Chapter Fourteen
Since taking a shower in the middle of the day would have been a dead giveaway, Cameron contented himself with cleaning up the best he could with a washcloth.
His mom was totally going to notice that he’d stripped his bed, but that was a lot less embarrassing than her finding the huge wet stain in the center of the comforter.
Descending the stairs, his ass pleasantly sore and his heart filled to bursting, Cameron almost suggested they sneak out the front door and disappear back to his place for the rest of the week.
Of course, his mother would kill him, but death would probably be less painful than having to introduce Asher to his crazy family.
He found his mom and aunts still in the kitchen, already working on their third bottle of wine.
They were all dressed in glaringly orange shirts baring colorful, handprint turkeys and the words Gobble, Gobble , emblazoned across the chest. It was a tradition dating back for as far as Cameron could remember, and every year, they got together to come up with a new design.
He had a feeling this year had been his mother’s turn. Not overly creative, but still whimsical and sweet. Either way, the Thanksgiving shirts were a hell of a lot better than the ugly sweater contests they held every Christmas .
Eyes slightly glassy, cheeks rosy, they giggled like a bunch of teenagers when Cameron and Asher entered the room with their hands linked together between them.
“Oh, he is handsome,” Aunt Nora cooed, eyeing Asher up and down like a slab of prized beef.
“They’re so cute together!” Aunt Elaine exclaimed, her booming voice echoing around the kitchen.
Aunt Kelly pushed her red, cat-eyed glasses up her nose and peered through her bifocals appraisingly. “Too skinny,” she pronounced with a dismissive sniff. “I like mine with a bit more meat on their bones.”
Cameron rolled his eyes, but he was too used to their antics to take offense. “Everyone, this is Asher Dare. Asher, these are my aunts.” He pointed to each of the women in turn as he introduced them. “Nora, Elaine, and Kelly. They’re all insane, so just ignore them.”
His mother came bustling around the island, smiling in welcome as she pulled Asher into a hug. “I’m so glad you made it, honey. Dinner will be ready soon, but there’s a veggie platter on the counter if you’re hungry.”
“Thank you,” Asher breathed, holding onto her tightly. He seemed to be thanking her for a lot more than celery and ranch dip. “I have a cake out in the car, but—”
“What kind of cake?” Elaine demanded. “Is it chocolate?”
Releasing Sarah, Asher straightened and nodded. “Is there any other kind? ”
Nora cackled gleefully. “I like this boy.”
Even Kelly appeared to soften toward him at the promise of chocolate. “I guess he’ll do.”
Introducing Asher to his uncles went about the same.
Bobby pried his attention away from the television long enough to grunt something that might have been a greeting.
Craig actually stood and shook Asher’s hand, but ruined it by drunkenly asking if this was the guy Cameron was doing “the gay thing” with, then laughing hilariously at his own joke.
Uncle Joe just waved a hand and yelled at them to keep it down.
Like Cameron’s mother, Mark Stone greeted Asher with a hug. Instead of food, however, he offered him a beer, which Asher gratefully accepted. When he finished it in just a few, long swallows, Cameron turned away to hide his smirk. His family was a lot, and they could drive anyone to drink.
Easing down onto the arm of the chair where Asher was sitting, Cameron pressed a kiss to his cheek as he took the empty bottle from his hand. “There’s some bourbon in the study.”
Asher smiled, hooking his arm around Cameron’s waist and dragging him into his lap. “I’m okay, but thank you.” He brushed their lips together, slow and chaste and sweet. “I should probably go get that cake out of the car.”
“I can do it,” Cameron offered, holding his empty hand out for Asher’s keys. “Where is it? ”
Asher hesitated for a moment, then arched up to dig his keys out of the front pocket of his jeans. “In the backseat. Driver’s side.” He helped Cameron to his feet, his hand lingering on his hip. “Thanks, sweetheart.”
Cameron wasn’t delusional enough to believe that they’d never have another argument. There would be obstacles to overcome, hurdles to jump, and hoops to leap through. They’d disagree. They’d say things they didn’t mean, then have to apologize for it.
Yet, as he detoured to the kitchen to deposit the empty beer bottle in the recycling bin, he couldn’t stop smiling.
Love wasn’t a magic wand that would make all of their problems—both internal and external—disappear, but it was a promise.
A promise to try, to do better, to give more of themselves.
It was a pledge to trust each other, to lean on one another when things got hard.
It wouldn’t be easy, but it would be worth it.
Making his way outside to the driveway, he grimaced as the rain splattered against his face. It wasn’t falling as hard as it had been earlier in the day, but in a way, that was worse. It was just so damn depressing.
Opening the back door of the shiny Lexus, found the dessert exactly where Asher had said it would be.
A pretty blue box with white polka dots and a black, satin ribbon rested neatly in the backseat of the car behind the driver’s seat.
Cameron didn’t recognize the packaging, but a tag on the top of the box listed an address for a specialty bakery in McKinney.
He shook his head and snorted. It really shouldn’t have surprised him that Asher had driven nearly an hour away just to buy some fancy cake to bring to Thanksgiving dinner.
There was no telling how much he’d spent on it, either.
A plain chocolate cake from the local supermarket would have been perfectly acceptable, but Asher never did anything halfway.
On the other hand, he wasn’t often pretentious without cause.
It had taken effort. He would have had to search for the bakery, order the cake, then drive out of his way in the opposite direction to pick it up…
in holiday traffic. There would be a reason that only this bakery and this cake would do.
It might only be a reason that made sense to Asher, but there would be one.
He was tempted to peek inside the box, but he didn’t. If it was something special, he didn’t want to ruin the surprise. If it was just a cake, well, he still didn’t want to ruin the surprise.
Lifting it out of the backseat, he tucked it carefully under his arm, doing his best to shield it from the rain as he headed back into the house.
Just before stepping into the warmth of the foyer, he pointed the key fob over his shoulder and laughed when the alarm system chirped.
He could almost guarantee that none of the other cars parked in front of his parents’ house had their doors locked, but Asher was particular about things being secure.
Closing the front door behind him, he shivered as the heated air from the vents thawed him.
Dragging his fingers through his damp hair to slick it back from his face, he grimaced when his hand came away wet and cold.
The high temperatures hadn’t risen above the low fifties all week with the lows dipping into the upper thirties.
It wasn’t exactly typical for central Texas that early in the season, and he worried what it might mean for the coming winter.
Hell, they might even get snow for the first time in six years. He shuddered at the distasteful thought. He really fucking hated the cold.
In the kitchen, he crossed to the small breakfast nook and placed the cake down alongside the other desserts.
Three pies, two pans of brownies, three dozen chocolate chip cookies, and Aunt Nora’s famous banana pudding.
They were all going to go into insulin shock if they ate even half of it, but at least they’d die happy and well-fed.
Turning away from the table, he started across the kitchen, intending to go rescue Asher from his uncles, but Natalie chose that moment to enter the room.
Stopping in the entranceway, she stared at him, her eyes crinkled at the corners and a wicked smile curving her lips.
Cameron had seen the look enough times to be worried.
“What are you up to?” he demanded, scowling at her .
“Me?” She pressed her fingertips to her chest with feigned innocence. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Cameron. I’m just surprised to see you up and walking around, that’s all.”
His frown deepened. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Just that I wasn’t sure you’d be able to move after your talk with Asher.”
Oh, fuck. Oh, fucking fuck. He’d completely forgotten that she’d been upstairs. In the bedroom right next to his. The bedroom that shared a wall with his. The wall his headboard had repeatedly slammed against.
“Keep it down,” he hissed, glancing frantically at the group of women gathered around the kitchen island. His face burned so hot he was pretty sure he could see steam rising off his skin.
“Relax,” Natalie chided, flicking her fingers at him. “It’s not like I don’t know you have sex. Jesus, Cameron.”
“Sex?” Aunt Elaine questioned in her deep, carrying voice. “Who’s having sex?”
Natalie didn’t miss a beat. “Cameron and Asher.”
All three of his aunts sniffed, looking mildly disappointed by this news.
“Well, of course, they are,” Aunt Kelly said. She shook her head. “I thought you were going to tell us something scandalous. ”
“Upstairs in Cameron’s bedroom,” Natalie added, doing a damn poor job of suppressing her giggles. “About twenty minutes ago.”
Still, no one seemed particularly surprised by this, but his mother did twist around to give him a sharp look. “I just changed the bedding in there.”
If it was possible to die from humiliation, Cameron figured he should probably start getting his affairs in order. “Mom, it’s fine.”