom, the barest hint of worry and panic already in his dark eyes. “Sorry,” Jay said, pulling his attention back to Ryan for a moment. “I came over to talk to Alexis. Some family shit came up.”

Ryan frowned and glanced over his shoulder. “Oh. Sure. Yeah, I’ll get out of the way.” He hesitated a beat before retreating to his own room.

Jay shut the front door and strode across the living room, ushering an already retreating Alexis into his bedroom. Alexis gazed up at him, every bit the desperate, lonely teenager he’d shown up as ten years ago. There was no way this conversation wasn’t going to get ugly.

“Did they hurt someone?” Alexis asked, voice already hoarse. “Your family?”

Jay shook his head. “No. Everyone’s safe. Mom ran into a couple of your relatives this morning, though, and… Fuck, Lex. They know you go to school here.”

Alexis stumbled back like he’d been punched. It would have been kinder than Jay’s words. “No. No no no.” He spun around, balance wavering a moment, then lunged for his closet, no doubt scrambling for his go bag.

“Hey. Hey, it’s alright.” Jay curled his fists at his side to keep from grabbing Alexis. He wouldn’t restrain his friend unless he absolutely needed to.

“It’s not alright, Jay. Nothing about this is alright!” Alexis’ voice grew shriller with every word. “They’re going to come here and they’re going to- to-” His words cut off with a loud, choked sob as his legs gave out.

Jay jumped in to catch him so he didn’t hurt himself. He could feel Alexis start to struggle before he had a chance to let go, and as soon as he was sure Alexis was solidly on the ground, he backed off. Jay grabbed the blanket from Alexis’ bed and wrapped it around his friend’s shoulders, pulling it tight. He’d have hugged him if he didn’t know that would only make Alexis’ panic attack worse. All he could do was gently encourage Alexis to breathe and wait until Alexis could actually hear what he said.

When Alexis’ gaze drifted to his bed—to his pillow and the switchblade he kept under it—Jay nearly grabbed his shoulders to shake him.

“No,” Jay said firmly. “You’re not going there. We’re not going there.”

Alexis pushed his hands past the edges of the blanket and signed with trembling fingers, “I won’t go back. I won’t. You know I won’t.”

Jay’s chest tightened. “I know,” he said, softening his voice. “But we’re not there. Please, don’t go there, not yet. Let me help. Please, Lex.” He moved to kneel in front of Alexis, and when Alexis lifted his face to look at him, Jay leaned forward until their foreheads touched. “You’ve still got spite.”

“I’ve still got spite,” Alexis repeated the old refrain aloud, his voice hoarse as if he hadn’t spoken for days. He took a deeper breath, then scrunched up his nose. “You reek.”

Jay laughed, more out of relief than anything. Once he was confident Alexis was far enough from the edge, he leaned back on his hands. “We’ll hunker down at the cabin for a couple weeks—more if we need to.”

Alexis drew the blanket tighter around his shoulders as he hunched forward. “What about your job?”

“I’ve got PTO, and I’ll say it’s a family emergency—because it is.” Jay gave him a reassuring smile.

But Alexis was still hesitant, and his gaze drifted to the bedroom door. “What about Ryan?”

Jay’s smile faltered. “Well, he’s going home for a while, right?”

“Not for another couple weeks.” Alexis shook his head slowly. “But what do we tell him?” Alexis, who was usually so calculated in every decision he made, looked utterly lost.

“I’ll talk to him.”

Alexis seemed equal parts guilty and relieved as he nodded. They moved on to discussing when they would leave for the Shaws’ family cabin. Jay was ready to toss some clothes in a suitcase and leave that afternoon, but Alexis pushed back. Jay knew it was for his sake—that Alexis felt guilty about disrupting Jay’s life and potentially damaging what he and Ryan had going. They agreed they couldn’t risk waiting two weeks for Ryan to leave for home and settled on early next Saturday morning. Neither of them acknowledged out loud that it could be sooner if Alexis’ family showed up before then.

“He’s worried,” Alexis said as Jay was about to leave. Alexis was staring blankly at his lap, brow furrowed a little. “A bit upset, but mostly worried about us.”

Even with Alexis’ reassurance, Jay’s heart was in his throat when he knocked softly at Ryan’s bedroom door. When it opened, Ryan was on the other side with that worry written all over his face.

Jay temporarily abandoned what he had planned on saying and pulled Ryan into a hug. It was as much for himself as it was for Ryan; Alexis had been in no state for physical comfort beyond what little Jay had given, and Jay needed to hold someone.

Ryan’s arms wrapped around him, face pressed into Jay’s chest. “How is he?”

“Pretty fucked up.” Jay pulled back only enough to look into Ryan’s beautiful hazel eyes. “Can we talk?”

“Yeah, of course.” He took Jay’s hand and pulled him over to sit on his bed. “If it’s about tonight, don’t stress it. Whatever’s going on is obviously way more important. Maybe the three of us could just hang? Would that help Alexis?” Ryan’s tone and expression were painfully earnest, and Jay had to exert a great deal of willpower not to flatten him on the bed, if only to kiss him senseless.

“I’ll ask him, and thanks.” He squeezed Ryan’s hand. “There’s some shit about Alexis’ family I can’t share—it’s not my place—but it’s only fair to let you know they may show up here. We put a lot of effort into hiding our tracks when we moved out here so they couldn’t keep harassing Lex, but my moms learned this morning that they managed to find out where he’s been going to school. We don’t know if they have his—your—address, but it’s a possibility.”

Ryan looked justifiably horrified, and he didn’t know the half of it. “The fuck?”

“Yeah…” Jay rubbed his thumb in slow circles on the back of Ryan’s hand. “He needs to get out of town for a bit—get a chance to decompress from this shit and figure out what he wants to do next with a clear head. But I can’t… I can’t let him be alone. I’m sorry. I was hoping we’d be able to spend more time together before you go home, but I gotta get him out of here for a bit. Away from people. I’m really fucking sorry, Ryan.”

Ryan offered him a smile, but it didn’t mask his hurt. “Don’t worry about it. Not like it’s the end of the world, right? I mean, we—me and Alexis—we’ve still got a whole year of school left. We’ll have time.”

I really fucking hope so. Jay nodded, then leaned in, relieved when Ryan readily met his lips.