Soon, news that I'd been cheated on started spreading in the community like wildfire.

People were secretly calling me "Cuckden" and laughing behind my back.

When my roommate, Mick Kensley, heard about it, he patted me on the shoulders and gave me a pitying look.

"Aiden, it's not that embarrassing that Kai stole your girlfriend. It just means you both have the same taste!"

"If you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all!" I exclaimed, lifting my leg to kick him.

Mick immediately ducked out of the way. He grinned and waved his hands around. "Relax. I've got a wonderful idea. If he keeps stealing your girlfriends, then just get yourself a boyfriend instead. Use that against him. Don't tell me that he's also planning to steal a guy too?"

I turned to look at him. That was a brilliant idea!

"That's perfect! I'd do that even if it was just to disgust him," I said with a final clap of my hands.

Mick then raised his eyebrow and waggled it at me. "So, where are you planning to find yourself a boyfriend?"

I hooked my arm around his neck and smirked. "That's going to be your job."

Before he could protest, I flopped onto my bed and fell asleep at once, the corners of my lips curling upward as I dreamed of revenge and the relief it would bring me.

Mick worked fast. He really managed to find me a fake boyfriend the very next day, and we agreed to meet at the bar the same night.

I didn't think much about it and went for the date excitedly.

The bar was dimly lit, thick with the smell of alcohol and cheap perfume.

My "boyfriend" was Cody Jepson, and he was the athletic, active type.

If Kai was a handsome character who looked like he just came out of a movie, Cody's handsomeness was more of the approachable, down-to-earth kind.

"You're a lot more different than I expected," Cody said with a bashful smile.

I cocked an eyebrow at him and leaned in a little closer. "How so?"

"You're less… rowdy," he answered with a low chuckle, the tips of his ears turning red.

I felt my heart drop to my stomach. I bet Mick must have painted me as some loud, obnoxious clown or something.

But why did tonight's date somehow feel more like a real blind date than anything else?

I couldn't be bothered anymore as long as it kept Kai away from me.

I copied my clingy ex-girlfriends' behavior and leaned closer into Cody's embrace, my shoulder brushing his firm, supple chest.

Cody froze as his Adam's apple bobbed in his throat. His face turned red like he'd just been set ablaze. I could even tell that his breathing went erratic for a couple of seconds there.

He hesitantly slid his hand down to my waist and carefully rubbed the thin fabric of my shirt in his fingers, as if testing the waters.

"Aiden, you…" His voice was hoarse, and a flicker of emotion appeared in his eyes.

Just as I was wondering if Cody's reactions were simply too naive and innocent for his own good, the door to the bar was suddenly slammed wide open with a loud bang.

And then, the worst possible person I could ever bump into walked in.

My eighth ex-girlfriend.

Liesel widened her eyes as she stared at me leaning into Cody's embrace. She was so shocked she might as well have seen a ghost. "Aiden Winston! You're gay?"

I caught a glimpse of Kai, walking in behind Liesel as he took his time, but his eyes were as cold as ice.

I made a decision then and there. I pressed myself closer to Cody, against his broad chest, and reached up to tug coyly on his collar.

Then, I acted as if I was smitten and said, "So what if I'm gay? Love knows no genders. I'm in love with him as a person, and there's nothing you can do about it."

Cody played along with me and slid his arm around my waist, pulling me flush against him.

I gritted my teeth and put up with it, sneaking a glance at Kai.

His face was as dark as thunder as he glared at my arm that was looped around Cody's waist.

I felt triumphant. Finally, I got back at him for something!

"Disgusting," Kai spat, turning to leave.

Liesel hurried after him. "Kai, wait! Isn't it your birthday today?"

As soon as they were gone, I heaved a sigh of relief and patted Cody on the shoulder. "Thanks, man. I officially owe you dinner for this. Just hit me up whenever you're free."

Cody looked at me with a conflicted expression on his face. Then, he answered in his low voice, "Anytime."

I hummed happily as I made my way home. I couldn't wait to tell everything to Mick and gloat in his face.

"Your genius idea worked! I've literally never seen Kai look so mad and disgusted before. He looked like he'd just swallowed a fly!"

Mick just coughed slightly and wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead. "But Aiden, there's something I think I really need to tell you…"

He paused. "Cody likes you."

I immediately sat up a little straighter.

"What do you mean? You mean he's actually gay?"

Mick nodded, looking like a tortoise retracting into its shell. "Cody seems to be really into you. He wants to meet you again."

My mind went blank. I then stared at my phone, vibrating with an incoming call from Cody. I felt so unnerved that I turned my phone off completely.

Some time later, in the middle of the night, someone hammered loudly at the door while I was in the shower.

I came out with a towel wrapped around my waist and dripped water all over the place as I went to answer the door, wondering what kind of idiot would be wandering around like a lost soul so late into the night.

As soon as the door was opened, I saw Kai standing there with his collar wide open and his collarbones on display.

He smelled faintly of alcohol, and the heat in his eyes nearly burned straight into my skull.

"Why are you here?" I asked, instinctively tightening my grip on the towel around my waist. I just couldn't forget the dirty things he'd whispered in my ear the last time I was at his place.

Kai narrowed his eyes and stepped closer toward me. His breath, warm with liquor, fanned across my neck as he demanded, "Why didn't you pick up my calls?"

I stepped backward and bumped into the door frame. My towel nearly dropped.

"My phone was off!"

Kai then grabbed my wrist. "You turned your phone off for hours? Trying to avoid me, huh?"

My heart began to race. My wet hair was still dripping, and the droplets fell onto my collarbone and slid down my chest.

Kai's eyes followed the droplets, his Adam's apple bobbing, looking so hungry as if he hadn't eaten for days.

"Why would I avoid you?" I shot back at him stubbornly.

The smell of smoke and alcohol on his body was making my brain go haywire. "Let go of me."

Kai didn't let go. Instead, he brought forward his other hand and pressed it into my side.

"It's my birthday today," he said. "Did you forget?"

"I didn't."

"Then, where's my gift?"

Kai then looked at the baseball cap on my bed.

"Don't even think about it," I warned. "I have to wear that cap every night if I want to sleep!"

Kai just pressed himself against me, and he nipped at my earlobe.

"I thought you promised to spend every birthday with me."

I swallowed hard. "Is it not enough having Liesel by your side?"

Kai's eyes darkened. He then grabbed my other hand and pushed both my hands above my head, pinning me against the wall. My towel immediately fell to the floor, the sudden coolness quickly dissipating as his warm body pressed flush against mine.

"Aiden," Kai said, his voice hoarse as he stared at my lips for the longest time ever before swallowing thickly. "If Cody can be your boyfriend, does that mean I have a chance too?"

My brain couldn't even fathom what he said and drew a blank. "What… What do you mean?"

Kai then reached down and grabbed me. "Still don't get it? I want to do it with you."

"What did you just say?"

I stared at Kai, wide-eyed and in shock. My brain felt like it had just exploded.

So it wasn't enough for him to steal my girlfriends? He also wanted me now? Was he out of his mind?

"Kai, calm down, okay?" I found myself saying. "We're both men. There's no need for any of this to happen."

I tried talking sense into him, but I couldn't stop my voice from shaking.

Kai just chuckled coldly and pressed his chest impossibly closer to mine. "Calm down? My ass. Didn't you just say at the bar earlier that love knows no gender?"

My heart was thumping wildly now. "You…"

I gritted my teeth and tried to push him off, but I kept feeling how firm his chest was beneath my palms. It felt so hot that my fingertips almost burned. "Get your hands off me, Kai Valentine! I'm as straight as a ruler!"

Kai just gripped me even harder and thumbed my slit. "Straight? Oh, then why are you hard? Look, you're even getting a little wet."

He then slid his arm around my waist and said, "Did you really think I wouldn't see through your act with Cody?"

I felt my face heating up. I replied stubbornly, "Cody's hotter than you!"

Kai's eyes went dark as he forcefully shoved me back against the wall. He then shoved his pants down, something hard springing up from being released from its fabric constraints.

"Oh, yeah? Then take a good look at my nine-inch monster. Think it's hot enough?"

He suddenly hugged me and said, "Aiden, I'm sorry. Please don't abandon me. I was wrong for stealing all your girlfriends. I just… I just didn't want to see you with anybody else."

I swear my heart felt like it was about to combust. Just as I was about to speak, the door was thrown open with a kick.

Mick, that idiot, then rushed in with a box of pizza. But when he saw us hugging each other against the wall, his eyes turned as wide as saucers.

"A-Aiden?" he stammered. "I… I never saw anything!"

With that, he dropped the pizza box and dashed out of the room.

I shoved Kai away and picked up my towel. "Come back, Mick, you idiot!"

It took forever, but I finally managed to get a hold of Mick and drag him back into the room. When we got back, Kai was already lying in my bed with his eyes closed as though he was asleep.

I suspected that he was just pretending to be asleep and kicked the side of the bed, but he didn't move.

In the end, I just sighed and pushed him farther against the wall so I could fit into the mattress as well.

I really regretted making friends with him at the basketball court when we were kids. Why did I just have to decide to play with him when there were so many other people on the court as well?

Mick was confused too. "How did you even know each other? Your personalities are so different."

"That's why we stopped being friends."

"Why? Why did he keep stealing your girlfriends away? Did you offend him or something?"

"I have no idea," I snapped. "Maybe he just doesn't have anything better to do."

…

Come to think about it, Kai had always treated me well in the past. Although we were both of the same age, he still treated me like his younger brother. He would always share nice things with me whenever he could.

Even when we fought on the streets, he would always make sure to look out for me and shield me behind him. And if we ever got rounded up by the cops, he would shoulder the blame all by himself.

Even Mom once said, "I don't even need to worry about nobody looking after you as long as Kai is around."

I thought that our relationship would be like that forever.

However, when I was in high school, my parents passed away in an accident, and I slowly stopped seeing Kai.

People always said that people in the gang only cared about value. Once someone was no longer deemed useful, he would be kicked out immediately.

I bet Kai must have thought that too. So, when he sensed that I was distancing myself from him, he began to turn on me as well.

Once, he came into the community college I went to and sought me out. He then dragged me into the toilet and wrapped his hands around my neck. His eyes were so dark and intense, as if he wanted to tear me apart.

"Aiden Winston, I'm done being your friend!"

As I expected, he'd never treated me as a real friend. Everything nice he'd done for me in the past had been nothing more than an act.

I shoved him off. "The feeling's mutual. Don't find me ever again."

Kai was momentarily stunned. Then, he said angrily, "Fine! I've already grown sick of you anyway!"

I replied, "I only stayed friends with you because my dad told me to. Now that he's gone, I don't need to be your friend anymore."

It was over between me and Kai. After that fight, I finally started to date around.

But who would've thought that Kai would steal every single one of my girlfriends before we'd even gotten to first base?

Exactly one month after our huge fight, Kai appeared at my apartment building. His eyes were so red I didn't know if it was because he'd been crying or if he hadn't slept well for the month.

I felt sorry for him and asked him if he was alright.

Instead, he glared at my girlfriend behind me and said, voice laced with betrayal, "You blocked my number just to go chasing after love?"

He continued, "Aiden Winston, I guess it doesn't make a difference for you whether or not I'm around, does it?"

I recalled the time his housekeeper had barred me from his house, and I'd seen his childhood friend, Mia Jugg, at his apartment.

"Don't come looking for me anymore," I shot back. "I don't want to see you ever again!"

That night, I cried into my pillow as soon as I got home. It seriously felt as though I'd just broken up with the love of my life.

We'd been close friends for years. There was no way I'd be able to forget him that easily.

…

The next morning, Kai was already gone by the time I woke up.

Suddenly, I received a text message from Cody.

"That guy from last night. Is he your boyfriend? Can we meet if you're free today? I'd like to talk to you."

I didn't reply to him.

The weather was getting hot, and I just wore a plain sleeveless shirt today.

Mick was busy shoving pizza down his throat when he suddenly glanced at me and looked shocked.

"Damn, did you just get yourself another girlfriend?"

"What do you mean?"

Mick dragged me over to the mirror. "Look!"

There was a large, visible red mark smack on the side of my neck.

I was so shocked that I just froze on the spot.