A LITTLE DISCLAIMER

This story is entirely fictional and was written purely for entertainment. The characters’ actions, choices do not necessarily reflect the author’s personal values or beliefs, nor should they be taken as an endorsement of such behavior.

Sometimes a story is just a story, and it’s perfectly fine to enjoy it without searching for deeper meanings.

And please, keep one very important thing in mind:

Every single character in this book is a little bit stupid. Some are just better at hiding it than others.

So don’t expect perfect decisions or emotionally mature adults. Just enjoy the chaos, and let these idiots fall in love. ♡

Cade knew he was in trouble the moment he bought a second coffee mug. He then wasted an entire morning trying to come up with an explanation that had nothing to do with Vincent.

His previous boyfriends had made do with whatever dishes had been sitting in the cupboard for years. Now, suddenly, every mug looked filthy. He bought a plain white one at a store and hid the receipt under a box of light bulbs. At twenty-five, discovering that he was the kind of person who worried about someone else’s comfort at breakfast felt almost childish. Especially after eight months of insisting they were nothing but fuck buddies.

Officially, they’d only been a couple for a week, though Vincent had been spending his evenings at Cade’s place for ages. In the mornings, his shirt would be waiting over the back of a chair, folded with impeccable precision after a night of heated sex. Vincent always got dressed before Cade could think of a respectable excuse to make him stay. Cade assured his sister, Maya, that the arrangement suited him perfectly. Meanwhile, he had learned to recognize the sound of Vincent’s car beneath his windows. Maya pretended to believe him. Once, she even asked if he’d like to draw up a schedule for his entirely coincidental trips to the window.

Things changed after an evening when Cade showed up with an editor from the office next door. Vincent was unfailingly polite to the editor throughout dinner and reserved every cutting remark for Cade. After the editor left, they stayed and argued until closing, when an exhausted waiter finally asked them to vacate their booth. Vincent admitted he hated seeing other men around Cade. Cade, just as exhausted, replied that he could have stopped going on other people’s dates a long time ago if his own date had ever agreed to call it a date.

After that, Vincent stopped asking whether Cade was free in the evening. Instead, he’d say, “I’ll pick you up at eight.” They both counted that moment as the beginning of their relationship.

Cade always noticed the tiny pause before those words and worked hard not to look too pleased with himself. He liked that a man so sure of everything else had to learn how to be someone’s boyfriend specifically with him. Sometimes he wanted to help. Much more often, he wanted to see what Vincent would come up with on his own.

One Tuesday morning, they were having breakfast at Cade’s. Vincent noticed the new mug almost immediately, though he waited until his second cup of coffee to mention it. Standing at the sink, Cade announced that the old crockery had been ruining the kitchen’s aesthetic. Vincent found the price sticker still stuck to the bottom. He looked at Cade with such quiet satisfaction that Cade wanted to cover him in hickeys that would never heal.

“Don’t turn this into some grand declaration of eternal love,” Cade said, reaching for the sugar. “It was on sale. Besides, you’re always complaining that my mug is awkward to drink from.”

Vincent moved the sugar bowl so Cade could reach it and brushed his fingers against Cade’s wrist. “Yes. Terribly awkward.”

Cade laughed despite himself and let Vincent hold his hand a little longer than necessary.

A garbage truck had blocked the courtyard outside, so Vincent couldn’t drive out for another ten minutes. Once, being forced to linger like that would have made them both uncomfortable.

Before leaving, Vincent asked whether Cade could keep Saturday free. When Cade mentioned a possible work commitment, Vincent let out an unhappy sigh but didn’t offer to fix the problem for him. Instead, he asked when Cade would know for sure. Cade promised to text after meeting the client. He liked the thought that Saturday already existed in somebody else’s plans, even if his own calendar wasn’t cooperating.

Shift Studio occupied the second floor above a lighting store. Cade had founded it with his sister after they’d both grown tired of selling good ideas to a boss who passed them off to clients as his own. Maya could turn an ordinary conversation over drinks into a decent business deal; Cade could turn an idea into designs that actually worked. They argued over the studio’s expenses almost daily, but in two years neither had tried to prove who was in charge.

Their newest contract might finally allow them to rent an office without pipes humming through the walls. The Orbit cinema was reopening after renovations and wanted something beyond ordinary advertising. The studio planned a series of short visual stories about finding your way back to familiar places through film. Cade suggested using real traces left by former visitors: handwritten notes on the backs of old photographs, cosplay pictures, and sketches on ticket stubs. The cinema’s representative, Rita, heard him out and then asked whether the studio could finish everything in six weeks.

Cade said yes before Maya could kick him under the table.

Once Rita left, his sister explained at length that in six weeks the only thing they’d have earned was a pair of ulcers. Their one extra employee had taken a permanent job elsewhere, leaving several sequences unfinished. Maya was already interviewing replacements, but Cade wanted someone who actually understood the assignment. Unfortunately, they couldn’t find anyone like that. They were both irritable and making do with freelancers.

By evening, irritation had given way to work. Cade was rearranging images on the wall while Maya discussed a test assignment with a candidate. He hardly listened, but caught that the specialist had recently returned to the city and could start soon. When Maya asked whether he wanted to review the portfolio, Cade told her he trusted her judgment.