Kyle was reeling. Carson's hand was tight around his wrist, and he knew he should pull away. He didn't understand why Carson was even here, and the guy better have a pretty good fucking reason why.

Things had been going well with Holden. The guy was charming and intelligent—not to mention, really fucking hot. He was the perfect distraction from Carson that Kyle needed. Except now Carson was here ruining all the fun, and Kyle didn’t have the vaguest idea why.

"Carson, stop, let go. What do you need?" Kyle said, pointedly looking at their hands. Carson's grip around him loosened, and Kyle was able to free himself.

"You can't leave with him," Carson said with finality.

Kyle blinked, hard, trying to process what the fuck Carson just told him. Before he could reply, though, Holden laughed beside him.

"I'm pretty sure Kyle can do what he likes." Then to Kyle, Holden said, "I thought you said you were single. Who’s he?”

"I am," Kyle said emphatically. Because he was. Kyle was one hundred percent single, and Carson was one hundred percent straight. Wasn’t that the whole fucking problem to begin with? Why did Carson care now? "Carson is leaving."

Carson was entirely focused on Kyle, and he didn't know what to do with the attention. "Don't do this, Kyle. Don't leave with him."

Kyle shook his head. What the hell was going on? Was this a joke the group was playing? Because if it was, it certainly wasn't a very good joke. Didn't they encourage him to go after Holden earlier? Carson had never cared about Kyle’s love life before—why was he starting now? Kyle had so many fucking questions, so many fucking whys, and he sure as hell was going to force an answer from Carson.

"Give me one good reason why not," Kyle said. He looked at Holden, trying to convey his apology to the man. As much as there was a large part of him that demanded answers from Carson, god, he shouldn't even be entertaining this. He really should just leave with Holden. Carson could deal with whatever it was he playing at by himself.

"He doesn't deserve you," Carson said, and fuck, wasn’t that a shock to Kyle’s gut.

Holden pulled his arm away from Kyle gently. “Ohhh-kay. I think that’s my cue to leave. You know what, it's clear the two of you have shit you need to work through," he said kindly. "You have my number. Call me if you ever resolve this--whatever this is." He smiled at Kyle wryly, turning his back to the bar.

Kyle moved to go after him. "Holden, wait, I--"

Except Carson looped his arm around Kyle, pulling him against his chest. Carson smelled good, he always did, and for a moment, Kyle forgot about Holden. Forgot about his anger, forgot about his confusion.

It didn't last, because Carson spoke. "Don't go after him, please. Just--"

Wrenching himself away from Carson's touch, Kyle turned around to look at him straight in the eye. He pulled him to the corner of the bar entrance, where they wouldn't be bothered by anyone. "Okay, what the fuck was that? Honestly, Carson. What the hell's gotten into you?"

Carson looked lost. "I don't fucking know, okay? All I know is that you shouldn't go home with that guy."

"Why the hell not?" Kyle demanded angrily. Carson didn't get to pull this alpha shit on him, not when Carson made it abundantly clear that he wasn't interested in Kyle.

"Because I want you to come home with me." Carson looked just as startled as Kyle felt at that admission.

What the hell?

Kyle laughed viciously. "I'm not just a toy, Carson. You don't get to decide you want me, just because another alpha decided I was worth his time."

"Fuck that alpha," Carson said vehemently. "He doesn't deserve you, okay?"

"Oh? And you do?" Kyle said. "What's going on, Carson?"

Carson didn't have an answer for him. Without warning, Carson kissed him. It wasn't a gentle kiss, no. It was long, deep, and absolutely fucking filthy. Kyle could only hold on to Carson's arms, hanging on to steady himself, as Carson devoured his lips.

Fuck. He'd dreamt about this for so long. Dreamt about having Carson like this for as long as he could remember, and now it was happening. Carson tasted like mint and beer and Kyle wanted to get lost in him, wanted to get lost into the kiss.

Carson's hand was tight on his hips, and for a moment, it was like Kyle could pretend that Carson was his.

They were breathing hard when they pulled apart, Carson's lips glistening in the dark of night, and Kyle wanted to lean in and kiss him some more. He wanted to kiss him again and again, the idea of stopping a forgotten one in his head.

He was about to lean in, when a flash of uncertainty graced Carson's eyes. Reality came crashing back in, and Kyle felt bereft, like something had been stolen from him.

This situation sucked.

"I--we shouldn't have done that," Kyle said. He didn't know what the hell was up with Carson, but people didn't go from zero to ten in the course of a day. Carson wasn't attracted to him--he never had been, and this sudden interest in him was probably very temporary.

He was sure Carson was going to regret this the morning after, when he suddenly didn’t have beer to blame his actions on.

"No," Carson said with a firmness in his voice that took Kyle aback. "I--that was good, Kyle. Really good."

"It was a mistake," Kyle said, wriggling himself out of Carson's grasp. He needed some perspective. He needed to be as far away as possible from Carson.

Carson shook his head, grabbing a hold of Kyle's wrist again. "No, no, I don't think so. That kiss didn't feel like a mistake, Kyle. I don't--I don't know what's happening, but that was definitely not a mistake."

Kyle couldn't stay there anymore. The longer he stayed in Carson's orbit, the more he got pulled right in. Carson was obviously not sound of mind, and Kyle needed to put a stop to this right now. If Carson wasn't going to do it, then Kyle had to do the job.

"Stop, Carson. Look, go home. You're drunk and you don't know what you're doing. We'll forget about this in the morning, okay? I gotta go." Kyle released his arm from Carson's grip, letting his feet carry him away.

He'd forgotten how persistent Carson could be, though, because Carson followed him, holding him by the waist. "Kyle, wait. Don't go, please," he said. "I'm not drunk, I’ve had a couple of beers, and I don't know why you think I'm going to regret this in the morning. Regret you."

Kyle laughed mirthlessly, moving to the edge of the sidewalk to allow other people through. "You've never once showed any interest in me, of course you'll regret kissing me in the morning."

Carson was standing too close, and it was fucking with Kyle's senses. He felt unsteady, his palms sweating, his head getting more and more unclear. God, he really needed to go home. Carson was too much. This was all too much, and he couldn't deal.

He didn't pull away, though, when Carson brought them even closer together, his back against Carson's chest. "Kyle, I--" Carson stopped, his hold on him stronger. "Fuck, Kyle. Are you in heat?"

Kyle gasped a breath. He couldn't be. It was impossible. His heat wasn't for another couple of months. "No--no. I'm not. I can't be," he said, but his mind was reeling. It did explain the symptoms he was feeling now. He felt heady, his body shivering as Carson touched his hand.

Fuck. Did the kiss really induce his heat?

It wasn't unheard of. Heightened and highly emotional situations--especially ones like their kiss—were known to trigger unexpected heats. Just not in him. This had never happened to him before.

He wanted to laugh. Of course kissing Carson would trigger his heat.

"Fuck, you smell--you smell fucking amazing, and Kyle--"

Kyle started moving again. He couldn't be here. If he really was in heat, he couldn't be out here with Carson. He needed to lock himself up in his room, and fuck his heat out of his system the usual way: with a lot of toys and even more frustration.

"Kyle, no, wait. You can't. Don't leave, please."

Closing his eyes, Kyle stopped at Carson's voice. "I have to go," he said. "If I really am in heat, I need to go home before it gets worse."

"Let me come home with you," Carson said, and Kyle's mouth opened in surprise. Was Carson really asking what he was implying?

"Carson, if I'm in heat, you can't come home with me. Not unless you want to break in my heat with me," Kyle said, his patience running thin.

Carson clasped their hands together, bringing them to his lips. He kissed Kyle's fingers softly, and Kyle almost trembled at the feel of it. "I want it, Kyle. I want you. Surely you feel it, too. Something is happening between us, and I don't want to ignore it. Not when it feels this good, this right."

He stepped inside Kyle's bubble, taking away the space between them. He kissed Kyle lightly on the lips. It was the complete opposite of the kiss they had earlier. While that one was intense and ramped up with emotions, this kiss was soft, gentle, and so full of promise, Kyle thought he was going to break.

This was a terrible idea. Carson didn't know what he wanted, and Kyle was heading nowhere except for heartbreak.

He never said he was smart, though, because he nodded when they pulled apart. "Okay," he said. "If you really want to, if you're sure you're not going to regret it tomorrow. Okay."

"I won't," Carson said. "And trust me, I want. God, I don't think I'd be able to let you go, anyway. You don't know what you smell like right now, what you look like. I can't walk away."

Kyle gulped. They really were doing this then. Without another word, he walked forward, leading them to his house, Carson keeping up quietly beside him.

Carson still hadn't let go of his hand, their fingers intertwined.

This was going to be a one-time thing. Carson was just going to help him through his heat. Kyle couldn't afford to think otherwise, to think there was anything more to this.

He took a sidelong glance at Carson.

God, he was so fucked.