Page 66 of Dire Straights

I laid awake for a while after we ended our call, staring up at the ceiling and imagining different scenarios between us. We liked each other a lot, we enjoyed spending time together, the sex was out of this world, and we didn’t want to see other people. That was basically a relationship, wasn’t it? But he wasn’t ready to be out. That was okay with me, but I didn’t exactly know how serious we could be without that part. The idea gave me anxiety, but I knew I’d need to at least have a discussion with him once we were back at school about where we both stood in terms of labels.

And of course, Maddy was Maddy. Feelings were pretty much his worst and most feared enemy. Did I even have the social skills to navigate that kind of conversation without completely freaking him out? I drifted off as I wondered.

MADDOX

AS MY MOMpulled her car into the driveway of the house in Byron Bay to drop me off at the end of winter break, I wasn’t too particularly worried about what she’d find inside. I’d texted Cyprian, who had come home from break the day before, that she wanted a tour. I knew he’d be the responsible one to clean up anything sus and make sure it looked parent-approved.

As I’d thought, when I opened the door to let her through, the house was filled with the scent of some holiday dessert baking in the oven, and everything was spotless. He’d even thrown up a few decorations like a wreath on the door and a little snow globe on the coffee table. Where he’d procured those from, I had no clue.

“Oh wow, you boys have really kept it nice in here,” she commented, looking around. She wandered into the kitchen, where Cyprian was sitting at our tiny little round dining table, scrolling on his phone.

He greeted her politely, since they’d already met back when she’d first dropped me off at the beginning of the semester. He was definitely the better of my two roommates in terms of Mom-related purposes, but I hoped if Caelyx popped up during the tour he’d at least pretend to be polite and civilized.

She asked about what he was baking, and he told her it was a spiced fruitcake, something he always made after Christmas was over. I listened to them chat about recipes and holiday traditions for a bit, somewhat bored, before she asked to see my room. Ihopped up to lead the way, glad I’d cleaned up before heading out for break.

I sat on the side of the bed with my leg blocking the nightstand, just in case she decided to get a little curious. Didn’t want her finding lube and condoms in the top drawer, or my small but growing collection of dildos in the bottom drawer. I only had two so far, but… I wasn’t exactly opposed to the idea of more. Maybe I’d even branch out and get some other stuff to surprise Ren with.

“You’re really getting along all on your own,” she observed, glancing down into my empty laundry hamper. I wondered if she had expected a pile of reeking, sweaty gym clothes and empty food wrappers and dishes scattered all around my room. When she sniffled, I glanced up at her in alarm.

“What’s wrong?”

“Sorry, it’s nothing. I’m okay. It’s just that you’re so grown up already, and I didn’t expect you to be.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I really don’t feel grown up,” I offered, eyeing her cautiously. I never knew how to act around crying people. To my immense relief, she laughed a little and carefully dabbed her eyes.

“Well, that’s good, isn’t it? And you’re doing so well in your classes and staying out of trouble. Your dad and I are so proud of you, Maddox.”

Her words were nice, but they only caused a little burning knot of anxiety to clench in my stomach. Would they be proud of me if they knew I was two seconds from being kicked off the swim team?

I was glad and kind of amazed at how much better she and my dad were getting along. They’d actually become civil with each other, no longer screaming and passive aggressively sniping at one another every time they were forced into a room together. I could tell my little brother and sister were lessstressed about it too, which was great. It seemed they’d really kind of bonded over forgetting my birthday, which was dumb and not that big of a deal, but I couldn’t complain about the results.

She hadn’t mentioned the swim meet that was at the end of this week, which she had originally planned to be here for. I hadn’t reminded her of it, either. At this point I wasn’t even sure if I’d be on the team in a week, so I didn’t want her coming back up for nothing. But I wasn’t ready to admit that I’d handled things so badly there, especially to my dad.

I stood in the driveway, waving to her as she drove away, even though it was freezing balls out and snow was layered over the ground in fluffy sheets. I hoped she wouldn’t cry more on the drive home. I’d at least send her a text tonight to be sure she was okay.

Scrambling back into the warmth as soon as she was out of sight, I thanked Cyprian for making the house look so well taken care of.

“The fruit whatever thing was a nice touch,” I added, and he laughed.

“I was telling the truth about that, though. Making fruitcake between Christmas and New Years is a tradition in my family.”

“Isn’t fruitcake that horrible stuff that people hate getting as a gift?”

“If you don’t know how to cook, sure,” he said, smirking a bit. “I guarantee you’ll like mine.”

“I guess I’ll try some.”

“I appreciate your faith in my ability,” he joked.

It was still kind of funny to me that this tall, jacked guy could unironically be so invested in fruitcake. I was sure he’d be super popular with girls, looking the way he did and also having the ability to make great food for them, but I’d never seen him bringanyone home. Well, I wasn’t going to comment on that. Not my business how he wanted to spend his time.

I took a quick shower, cranking it up to hot to knock the chill off my skin from standing out in the snow with my mom. Firmly securing the towel around my waist, I stepped out of the bathroom into the hall, releasing a thick cloud of steam from the doorway.

“Heads up,” Caelyx said from the living room. He looked and sounded groggy, so I guessed he’d been sleeping until now, even though we were pretty deep into the afternoon. “You’ve got company.”

“Company?”

“In your room,” he said, jerking his chin toward my bedroom door before shifting his attention back to the TV. Making my way back down the hall, I knew there was really only one person who’d wait for me in my bedroom.

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