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"Alright, I'll go with you."
After a whole week of receiving invitations or comments from Rosalyn about these yoga classes she had started attending with Witira, he decided to accompany them to this blissful class. If doing that would get them to stop bugging him about it every time he took a breath, then it wouldn't hurt to go check it out.
According to Rosalyn and Witira, he had been too focused on company business since his father had taken his stepmother and third brother and they had gone on vacation for the older man's birthday. So he needed to relax a bit.
He really couldn't deny himself, and even if he wouldn't admit it, he was aware that his stress level had done nothing but increase over the past few days. He hadn't even had time to exercise lately, so taking these yoga classes wouldn't hurt.
Alberu Crossman, the heir to the Crossman Family company, walked behind Rosalyn and Witira like a lost duckling.
He had never been to a place like this before, so he followed his friends to avoid doing something stupid.
According to what they had discussed on the way here, the instructor of this yoga class was the firstborn of an influential family. The trash of the Henituse Family, Cale Henituse.
From an early age, the boy had announced his reluctance to enter the business world, preferring to frequent bars and such places of dubious background.
Someone with a free spirit, it really shouldn't surprise him that he did things like yoga.
Alberu entered the lounge, looking puzzled at a couple of familiar faces. As the heir to his company, he knew the other members of the upper-class social circle. So he knew Rosalyn and Witira, but he hadn't expected to see other influential heirs here.
"What are they doing here?"
He asked Rosalyn, who followed the direction of his eyes before nodding and rolling her eyes, surprisingly.
"They haven't missed any classes, I think they want to impress the instructor."
Alberu's nose was wrinkled. It was no secret that those two friends were almost joined at the hip, no wonder they even shared interests.
Heir Adin and Heir Valentino glanced in his direction, ignoring his presence now that they weren't supposed to pretend to be nice to each other, which was fine with Alberu. After receiving the initial shock, he was also not surprised to see Clopeh Sekka enter, who picked up a yoga mat and casually spread it out.
"You'll understand when you see it."
He listened to Witira's words and shrugged.
"It's just a yoga class, what's there to see?"
Witira laughed, pinching his cheek as she shook her head.
"There's plenty to see."
Just in time, the red-haired boy entered the room. His hair, which was probably shoulder-length, was in a braid on one side that ended in a ponytail. The sporty leggings fitted his body perfectly, showing off his curves obtained from training.
Alberu understood things better during the class. The man's deep but soft voice could be heard throughout the room, the boy came to help when faced with problems. As a true beginner in this field, he didn't know whether to be grateful or not with so much attention on him.
Suddenly, as they were doing the warrior III pose, a hand landed on his thigh.
"Lift your leg more, I know you can do it."
Long slender fingers held his thigh, the hand slowly slid down his leg until it reached his ankle, where it received a light squeeze. Unconsciously, he followed the instructions, receiving a pat on the shoulder and a compliment next to his ear.
"Good boy."
Fuck.
Alberu pursed his lips and lowered his head, this was torture.
On the way home, in the car, Rosalyn asked.
"Wasn't that fun?"
As if having someone touching your body was fun. Alberu didn't even hesitate when he blurted out.
"I'm not coming anymore."
The two girls giggled. The instructor had this uncanny ability to charm the "straight" boys with a few simple interactions. Alberu seemed to have fallen for his charms. Instructor Cale also seemed interested in Alberu, though. He helped him with his postures more than with anyone else, even making quite a bit of physical contact, which rarely happened.
The innocent, virgin Alberu couldn't stand so much suggestive contact.
Well, there would always be another opportunity to take Alberu to meet the instructor.
There was no need to worry about that.
Rosalyn and Witira's intervention was not even necessary, Alberu's luck had been bad that day, which was confirmed when he met Cale Henituse at a dinner that his father had organized.
The invitation had been extended to families with close ties to the Crossman, which meant that the Henituse Family was invited, but obviously, no one expected that instead of the second young master the first young master, the one who had renounced his inheritance, would show up. The red-haired boy walked beside Deruth Henituse, with a bored expression on his face.
Alberu, who wanted to ignore the boy's presence, could do nothing when his own father dragged him to greet the incoming families.
The two men quickly found a topic of conversation, leaving them standing to the side awkwardly.
Even with red in the corner of his eye, he kept up his perfect facade as he stared at a spot on the wall. That is until the boy next to him jabbed him in the arm with his elbow.
"Hey, I'm bored, can I go to the balcony?"
Sighing, he turned his face to look at the other. Cale Henituse wore a brown three-piece suit, his shoulders looked broad considering his narrow waist and enviable hips. His hair was in a low ponytail this time, with two loose strands framing his face. Alberu decided not to think about the shape of the other's body under that outfit and preferred to nod softly, flashing a warm smile.
"Of course, you can, let me join you."
He was getting bored of being here too, but he couldn't just go to the balcony to breathe fresh air, at least not if he was alone. But it was different if he was accompanying a guest.
Cale snorted, noting his intentions to escape this exhausting party by using him as a cover, however, he let him do so, exchanging a few trivial phrases so that no one would come around to try to draw Alberu into another conversation.
Finally, they reached one of the balconies, Cale leaned against the railing, watching the city lights with disinterest. Alberu breathed in the not-so-fresh, but equally calming air outside and let the tension escape his shoulders.
At times like this, when all the political relationships became too overwhelming and he had to constantly remind himself that he was the heir to a great company, he sincerely envied people like Cale, who had decided their fate with their own hands and had made their way to new possibilities.
But he couldn't do that, not since he was born the heir to the Crossman Family and certainly not since he set out to become a worthy leader of his future company, far better than his predecessors, and breaking the restrictions within it.
"You didn't go back to yoga class, didn't you have time, or did I overdo it a little and scare you?"
The other's voice brought him back from his self-absorption, he snorted at the question, surprising himself at his slip. He'd gotten too relaxed with Cale at this point, but he decided to leave it at that, he didn't think he'd be able to keep up his facade when he'd already dropped it.
"I guess a little of both."
He leaned on one side of Cale on the railing, watching the small dots of lights in the city and the bustle of the night. The other laughed, in that slightly gravelly voice that continued to haunt Alberu at times.
"I'm really sorry, but you've got a nice body there, and you're too handsome, it would have been a shame to let you go just like that."
Alberu's cheeks took on a slightly pinkish tint. Cale wasn't the first person to flirt with him, but he was certainly the first to be so bold. Starting with those suggestive touches in yoga class and now declaring without further ado that he felt a physical attraction to him, it was too much.
"I- ahem, thank you, I think."
Cale threw his head back as he let out a laugh, Alberu's gaze drifting to Adam's apple protruding from his neck, he almost wanted...wanted, what did he want?
Shaking his head, he shifted his body weight from one leg to the other, waiting for the other to stop laughing at him so blatantly.
"Oh god, you really are cute, don't you want to run away from here with me?"
"Huh?"
The other pulled himself together at last, wiping away a tear that had escaped from the corner of his eye and taking a deep breath to calm his laughter. The reddish-brown eyes twinkled with amusement at him.
"You know, we can go somewhere more fun, not that I wanted to come anyway, I only came because father insisted, and here I am, so I guess I've done my part."
Surely that was not so, but Alberu found no reason to stay in this place when even he longed for the chance to escape. He had never done so, he always stayed until the end, even when his father and the rest of his family had left, he was still at the party, always until the end.
"Let's go."
Ah, Cale Henituse was a bad influence on him, he knew it when he saw his smirk and the triumphant look on his face.
Alberu looked up when he felt something cold hit his cheek. Cale held out a can of soda, which he took without thinking. His mind was still a bit blank. Only when he heard the creaking of metal chains next to him did he come back to reality a little.
"A park."
"Hmm?"
"You brought us to a park."
Cale laughed, swinging like a toddler higher and higher. His red hair swayed in the wind and his eyes were lit by the lamps in the place.
"You sound disappointed, where did you want me to take you?"
Alberu opened the can of soda, taking a sip of the carbonated beverage. He savored the taste a bit before answering.
"I don't know, I just wasn't expecting this."
"We probably look ridiculous."
That was an understatement. It was two grown men dressed in fancy suits sipping canned soda while swinging like kids in a park on a Friday night.
He didn't know what he expected when he climbed into the passenger seat in Cale's car, but this was definitely not it. Although he wasn't disappointed either, it was relaxing, the presence beside him, the quietness of the place. It was perfect.
They were silent, with only the clanking of chains, the bubbling of drinks, and the bustle of people as an indication that this was all real and he wasn't dreaming.
He had escaped from the party organized by his father when it could not even be said to have started. The man would surely be angry with him, even when his third brother had done the same thing many times and no one had said anything to him.
It was exciting.
"Can I ask you a question?"
He didn't know why he asked, but there was no option for regret now. When Cale hummed, he simply blurted out what was on his mind.
"Why did you decide to forgo the family inheritance? You're the firstborn, so why?"
He couldn't understand, why give up what rightfully belonged to him. Alberu was still fighting to keep his position against his siblings, but this boy had given up everything for a different life.
"I like being free."
That was Cale's answer, the boy seemed to think some more before continuing.
"I can do the things I like, and express my thoughts without hesitation, it feels good not to have restrictions that come by blood, I love the freedom. My father understood that, so he still gives me an allowance even when I completely left home to start a life of my own."
That sounded great, something Alberu could never achieve even if he set his mind to it, but not really a bad thing, fate had aligned differently for both of them, and that was okay.
They descended into comfortable silence once again, Alberu getting into Cale's car once more a while later.
Cale's apartment was in a luxurious area, it was a good size and minimalist in style. Several paintings were hanging on the walls that Alberu didn't quite understand, art was never one of his strong points, but the other seemed interested in that.
Following Cale's orders, Alberu took a bath first, putting on a pair of pajama pants that fit him surprisingly well. Maybe a little short, but just that. And... the guy hadn't given him a shirt, but it's not like he wore one to bed in these hot temps anyway.
As the other went inside to take a bath, he thought about whether it was too forward of him to lie down on the bed without waiting for the other to come out. But he decided not to give it much thought and simply sat on the bed, his back against the headboard.
The other came out next, wearing a large T-shirt and possibly only a pair of boxers underneath, he raised an eyebrow at the sight of him settled on his bed, but didn't reproach him, but turned off the lights and lay down next to him.
With more confidence, Alberu lay down properly, moonlight streaming in through the large windows, allowing him to see even with the lights off. Cale stirred after a while, moving closer to him as if he were a cat looking for a comfortable position.
"Were you expecting something else?"
Cale asked out of the blue, but even after thinking about it, he found that things were just fine the way they were.
"Maybe, but I think this is pretty good."
He wrapped his arms around the other as he felt Cale's arm across his chest and his nose buried in the crook of his neck. Their hands roamed each other's body, with no intention other than to know each other's every line and scar.
To think that he had been unnerved by a touch on his thigh a few days ago and that now that same person was running his hands up and down his body was hilarious. Alberu took it upon himself to record every detail he could of Cale's body, intertwining their legs so he could get closer and get a comfortable position.
They fell asleep with each other's warmth enveloping their bodies, Alberu thought this was definitely pretty good.
Alberu woke up to the ringing sound of his cell phone. He ignored the sound and wanted to continue sleeping, but a kick made him snap his eyes open.
"Shut that shit up and let me sleep."
Cale rolled over, turning his back to him as he pulled the covers over him, only a clump of red hair peeking out over the blanket. How cute.
He looked at the caller ID and the word "Father" was on the screen. Alberu groaned before answering.
"Alberu Crossman, where are you?"
His father was mumbling, which was not a good sign. Now, how to respond to this?
"Father, I-"
"Ah—Ngh, ah, Alberu."
Alberu froze, his father on the other end of the phone also seemed to have taken a hit.
Glancing to his side, he looked at Cale's smirk. Shit, the guy really loved to watch the world burn.
"...I'm hanging up."
Without giving his father a chance to answer, he cut the call and tossed his phone onto the nightstand, tousling Cale's hair with one hand.
"You little shit, you're going to bring about my death."
Cale laughed, grabbing his wrist and pulling it away with ease. There was more muscle on his little body than it looked.
"You're too boring, never hurts to have a little fun."
The guy yawned, pulling Alberu back into the warmth of the blankets.
"Let's sleep another while, after all, I don't think you'll be disturbed for a while."
Alberu had no objections, settled down with the other in his arms, and prepared to sleep again.
"Cale."
"Yes, Alberu?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to say your name."
Cale chuckled against the hollow of his neck, clutching his grip against his body.
"Silly."
This strange intimacy, was more than Alberu expected.