CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
There was a lot to celebrate in the Stone family that evening. Mr. Stone had taken second prize in the chili cook-off. Mrs. Stone had won a pair of theater tickets at a raffle benefiting the local animal shelter, and Natalie had negotiated to have a booth at the next year’s festival.
Cameron and Nico remained the undefeated, pumpkin-carving champions for their rendition of a killer clown, complete with curly hair made from spiraled rinds.
“I still can’t believe you didn’t vote for us.”
Stretched out on his side on a plaid blanket in the park, Asher propped himself up on his elbow and grinned.
The clouds had blown away, but the night remained cool, perfect for cuddling under the stars.
It seemed most of the town had turned out for the fireworks show, and the anticipation as they waited for the sun to disappear below the horizon was thick in the air.
“Sorry, Cam, but I really liked that drunk pumpkin.”
Cameron and Nico had outshined everyone in the competition, but Asher hadn’t wanted anyone to accuse him of favoritism. The drunk, vomiting pumpkin had been kind of cool, though. Creative.
So lame .
Cameron laughed, reaching out to smack him in the chest with the back of his hand. “Liar.” Rolling over to face him, he mirrored Asher’s pose and leaned in to steal a quick kiss. “You did not.”
Being with Cameron like this felt so easy.
So right. Asher didn’t feel trapped or claustrophobic.
He wasn’t biding his time or silently flipping through excuses about why he couldn’t stay.
If anything, the weekend had passed too quickly.
He hadn’t had enough time, and he had no idea how he’d leave and go back to his big, lonely house the next day.
“I’m sorry about Linda.” Taking the hand Asher had resting on his hip, Cameron held it between them on the blanket. “I promise the next time you ask me to save you, I won’t let you talk me out of it.”
“She’s persistent. I’ll give her that.” Once he had come right out and told her it was never going to happen, she had finally backed off, but he doubted they’d ever be friends. “She still wants me to do that signing at the library after Thanksgiving.”
Cameron’s eyes brightened, and his grin stretched wider. “Are you going to do it?”
“Is that what you want?”
“It’s not really up to me.”
Asher wouldn’t get anything out of the book signing, and he didn’t know the people of Mission Grove well enough to want to volunteer his time. If it made Cameron happy, however, he couldn’t think of much he wouldn’t do.
“Would you like that, Cameron? You could be my assistant for the day. Maybe even do a little Q and A.”
Cameron stared down at their hands as he drew circles over Asher’s palm with his fingertips. “Yeah, I think I’d like that a lot.”
“Then, I’ll do it.”
“You don’t even know why I like the idea.”
Asher didn’t really need a reason, but he shrugged and said, “Okay, so tell me.”
“You’ve never done a book signing before,” he began, and he seemed to be choosing each word carefully. “I understand why, but I still hate that it was taken away from you.”
He hadn’t exactly been hiding, but he also hadn’t wanted his face splashed across newspapers, blogs, or social media.
Okay, so maybe he had been hiding, at least in the beginning.
After the first few years of looking over his shoulder and waking up in a cold sweat, hiding had just become a way of life, not something he did consciously.
Although he hadn’t set foot in New York since the trial, that one state was his only limitation.
Otherwise, he went where he wanted, when he wanted.
He had a good life with few regrets. Even if he didn’t trust people or let them close, there had been no shortage of men willing to share his bed for a night.
Plus, he’d always had Luke, and for a long time, that had been enough.
Then Cameron had come along and changed everything.
Coffee dates, lunch dates, weekends spent watching movies instead of setting his sheets on fire.
Breakup interventions with the sister, breakfast with the parents.
Holding hands, laughing in the rain, idle moments spent talking about everything and nothing.
Give and take, putting someone else and their happiness first. Possession. Fear. Concern. Jealousy.
Asher barely recognized himself anymore. His life had become a fucking roller coaster since meeting Cameron, and he didn’t know if he wanted to get off the ride or buy a season pass.
“Just think about it,” Cameron urged when Asher didn’t respond. “No pressure, but I think you might like it.”
“You want me to have the whole author experience?” It was more than that, and he knew it, but he felt more comfortable to joke about it. “I already said I’ll do it. You don’t have to convince me.”
Cameron stared at him, his eyebrows drawn together, forming a shallow valley over the bridge of his nose. He wouldn’t ask about the look on Asher’s face, or question the subtle change in tone. He wouldn’t ask Asher to talk about his feelings. He never did, and Asher loved that about him.
Love? Asher mentally shook himself. It didn’t mean anything. Just a figure of speech. No need to panic. Still, probably best to change the subject.
“Come here and kiss me.” Sliding his hand out from under Cameron’s, he gripped the back of the man’s slender neck and tugged him forward with a smirk. “I think you might like it.”
~
Worry. Doubt. Hesitation. Panic.
Cameron didn’t know exactly what was going on inside Asher’s head, but he had no trouble identifying the emotions that flashed in his eyes.
Making a big deal out of it or demanding Asher talk to him wouldn’t change anything, so he didn’t even try.
When he was ready, Asher would talk, and not a moment sooner.
Asher had been forced to deal with a lot of real people during the weekend.
For someone who spent most of his time with only the voices in his head for company, he’d handled it amazingly well, and he hadn’t complained once.
Not about meeting Cameron’s insane parents.
Not about Linda’s bold pursuit of him. He hadn’t even batted an eye at Nico’s friendly ribbing, or Natalie’s ceaseless questions .
“It’s okay.” Asher’s hand fell back down to rest beside him on the blanket, but his gaze never wavered from Cameron’s mouth. “There are a lot of people here. I guess I just got caught up in the moment.”
The uncertainty on his face, and the resignation in his tone made Cameron’s heart hurt. Yes, some people would be uncomfortable seeing two men kiss, but many, many more would come to his and Asher’s defense if anyone was stupid enough to voice their bigotry.
Slipping two fingers into the collar of Asher’s shirt, Cameron pulled him closer, leaning in to bring their lips just a breath apart. “Let them watch.”
When their mouths met, nothing else mattered.
No one else existed. It was only them in the park, maybe in the entire world, and for just a moment, time stood still.
Cameron’s heart beat wildly, and each inhalation came shallower than the last, even though the kiss remained slow and sweet with only the occasional brush of tongues.
Cameron inched closer on the blanket, sighing into Asher’s mouth.
Draping an arm over Cameron’s hip, Asher pressed a hand to his lower back, pulling him even closer.
He made a little humming sound in the back of his throat, and Cameron grinned as he released Asher’s shirt and slid his hand up to palm the side of his neck instead.
“Let’s skip the fireworks.”
Asher hummed again but made no move to pull away .
“Ash,” Cameron tried again, trailing his lips over Asher’s stubble-covered jaw to his ear. “Come home with me.”
“Get a room, assholes. This a wholesome, family event.”
Groaning, Cameron rolled away, flopping onto his back as Nico lowered himself to the blanket with a shit-eating grin. “Go away.”
Nico stretched out his long legs, and held up three, clear, plastic cups. “I brought beer.”
Cameron lifted just his head and glared. “I hate you.”
Snorting, Asher rolled to hover above him. “You can take me anywhere you want.” His biceps bulged as he lowered himself into a pushup to steal another kiss. “After the fireworks.”
Hard and needy from the display of controlled power, Cameron huffed in frustration, uncaring who heard or what they thought. “Fuck the fireworks.”
Asher barked out a laugh but moved away to sit up and accept the beer Nico handed him. “Is that raspberry?” He sniffed the contents of the cup again before taking a tentative sip. “Not bad. Local?”
“Brewing company out of Austin,” Nico answered. “They just started making sour beers a couple of years ago. Excellent, but expensive.”
“Worth it, though.” Asher took a longer drink this time and finished by licking his lips .
Cameron watched every move, admiring the way his Adam’s apple bobbed and his lips glistened wetly.
God, the man tempted him like nothing else.
It just wasn’t fair. There Asher sat, calm, beautiful, looking completely unaffected as he talked about beer, and Cameron was about one touch away from creaming in his jeans.
“What do you think, Cam?”
Still prone on his back, Cameron looked up at Asher and frowned. “About what?”
“The beer,” Asher answered with a crooked smile.
“It’s good.” Groaning, he finally sat up and took the remaining plastic cup. “Not my favorite, but I like it.”
“What’s your favorite?”
“They make a blueberry barrel-aged sour that’s amazing.”
He’d basically just tolerated beer before Nico had introduced him to sour brews.
Not all were created equal, though. Some of the grape sours tasted too much like they were trying to be wine and failing.
The raspberry had a nice tartness, but the blueberry provided the perfect blend of tart, sweet, and malty.
Asher’s lips quirked up on one side, and he bobbed his head a couple of times. He didn’t say anything, though, and before Cameron could ask about the odd look, the lights in the park flickered out, plunging them into darkness .
The entire town seemed to hold its breath as everyone turned their gazes toward the sky, looking out over the lake to the south.
A low murmur swept through the crowd, a quiet thrum of excitement, a building anticipation that reached its crescendo and exploded into cheers as the first boom echoed through the night.
~
A kaleidoscope of bright tendrils illuminated the sky, creating a colorful canopy over the park. People oohed and ahhed and clapped their hands, each of them mesmerized by the ever-changing display.
It was probably quite beautiful, but Asher couldn’t take his eyes off Cameron. The hue of the fireworks tinted his fair skin, and every burst of color highlighted the angles of his face. He was always gorgeous, but right then, he practically glowed.
With his head tilted back, Cameron ran his fingers through his hair, causing the short strands to stick up all over his head.
Then he smoothed each lock back into place, and laughed, his smile alight in his eyes.
As if he could feel Asher watching him, he turned those devastating blue eyes on him, and Asher lost the ability to breathe.
He couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. An invisible fist closed around his heart, and his throat burned each time he swallowed. His brain screamed at him to say something, do anything besides sit there and stare at him.
Cameron’s smile faded, and his brow creased. He tilted his head to one side, then the other, as if he was trying to work out something. Eventually, he seemed to come to a decision, because he moved closer and leaned in to press his lips to Asher’s ear.
“Do you want to get out of here?”
His brain still seemed to be offline, because he couldn’t form words, but he nodded in agreement. Not to leave necessarily, but to be alone with Cameron.
“Let’s go.”
Cameron rose to his feet, pulling Asher up with him.
He paused to say something to Nico, then a heartbeat later, he was leading Asher through the crowd and past the iron fence that surrounded the park.
The dull roar of voices followed them, and fireworks boomed, rolling across the sky like thunder, but a quick glance among the vehicles revealed the parking lot to be blessedly empty.
Asher counted a number of pickups and SUVs, along with a few muscle cars and a sprinkling of sedans. Cameron’s silver Infinity stuck out like a shining beacon amidst the multitudes, easily spotted just beyond the circle of light from a nearby lamppost.
Digging in his pocket for the keys, Cameron slowed as he approached the driver’s door, but Asher wasn’t ready to let him go just yet. Strung tight with anticipation, aching with need, he molded himself to Cameron’s back, trapping him easily between his body and the side of the car.
A long groan burst from Cameron’s lips as he braced himself against the door and shuffled his feet a little wider.
Gripping Cameron’s hip in one hand, Asher slid the other beneath the hem of his emerald, Mission Grove Comets T-shirt to stroke his stomach.
God, he had the softest skin. Warm, smooth, stretched taut across his defined abs with just a smattering of hair that trailed down into the waistband of his jeans.
“I want you, Cam.” Kissing his way down the side of Cameron’s neck, he thrust forward, grinding the poof of his desire against that perfect, round ass.
“Yes,” Cameron hissed, pushing back into him. “God, yes.”
“I want you,” he repeated, sucking just below the line of Cameron’s collar until a bruise bloomed across the skin. “I want to taste you, then I want to bury myself inside you.”
Self-control? He no longer had any. It had ceased to exist the minute Cameron had turned those sexy fucking eyes on him. Need—primal, basic, consuming—was the only thing that remained, and he couldn’t fight it any longer.
“Asher.” Cameron pushed against the door, forcing Asher off balance until he had no choice but to release him and take a step back. “Get in the fucking car. Now.”