22. Cameron
CAMERON
“Umm, what the hell is that?”
The question cut through the peace and quiet like a sudden tornado.
Cameron lowered his mug just in time to see Ace and Gavin step into the employees-only area at the back of the bar, interrupting his peaceful coffee.
Giving them both a look, he held his coffee mug gingerly close to his face before responding sarcastically.
“To what are you referring?” Cameron answered in a sorry attempt at a British accent.
Ace nodded toward the mug.
“That. Right there. That deformed piece of child’s creation that should never, ever be anywhere close to your face,” Ace responded. “Is it seriously holding scalding-hot liquid?” Ace cried, his eyes practically bulging from his head.
Cameron smiled and nodded before taking another pleasurable sip from his homemade ceramic mug.
Mouth hanging open, Ace tried to make sense of what he was seeing. “But… it… The handle isn’t even on straight, and the top of the cup looks like it suffered an accident.”
Cameron loved how his imperfect little mug turned out—all mangled and lopsided, full of imperfections like each and every person.
“Yeah, but I love it.” Cameron chuckled, holding up his masterpiece so his friends could take a better look. “It’s the mug that I made on my date with Basher last week. Every time I look at it, I think about him and how perfect that date was.”
Ace mimicked throwing up in front of them. “Stop, you’re making me gag.”
“I think it’s sweet,” Gavin said, taking the mug and admiring it himself.
“Yeah, well, you’re a hopeless romantic and sleeping with my brother. So clearly, you have no taste,” Ace chirped, hopping onto the table next to Cameron.
“The date was sweet. Doing something so creative and having something to always remind you of that moment is so special,” Gavin responded.
“I guess,” Ace answered, scrunching his nose and watching Gavin examine the mug. “It just reminds me of those deformed puppies you see on social media, with their tongues sticking out and their hair all mangled. It’s like putting your lips on that every time you go and take a sip of your coffee.”
Cameron and Gavin both laughed.
“Hey, don’t make fun of my poor, deformed little mug. He was made with love and incompetence,” Cameron defended, grabbing his mug back from Gavin and taking another sip while being judged.
“You’re really starting to fall for this guy, aren’t you?” Gavin asked, glancing toward the barroom doors just to make sure no one was coming in.
“Yeah, I really am. The more I get to know him, the more he opens up to me. He broke into my place the other night and fixed my leaky faucet without even being asked.”
“Broke in?” Ace asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah, but he did it with so much love and good intention,” Cameron defended.
Gavin turned to Ace. “It’s not like your boyfriend has never done anything crazy before for love. Didn’t he pit-fight some giant and kill his own father for you?”
Heart-shaped emojis filled Ace’s eyes as he appeared to relive that moment in his mind. “Yeah, the guy was such an animal. It had my dick hard for days.”
“And wasn’t your meet-cute moment being thrown into a trunk by Marcus?” Cameron asked Gavin, the corner of his mouth itching to burst into a laugh.
“Yeah, such a romantic,” Gavin answered, clearly reliving the moment as well.
“Sounds like we could all use some serious counseling,” Cameron joked, taking another sip of his coffee.
“Well, I think it’s sweet, you and Basher falling for one another.” Gavin turned to face Cameron. “But what happens when his crew says it’s safe to return home to Vegas?”
That was something Cameron was trying very hard not to think about.
He had no idea what would happen when the time came.
They hadn't talked about it. Hell, they hadn't even talked about whether they were officially in a relationship.
It was one of those uncomfortable subjects people preferred to ignore—one of those taboo topics everyone knew existed, yet somehow managed to dance around, hoping it would sort itself out.
Sensing the sudden awkwardness in the air, Ace quickly jumped in to change the subject.
They continued chatting until Cameron finished his coffee, after which the three of them decided to head into the main area of the bar to check on how the others were doing.
Marcus was sitting in a booth, having a beer with Caden, Nikolai, and Reid.
Gavin immediately stormed over to the booth, crossing his arms and glaring at his man.
“Umm, where the heck is Puppy?”
The guys quickly stopped chatting and glanced around the bar. Marcus checked under the table before turning his sights on the love of his life.
“He was just here,” Marcus answered, quickly realizing he might have fucked up.
Cameron immediately joined the search, checking under a few of the tables as he made his way around the bar.
The dog had to be around here somewhere. It was kind of hard to lose a full-grown border collie.
“Puppy?” they began calling.
Alexis popped her head up, hearing all the commotion. “You looking for Puppy?”
“Yeah, it appears that Daddy Marcus may have forgotten to keep an eye on their baby,” Cameron joked, knowing how much the two of them loved their baby, Puppy.
Alexis nodded toward the door.
“What?” Cameron asked, quickly rushing to the door with Gavin, Ace following close behind.
When they stepped out the door, the three of them stopped dead in their tracks.
Standing by the front entrance was Basher, arms folded across his chest, looking menacing as always. And by his feet sat Puppy, alert and static, assisting his favorite bouncer with keeping the bar safe from would-be crashers.
Basher turned toward them.
“What?” he asked, barely moving a muscle.
The three of them started laughing.
“Looks like you’ve got yourself a new friend,” Cameron teased, nodding at the dog.
Basher glanced down at the four-legged beast, sitting alert beside him, before turning his gaze back to the street.
“Little bastard’s been following me everywhere. Even to the urinal when I went to take a piss.” Basher turned to look at Cameron once again. “Have you ever whipped your dick out to take a piss with a panting puppy staring up at you all lovingly? It’s fucking creepy.”
“I’d imagine it’s no different than how Cameron stares at you when you whip your dick out in front of him,” Ace decided to add. “Panting and breathing heavy, with his mouth wide open and paws—ow!” Ace blurted when Cameron decided to punch him in the arm.
“Too much, my friend,” Cameron added.
Laughing, Gavin strolled over to his baby and bent down to pick him up.
“There, there, my brave little pup. Protecting your daddies from all sorts of dangers, I see.” Gavin gave Puppy a kiss on the top of his head, followed by Puppy licking him excitedly on the cheek.
The guys all followed Gavin back inside.
Cameron stepped up next to Basher, batting his eyelashes as he stared up into the burly bouncer’s eyes.
“You going to walk me home again tonight? Make sure my ass gets home safe and sound?”
Basher’s eyes heated as they took in all of Cameron’s body.
“I’ll even make sure that you're tucked in nice and tight.”
Cameron gave him a smirk.
His ass was in for another pounding.