Page 56 of Primal Urges

Caden couldn’t help but chuckle. “Romantic as fuck, isn’t it?”

They walked up Old Man Benson’s dirt driveway and looped around to the back of his barn.

“This is the perfect spot right here,” Caden said as he set the food down and began unfolding the blankets and laying them down on the field.

Once they were all settled, Caden popped the cork on the bottle of wine that he had purchased and began filling their plastic cups.

“To getting to know one another and being romantic as fuck,” Caden toasted, clacking his cup against Lucas’s.

Lucas rolled his eyes. “Still confusing as fuck.”

Caden passed him a burger and some cold salads before he began digging in himself. It wasn’t fancy, but it was him.

Over the next few hours, they talked about their friends and family.

Lucas had one older sister who lived on the East Coast. They weren’t close, and he had left her a message that he was going to be traveling through Europe for the next few months when he decided to leave his ex and LA. He figured that he would contact her again once all the heat had died down and he was able to safely get in touch.

His parents? Well, they were useless, according to Luc. They had taken off to South America to pursue their dream careers studying endangered species—something Lucas had absolutely no interest in. He spoke to them once in a blue moon, but in his eyes, he had no parents.

Lucas still avoided talking about his ex, only stating that he was a horrible man and that it took him a lot to gather the courage to leave him.

Sensing the boy’s failing mood, Caden decided to steer his attention toward the stars above. The night was warm, and the sky was clear, perfect for gazing up at the heavens.

“I can’t believe how many you can see,” Lucas marveled, lying on his back, arm tucked under his head. His chest rose and fell as he breathed in the warm summer night.

Caden lay beside him, their shoulders touching ever so slightly. He felt calm and connected. Like somehow, all of his stress and worries had been cut in half. Like somehow, Lucashad accepted the burden and sucked his troubles out of him through his body. It was strange, but being around the boy always made him feel relaxed and at peace.

That was, of course, when he wasn’t freaking out and running off like a scared pansy-ass.

Still, being under the night sky with Lucas somehow felt right.

Feeling at peace, Caden stared up at the stars and let himself just be in the moment.

“I used to sneak over here when I was in high school. I’d lie down on the grass, stare up at the stars, and wonder how many planets had aliens on them.”

“That movie always scared me.”

“What?Aliens?” Caden asked, turning his head ever so slightly.

“Yeah, the one with Sigourney Weaver. The woman was badass in it, but the way those aliens moved and were able to hide in any dark corner always scared the shit out of me.”

Heart pounding in his chest, Caden slowly slid his hand until it was barely touching Lucas’s.

He felt the boy’s body tense.

Swallowing hard, Caden slid his hand over Lucas’s and gently took his hand in his.

Caden held his breath while he waited for Lucas to say something. Gradually, he felt Lucas’s warm fingers begin to curl around his.

The beating of his heart quickened.

Why was he so nervous? He wasn’t a virgin, and he had held hands with people before.

Women.He’d held hands with women. That was the huge distinction.

Yet holding Lucas’s hand in his was not the same. There was more to it. More feeling than he had ever felt before.

Cade’s heart continued to beat against his chest.

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