Chapter 5: The Tension Before The Fall

The morning light streaming through the window woke me up, the soft glow warming my skin. My body was aching in all the right ways, but it wasn’t just the lazy soreness of a good night’s sleep—it was the lingering effects of last night with Dylan.

I woke up with a raging hard-on, my mind still hazy from the events that had unfolded in the hours before. The warmth of the blankets felt a little too much, like I couldn’t escape the memories of Dylan’s touch, his breath on my neck, his hands on my skin. My heart was still racing from everything that had happened.

I turned to my left.

Dylan was gone.

The space next to me was empty—still faintly warm, but definitely absent. No arm slung over me, no steady breath at my side. Just quiet.

He’d said something last night about how he liked to start his Saturdays with a lift—”Got to hit legs on Saturday, bro”—like it was some kind of ritual.

I rubbed my face and sat up slowly, swinging my legs over the side of the pullout. My body ached in the best way—lazy, sore, spent. Maybe it was me being slutty and trying to arch my back the whole night, but I didn’t care.

I made my way upstairs, padding into the bright morning light of the kitchen. Jake was already standing there, shirtless in his sweats, pouring cereal into a bowl like it was a sport. Jake was skinny, like me, but I didn’t see him the way I saw his brother. His brother did things to me—figuratively and quite literally last night.

I spotted the note on the counter:

Jake & Dylan—there’s food in the fridge. Don’t burn the house down. We’ll be back Monday. Love you! P.S. Dylan—don’t annoy Troy too much.

I smirked.

I turned to Jake. “Where’s your annoying big brother?”

He barely looked up from his cereal. “Gym. He’s hitting legs, like he always does on Saturdays.”

Jake and I got freshened up, grabbed our things, and left to have brunch. We spent a couple of hours out, the whole time Dylan still nowhere to be found. Jake mentioned that Dylan had a spare key to the house, so we locked up and headed out.

The morning passed easily enough, just like old times. We went to the movies, had lunch, wandered around for a bit. But when the evening came, something started to shift.

As we came out of the movies, I made a quick detour to the bathroom. When I came back, I saw Jake talking to a cute girl, both of them laughing and giggling as they stood by the theater exit. It was around 8 PM, and the energy between them was unmistakable. She was leaning in a little closer, hanging on every word he said.

I couldn’t help but feel like an outsider for a moment, watching them together. It wasn’t like I was jealous, but the way they clicked ... it reminded me of how easy it used to be for Jake with girls. His charm was effortless, and I couldn’t deny how good he was at it.

“Jake, man, ready to go?” I called out, feeling awkward all of a sudden.

Sophie glanced up and smiled, waving me over. “Hey, come join us!” she called with a warm, inviting tone.

I hesitated for a moment, but I didn’t want to be the third wheel, so I walked over, joining them for a couple of minutes. The conversation flowed easily, but I couldn’t help but feel a little out of place. It was obvious they were really hitting it off, laughing, exchanging stories, both of them completely in sync with each other. It was almost like I wasn’t even there.