Free Who Knows the Dark by Tere Michaels Page A

play it off, fluttering his eyelashes.
    “You’re good to have around.” Nox touched him then, like he had back in the stateroom. Just his fingertips against Cade’s body—his chest this time, somewhere in the vicinity of his heart. “Never going to be able to thank you.”
    They’d fucked more than once, but the quiet intimacy of this moment stripped Cade bare. He pushed off the truck and into Nox’s arms, crushing their mouths together before Nox had time to react.
    Cade kissed him soft and sweet and slow, tasting him with a darting tongue. Not too deep, nothing to escalate—just a moment in the middle of the craziness to say yeah, I don’t get it either .
    “Yeah, I don’t get it either,” Cade said as he drew their mouths apart. He licked at the taste of them mingled together and laughed when Nox grunted. “Maybe I’ll let you fuck me in my childhood bedroom,” he murmured as Nox ran his hands down Cade’s back.
    “Ugh” came a voice from inside the cab.
    Sam was awake.

C HAPTER S EVEN
     
     
    O NCE C ADE had secured Nox in the back of the truck—and given Sam proper time to be emotionally scarred in private—he got back in and restarted the beast. He and Sam politely ignored each other until the darkness of backcountry roads gave way to a mecca of strip malls and traffic lights.
    “Whoa,” Sam said, sitting up straighter. “It’s like a city.”
    “Not quite yet.” Cade shifted gears, the vibrations of the truck rattling his teeth. “But they’re doing their best to grow one in the middle of nowhere.”
    The little town of Gaiterville had become a hub of commerce, chain stores, and McMansions over time, with every spare corner of land being developed as fast as someone could snatch it up. Coming Soon! signs were everywhere, and after passing four strip malls and mega shopping complexes, they soon came upon the skeleton of yet another, right up against the beginnings of condominiums.
    “When I was real little, all I remembered was two stoplights and a grocery store,” Cade murmured. A new traffic pattern ahead, orange signs for men working, concrete barriers—coming soon, a new connection to the highway. “None of this was here, you know?”
    “Mmmm.” Sam looked out the window. “I never imagined living somewhere like this. It’s got everything you need in one place!”
    The stunned timbre of Sam’s voice redirected his thoughts; for Cade’s family, this was unwelcome progress. For Sam? This was a miracle of commerce and creature comforts.
    “My mother is going to have fun spoiling the hell out of you,” Cade murmured, taking a breath as he eased the truck to the turning lane.
    Last leg of the trip toward home.
     
     
    Interlude
     
    C ADE IS nine when he realizes he is gay. His cousin Vicki comes to spend the summer from the big city (Chicago) and regales him with stories about her best friend, whose name is Tyler. She shows Cade pictures on her phone—and Cade is overwhelmed. This boy is so… so handsome, and his smile makes Cade’s face turn bright red. He thinks about Tyler before he falls asleep and when he wakes up. He imagines them being friends, hanging out together.
    Kissing.
    He probably had a feeling before that, but now he’s sure. The final confirmation is when Vicki confides that Tyler is gay, making her a very cool person because they are best friends forever.
    Feeling bold, Cade tells Vicki that now she knows two gay boys and therefore is extra cool. Vicki squeals with delight. It’s the first time he’s come out, and it’s awesome. Vicki makes it sound like he’s just discovered superpowers.
    Confident, he tells his mother. She doesn’t squeal or anything, but she does hug him and say she loves him. That’s good enough. Then she says, “Let’s wait to tell your father,” and all of Cade’s confidence quakes and shakes like the earth is moving.
    So he waits.
    And waits.
    Loses his virginity to the sheriff’s son and goes steady with his junior high