Diff'rent Strokes (revisited, edited and updated)

Under Pressure

Elijah Moore

I woke up next to my brother's roommate. My head was a mess—shouldn't have drunk that much last night. The sharp edge of a hangover crept in, but worse than that? The heat rising in my chest. My first time with a dude, and it went down like this. I couldn't even look at him—Kayden, still stretched out on the bed, all casual, like it was just another night.

That's when he woke up, stretching like everything was chill.

"What's wrong?" he asked, rubbing his eyes, voice rough from sleep.

I hesitated. Should I say something? Or act like this was nothing?

But damn, Kayden had this way about him, like he could see through me. Something about him made it feel like I could just be real. So, I blurted it out.

"Do you remember what we did... last night?"

"Yeah, why?" He pulled on his boxer briefs, giving me a look that was far too easygoing for what had just gone down.

My mouth went dry. "I ain't never did no shit like that before. This gotta stay between us. My brother can't find out."

Kayden just shrugged, tying his shoes with no rush, like none of this was anything serious.

"Okay, your brother don't know nothin'. I highly doubt he suspects anything. What he don't know won't hurt him." His smirk crept up as he stood.

I stared at him, trying to wrap my head around this. My body still felt like it was on fire from last night, but my mind was spinning with doubt.

I shook my head. "This can't happen again, Ky. This shit is blowin' my mind! What would my parents think if they found out?"

Kayden chuckled, like he wasn't fazed at all. "You know what they say, dark liquor makes the truth come out," he said, pulling me up from the bed, his hand brushing mine.

"Man, let's be real. You like me, and I like you. We ain't gotta force it. We did what we did. Neither of us backed out. You were my first too, but I ain't trippin'. I enjoyed it."

I blinked, the words hitting me like a ton of bricks. "Naw, bruh, I ain't gay." But the way he kissed me again—soft and insistent, pulling me in deeper—shut me up before I could finish the sentence.

I pulled away for a second, heart thundering. "No. This... this ain't me. I can't be doing this."

But Kayden didn't back off. His lips found mine again, and I felt weak, like everything inside me was betraying my mind. His kiss was a goddamn spell, making everything in me ache for more.

"Stop trippin'. Let it take its course. You didn't stop me when I kissed you—not once, but twice. What's that say?" He brushed my face, and his words melted into my skin.

I stared at him, conflicted. Every instinct screamed at me to pull away, to leave before this went any further, but another part of me... wanted it. Wanted him. Bad. And I couldn't deny it.

His lips found mine again, deep and desperate this time, and for a moment, I let myself fall into it. I kissed him back, hands sliding across his chest, and he pushed me back onto the bed, this time with a little more urgency. He moved me like he knew exactly what he was doing.

Then my phone buzzed.

"It's Luke," I muttered, checking my watch. "Hold up."

Kayden moved off me, rolling to the side with a frustrated sigh as I answered.

"Where y'all at?" Luke's voice was sharp, cutting through the haze in my head.

"We passed out over here. I was too drunk to make it back, so Kayden stayed with me. You want to talk to him? We're on our way over. You making breakfast?" I asked, though I could feel the cold sweat forming on my skin as I lied.