Escaping the Current

9. The Rest of the Night Under Fairy Lights

As he got to the part of the sweet goodnight kiss that Austin gave him, they heard a window bang from upstairs.

'Did you close your window?' Charles asked Kaden.

'Probably not,' Kaden answered. He got off the counter and headed to the stairs. He noticed his dad wasn't towering behind him. 'Dad, you're not coming with me? What if it's a murderer?'

Charles shook his head. 'I'm the deputy, that murderer would be an idiot.'

'A stupid murderer is still a murderer, dad.' Kaden rolled his eyes and made his way up the stairs. 'Remember this when you find my dead body upstairs.'

XXX

Kaden opened the door to his room and nearly fell out of his skin. There was a sheet hanging in front of him. 'What the hell?' he uttered. He stepped through the door and saw the sheet was hanging from wall to wall and covered everything. He tried to find an opening. He got to the wall where his closet was on the other side, and a hand popped out from the other side. It grabbed his arm and dragged him in. Kaden was about to scream but Austin's smile, greeting him on the other side, silenced his vocal cords in an instant.

Austin stepped back, revealing Kaden's final surprise of the night. Austin had made a fort with fairy lights hanging everywhere. He had made a cute hangout spot for them on the floor between Kaden's two desks. He had taken Kaden's mattress off his bed and laid his pillows on the wall. He had his computer sitting in the middle of the mattress. It was on standby, ready to provide entertainment.

'If I do remember correctly, you wanted your perfect date to end with a surprise in your bedroom. A blanket with his face on it. Well, I'm obviously not a blanket, but I'd like to keep you warm tonight. And any other night I can.' Austin uttered, panting a little bit. He was noticeably sweaty from moving everything around Kaden's room. 'What do you think?'

The boy nearly made Kaden break down and cry. Austin really listened to everything he said that night at the beach and made sure to give Kaden a memorable date and a perfect ending to it. Austin put his blood, sweat, and tears into making Kaden happy. And he was beyond happy. He felt so loved and wanted at that moment. The green-eyed boy was all too perfect. But Kaden did want to toy with him a little. Kaden licked his lips and crinkled his nose. 'I think that you're breaking and entering, in a cop's home no less.'

'The cop let me in, okay,' Austin rolled his eyes and grabbed Kaden's arm.

Kaden smiled as he draped his arms around Austin's neck. 'Oh, okay. So, it's just vandalism you should be charged for?'

'You're a tiny asshole,' Austin smiled as he wrapped his arms around Kaden and bent his own head. They shared a soft kiss.

Kaden licked his lips. 'No one's ever gone to this much trouble for little old me. From the moment the lights lit up in that dome thing to now, feeling your sweaty body that did the most to get this sheet fort to look so perfect. I love it.'

'I love you,' Austin responded.

Kaden stood on his toes and pulled Austin's face down. It felt as if a spark of electricity lit up a thousand fireworks when they kissed again. They rocked back and forth in sync as if they were listening to the same song.

Austin fell onto the mattress. He reached out his hand to Kaden. Kaden grabbed it and was hastily jerked onto Austin, who immediately regretted that decision. Kaden smiled at Austin gasping for air. 'I know, I know,' Kaden nodded. 'I take your breath away.'

Austin shoved Kaden off to the side. 'Of course, you do,' Austin breathed. 'You're the size of a baby hippo.'

'You jerk,' Kaden hissed, taking a pillow and beating Austin with it. He sat on top of him and continued to hit him over and over.