C9 Haru to Aiden: Chapter 9

Aiden

Shutting his bedroom door behind him, Aiden leaned his back against the frame. His body felt hot, heavy, and weak. He took a few deep breaths to calm the turmoil of emotions erupting inside him.

“Fuck!” he swore softly under his breath. He had just jerked Haru off. He felt his heart race, and his head was filled with this new sense of thrill, of love, and he felt like he was on cloud nine.

He took another deep breath, and it was only then that reality returned to taunt him that what he had done moments ago was disgustingly wrong.

“Shit!” he swore. “What the hell have I done?”

Had he just taken advantage of Haru when the boy was vulnerable? he wondered. God, was he that desperate? Fuck, he was a despicable adult.

With weak knees, he walked over to the king-sized bed and tiredly collapsed on it. Lying there restlessly while staring up at the ceiling, he wondered how on earth he was supposed to face Haru the next day. Should he act as if nothing had happened?

Yes, he should do that, shouldn’t he?

Deep down, however, he knew it wasn’t the right thing to do. At least that wasn’t Aiden’s normal behavior. He wasn’t the type to pretend nothing had happened when something had happened. He had always been the type to face his challenge head-on, despite how ugly it was, and now was no different.

He’d have to apologize to Haru, he decided.

He closed his eyes, and once again, the image of Haru—flushed face and bright eyes—emerged in his mind.

Aiden licked his lips, because fuck, the visualization was just so vivid. Haru was too enticing for words, what with his wet hair clinging to his face, blushing cheeks, and milky pale skin. When the picture of Haru sitting there with his legs spread apart, showcasing his aroused penis, came next, Aiden knew he was done for.

“Shit!” he muttered under his breath. He felt both pleasure and guilt as his own cock responded by becoming hard. “This is going to be a long night,” he said.

Of course, he tried to sleep but couldn’t. By the time dawn arrived, he was more than a little frustrated. Sporting messy blond hair and dark circles under his hazel-green eyes, he got up and changed into his jogging gear.

He needed physical action, and exercise would help ease his agitation.

He headed out his bedroom door, walked across the hallway, and then into the kitchen. He gulped down a glass of cold water and then headed out.

The street was quiet during this time of the morning, and Aiden was glad since there wouldn’t be anyone around to disturb him. Of course, when Aiden ran, he was usually deep in thought, and mostly about Haru. And when he thought about Haru, he forgot about everything else, even his surroundings.

He walked down the driveway of their apartment complex and then headed along the streets of their neighborhood toward the park. He ran for a good two hours, slowing down now and again when his heart raced too fast or when he couldn’t catch his breath. Usually, this’d be when he was sprinting like the devil was chasing after him, simply because he tried to shut out the thought of Haru, and when he couldn’t, he’d get even more agitated.

By the time he was back home, it was seven in the morning, and he was sweating like a pig. After stepping across the threshold of their apartment and shutting the door behind him, Aiden decided he’d stop by the kitchen first before showering, as he was in desperate need of a cold drink.

He was just walking along the hallway when he heard a door open and then shut. Aiden raised his head, and the moment his gaze met that of Haru’s, he swallowed hard.

He noted the boy’s jet-black hair was a bed-style mess, as were his sleep shirt and pants. He looked half asleep.

Aiden didn’t miss that Haru gasped in surprise the moment the boy saw him along the hallway. Then he saw the blushes appearing prominently across the milky complexion of that face.

Aiden thought it was either now or never and started toward the boy. Haru, however, seemed like he didn’t want anything to do with Aiden and hastily turned around.

Aiden was about to reach the boy when Haru slipped back into his bedroom and shut the door with a determined click.

Aiden came to a sudden stop and stood stock-still there in the hallway. Well, what did he expect? Especially after what had happened last night.

An amused chuckle came from behind him, and Aiden turned to see Noah.

The younger brother folded his arms across his chest as he said, “What did you do to the princess? Did you two fight or something? And so early in the morning, too.”

Aiden raked his fingers through his sweat-soaked hair in frustration.

“It was nothing,” he said and then turned on his heel, heading toward the kitchen, which was where he had intended to go in the first place. He desperately needed a cold drink, more so especially after he had seen Haru—in that bed-style messy hair and clothing, and fuck, those half-asleep eyes and kissable lips that seemed so inviting.

Noah followed him into the kitchen. At the sink, Aiden gulped down two glasses of cold water and then wiped his mouth, his mind still on Haru.

As he brewed some coffee, Noah said, “He shut the door in your face; that’s not nothing.”

Aiden didn’t miss the amused tone he heard in his brother’s voice. It was true that if Haru acted like that then it meant something, and most likely, it was because the boy was pissed with him. After all, Haru was rarely, if ever, pissed with Aiden.

“It was probably something stupid I did last night,” Aiden admitted, a dark frown crossing over his face.

Noah chuckled. “A responsible adult like you did something stupid? I find that hard to believe. But anyway, you two better make up; otherwise, today is going to be hell for all of us. Remember we have a dinner party, and none of us wants a sour gathering. You tend to act like the world has ended when you can’t get along with Haru.”

Aiden widened his eyes in surprise as if he had just remembered the party. He had promised his brothers a few weeks ago they could bring their friends around for a light dinner celebration. Noah had graduated the university last year and was about to start his first professional job in a week’s time.

Noah raised a brow. “You forgot about that, eh?”

Aiden chuckled. “Yeah, well, I have a lot on my mind.”

“And most of what’s on your mind is about Haru, no doubt,” Noah said.

Aiden turned his gaze to his brother. Though he didn’t deny it, he said, “Work.”

Noah smiled. “Yeah, right. Work.”

“Morning,” Reo’s voice came from the door.

Both brothers turned and greeted in unison, “Morning.”

Noah said, “Right, I’m off for my morning run.”

Aiden and Reo nodded. Once Noah was gone, Reo said, “By the way, you want me to come help shop for the dinner party?”

Aiden said, “That would be a great help, Reo.”

“Okay, tell me when you’re ready to go,” Reo said.

“We’re probably going to buy a lot of stuff since there’ll be quite a lot of mouths to feed,” Aiden said.

“No doubt about that,” Reo said. “There will be, like, fourteen of us, plus Jessy, the only girl.” He chuckled. “I hope she doesn’t feel uncomfortable being the only girl in the clan.”

Aiden said, “I doubt she minds. Anyway, Tina is coming as well, so she won’t be the only girl.”

Reo raised his brows in surprise. “I thought Tina and Peter were busy.”

Aiden sighed. “Tina changed her mind.” In fact, the woman had texted him during his run to tell him she and her husband would be coming. He had no doubt her intention was to check up on Haru.

“Anyway, I’m taking a shower.”

Reo nodded, and Aiden disappeared from the kitchen doorway.

In the bathroom, Aiden took his time showering, and once he was done, he felt refreshed and ready for the day, despite that he hadn’t had a wink of sleep last night, and the thought of Haru and what he had done to the boy still hung heavily over his head.

Dressed in a pair of dark jeans that fit his muscular long legs perfectly and a casual gray T-shirt, he headed out the door. After he’d finished putting his dirty clothes in the laundry, he thought about talking to Haru but changed his mind. He’d get things sorted out for the day first, and then he’d talk to the boy about last night.

Nodding at that sound plan, he headed back into the kitchen to see Reo busying himself cooking the family a hearty morning meal of scrambled eggs and toast.

Aiden poured himself a cup of the black coffee Noah had brewed and then sat down as Reo put the plates of cooked food on the table in front of him. “Smells good.”

“Help yourself,” Reo said.

The delicious aroma of Reo’s food must have woken up the other brothers, because as Aiden was just putting a forkful of scrambled eggs into his mouth, Mason appeared at the door, along with Isaac. Both were sporting bed-style hair and disheveled pajamas.

“Morning,” Mason said as he came to sit down opposite Aiden.

“Morning,” Isaac said, along with a yawn. He, too, sat down and helped himself to the food.

Aiden flicked his gaze to the door, hoping to see Haru turning up along with his brothers. But of course, the open door remained sternly empty, and Aiden returned his attention to his meal.

Reo said, “So, any one of you two offering to come along and help with the shopping for our party tonight?”

Mason shook his head gently. “Sorry, I’m meeting up with Lucas and Carter after breakfast. We’re going to do some studying.”

“Okay,” Reo said, and then turned to Isaac.

The youngest Davis brother shook his head as he said, “No can do, Reo. I’m meeting up with my friends this morning as well.”

Reo sighed as he looked at Aiden.

Aiden chuckled. He said, “Looks like it’s just you and me then.”

Reo nodded.