Page 37 of Primal Urges

Why did he make that last comment?He had been thinking about how cute and sweet Lucas’s voice was when he got all animated talking about something that he was so passionate about, and then he went and made it all weird.

It was at that moment that Lucas finally realized that Caden was walking him home.

“Oh, um, so I should probably let you get back to your place anyway. I don’t live much further from here.” His voice was high-pitched and riddled with nerves.

“It’s alright, Mr. Romance. It’s dark and late, and I’d feel more comfortable making sure that you get home safe.”

“No, no. It’s fine. You don’t have to…” Lucas began but stopped when Caden shook his head.

“Trust me; I only want to make sure that you get home safe. I won’t invite myself in or keep you from getting your beauty rest or anything.”

He watched as Lucas fought back a smile and shook his head in disbelief.

“Fine, this way,” he said reluctantly. It was about time that Lucas realized he could be a stubborn bull when he wanted to be.

They continued on for another ten minutes before they came to Old Man Benson’s farm. It had been a while since Caden set foot on the crazy old man’s property. Not since he was in his late teens and trying to find a secluded place to have a few drinks with his friends.

Caden, of course, was not including the night he followed Luc home. That night never existed.

“So, you’re renting a room from Old Man Benson?” Caden asked, staring at the primary property, not wanting to let on that he knew the truth about Lucas’s living situation.

“Not exactly,” Lucas said, turning to his right and continuing to walk toward the large, brown-and-red barn nestled behind the property. “Mr. Benson had the barn converted into a loft a few years ago. I rent that space from him.”

Lucas pulled open the big barn doors and took a step to the side. “After you.” He motioned for Caden to enter.

A moment later, the barn came to life when Lucas flipped on the lights.

“It’s not much, but it’s home until I can save up and afford a better place.”

Standing inside the barn, the place didn’t look half as bad as it had when he had been peeking in through the window the previous night.

Lucas had set up some twinkle lights along the windows and ladder leading up to the loft. Their light brought a sort of comfy feeling to the space.

On the main level were all the usual tools and machinery one might expect to find in a barn: pitchforks, shovels, a muck tub, and even feed buckets and hay nets. All of these items were neatly stored off to one side of the barn to provide Lucas with as much living space as possible.

Thankfully, the place didn’t smell like horses or farm animals. Caden guessed that it had been quite a while since Old Man Benson used the barn for such a purpose.

“Do you want to stay for a beer? I could throw on a movie or something?”

Caden was surprised to be invited in. Perhaps the boy was beginning to warm up to him after all.

He smiled.

“Sure. That would be great.”

Lucas grabbed two beers from the fridge and then led them up the ladder to the loft above.

The loft was small and simple. There was a tiny table for sitting and eating breakfast, a dresser with a mirror mounted on the wall, and a mattress resting on a handmade wooden frame, clearly crafted by the landlord himself.

Caden glanced around the room.

There was no television or a couch to sit on to watch the movie.

“Where are we…?” Caden began before noticing Lucas sitting on his bed, opening his laptop.

Taking a sip of his beer, he walked around to the other side of the bed, then paused as he tried to calculate the best way of positioning himself so that they could both fit on the tiny bed.

Tilting his head to the right and then the left, Cade tried to imagine the position of their legs and arms, possibly even their heads…if he just?

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