CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
By the next afternoon , things hadn’t gotten worse, but they sure the hell weren’t getting any better.
Asher had spent the morning talking to an attorney on retainer for Taggard and Associates, but he hadn’t learned anything new. Basically, he had options once everything went to hell, but there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.
The attorney had also informed him that having his past dragged into the open would be kind of like winning the lottery.
People he hadn’t seen in years, or even those he’d only met in passing, would come out of the woodwork for their fifteen minutes of fame.
Not that it “might” or “could” happen. The attorney had been adamant that he should expect it.
Asher had seen it happen to politicians, actors, and rock stars, but he never imagined it would happen to him. Considering the number of different men he’d taken to his bed in the past year alone, the media would have stories to fill their magazines, newspapers, blogs, and airwaves for months.
The only silver lining was that Becca had touched base with her contact at Platinum360 Public Relations.
Talon Andrews had agreed to meet with Asher, but he couldn’t schedule a sit-down until after the weekend.
Something about an emergency flight to Chicago to deal with a pop star who had throat-punched a reporter from some gossip rag outside of a Starbucks.
Becca had said he’d sounded enthusiastic about taking Asher on as a client, though, and he already had some ideas on how to minimize the damage. It sounded good in theory, and it helped that Becca trusted him. Still, Asher would reserve judgment until he met the guy.
Luke, of course, wanted to jump on a plane to Chicago, track down Talon Andrews, and demand he fix everything immediately. Lunch with him had been Asher’s next stop during his things-will-get-worse tour, and he was damn glad he hadn’t missed it.
Watching Luke rant over his extra-crispy French fries, waving his hands around in big, animated circles while he cursed a man he didn’t know, had been highly amusing. If nothing else, it had given Asher a reason to laugh for the first time in days.
“Don’t laugh.” Taking his straw out of his water glass, Luke jabbed it toward Asher. “I’ll do it. You know I will.”
Asher didn’t doubt it. “I know you will.”
“So, that’s it?” Luke dropped the straw into his cup and fell back in his chair with a huff. “We’re just supposed to do nothing? Just wait and see what happens? ”
“From a legal standpoint, there’s not much that we can do. The PR rep has some ideas of how to get out in front of this disaster, though.”
“I don’t know, Ash. I know he gets paid big bucks for this stuff, but maybe it’s better to just keep your head down and not say anything.”
Asher had considered the same thing, but he’d been doing that for years, and look where it had gotten him. “I’m going to meet with this Talon Andrews and hear what he has to say. At this point, I’ll take all the help I can get.”
Reaching across the table, Luke held his hand out, palm up, and smiled when Asher grasped it. “I’m here. Whatever you need.”
“I know.” Luke wasn’t just his best friend. He was family, and they’d been looking out for each other for a long time. “I just hope you don’t hate me when this is all over.”
Luke snorted and rolled his eyes. “Not going to happen.”
“You say that now.” Once the media circus started and reporters began stalking him at the gym, he might change his mind. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this shit.”
Releasing his hand, Luke settled back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. “If I remember correctly, I’m the one who dragged you halfway across the country to—What did you call it?
” He lifted one hand and snapped his fingers.
“That’s right. ‘Hell’s front porch.’ You always did have a gift for words. ”
In Asher’s defense, they’d arrived in Dallas in the middle of August. For weeks, the highs had hovered in the upper nineties, with heat indexes soaring well over a hundred. It had been fucking miserable.
“Did I ever thank you for that?”
“No, and you don’t have to now. You’re my family, Ash. I take care of my family.”
Asher had heard those same words said in a number of different ways in books and movies. Once or twice, he’d even overheard it said by people on the street. He doubted many of them meant it the way Luke did. When he said he took care of his family, it wasn’t just a sentiment.
He’d moved back in with his parents a couple of years after coming back to Dallas to care for his father after the stroke. Every day until he’d passed, Luke had fed and cleaned him, read to him, moved him, turned him so he wouldn’t get bed sores, and he’d never complained once.
Despite his mother’s vocal opinion about his “lifestyle,” he still visited her twice a week like clockwork.
Cooking, cleaning, repairing leaking faucets, driving her to doctor appointments, making sure she had groceries in the house and her utilities had been paid—he did it all, and he didn’t ask for anything in return.
Most people looked at Luke, and they saw loud and flashy.
Asher looked at him and saw a man unashamed of his sexuality and unapologetically comfortable in his own skin.
He saw a protector and a nurturer. He saw someone beautiful, both inside and out, and he hoped that someday, someone else would see it, too.
“I need to get back to work.” Pushing back from the table, he stood and brushed a few crumbs off his black scrubs. “I’m serious, though, whatever you need.”
Asher stood as well and pulled his friend into a tight hug. “Hey, Cameron wants to go out tomorrow night. You in?”
“Sure. Where are we going?”
“New club in Highland Park.”
Luke pulled away and clapped him on the shoulder with a grin. “Sounds kinky.” He wiggled his eyebrows and laughed. “I’ll be there, but I really do have to go.”
“Yeah, same here,” Asher said, dropping a couple of bills on the table. “I have to meet Cameron back at his place so we can talk to his family.”
“Did you knock him up?”
Rolling his eyes, Asher fell into step beside him as they wound through the tables to the exit. “You’re hilarious. Cameron thought it would be better if they hear it from me rather than find out on the news.”
“Oh, that sucks. He’s right, but it still sucks. I’m sorry, honey.” He gave Asher another pat on the shoulder. “Good luck.”
“Thanks. I’ll need it.”
~
Gathered on Cameron’s back deck, surrounded by his family and Nico, Asher recounted the events in his life that had led up to Kyle’s arrival in Dallas. After telling the story so often lately, he thought it would be easier this time.
It wasn’t.
Tension knotted the muscles in his back and shoulders, and he spoke every word to his knees, unable to look anyone in the eye for fear of what he’d see staring back at him.
One by one, he listed off the facts like bullet points, doing his damnedest to keep any inflection or emotion out of his voice.
He didn’t want their pity any more than he did their disapproval.
Cameron sat on the arm of Asher’s chair with a hand on his back, and every once in a while, he’d draw a comforting line down Asher’s spine. It wasn’t a magic cure-all for his anxiety, but it helped keep him grounded, and for that, he was grateful.
He told them about being kicked out of his home at fourteen, about living on the streets in New York, and how he managed to survive for so long on his own. Maybe he was oversharing, but once he started, he couldn’t stop.
He talked about how he’d met Mitchell, then Kyle, and the hell that had followed .
When he got to the part of how he’d ended up in the hospital, his throat tightened, and his pulse accelerated. Each breath came quicker than the last, shallower, but he kept talking, desperate to get everything out before he choked on the memories.
He told them about meeting Luke, about how they’d ended up in Texas, writing his first book, and the nightmares that had followed him into adulthood.
No detail was left out, not even when it came to his casual and sometimes reckless approach to sex, and how that had led to him ending up in bed with the gossip blogger, which had, in turn, brought Kyle to his front door.
“And that’s everything,” he finished. His hands clenched on his knees, and he continued to stare at the planks between his feet.
“It’s okay,” Cameron whispered. Gripping the back of his neck, Cameron pulled him to the side and kissed his temple. “Deep breath, Ash. Everything is okay.”
With a calm Asher couldn’t find, Cameron continued the story, relating Asher’s meeting with his agent, the attorney, and outlining the steps he was taking to minimize the damage to his career. When he finished, he took a deep breath, his fingers still massaging the tight muscles in Asher’s neck.
“This is going to be a shit show,” Cameron added, “but we wanted you to hear it from us first and be prepared for the probable fallout. ”
Silence descended over the group, and for a long time, the only sound was the wind through the trees and the lake water lapping against the shore. It should have been peaceful, serene, but waiting for someone to say something had Asher wound so tight he felt like he would splinter at the edges.
“Mitchell Faraday,” Sarah Stone finally muttered with a shake of her head. “It was all over the news for months, and the whole thing just broke my heart.”
Asher’s own heart sank, and he swallowed around the lump in his throat when Cameron stretched sideways to take his mom’s hand and give it a tight squeeze.
She smiled, even though her bottom lip trembled, and she patted the top of his hand affectionately. “You and Natalie were both in high school at the time, about the same age as those boys. I’d lay awake at night worrying that something like that could happen to the two of you.”
“In Mission Grove?” Natalie asked with a snort, but there was a suspicious wetness to her eyes, and she suddenly became very interested in a loose thread on her frayed jeans.
Asher wanted to remind her that his story had started in a town not much bigger, but before he could, Sarah cleared her throat and rose from her chair. Cameron stood as well, and Asher followed suit, which seemed to cause a chain reaction, because seconds later, everyone was on their feet .
Three steps had her standing directly in front of Asher, and she stared up at him with an unreadable expression. “I’m sorry.”
Asher nodded. Whatever came next, he’d accept it.
If she didn’t want to drag her family into his problems, he wouldn’t fault her.
If she wanted him to leave and never return, he’d respect her wishes.
The thought of never seeing Cameron again ate a hole in his stomach and made his chest hurt, but he wouldn’t be selfish, not this time.
“I’m so sorry.” A tear spilled from the corner of her eye and slid down her pale cheek.
“You sweet boy.” Then, she wrapped her arms around him, holding him with a surprising strength, squeezing him as if she could love away every unhappy thing that had ever happened in his life.
“A lot of people failed you, Asher, but it wasn’t your fault. ”
Sarah Stone was a petite woman with a thin frame, but as she hugged him, Asher felt surrounded by her. At first, he stood stiffly, awkwardly, unsure of how to react. It had been a long time since anyone had hugged him like that, with so much honest, unconditional affection.
She either didn’t notice or didn’t mind his lack of response, because she just clung to him, patting his back and rocking him from side to side as she murmured encouragements.
Eventually, the words washed over him, and her warmth thawed some of the dread that had frozen around his heart.
Before he knew what he was doing, he had his arms around her, tentatively at first, then much tighter, holding onto her like a lifeline.
A minute later, muted footsteps padded across the deck, and another set of arms came around him. He had expected it to be Cameron, but it was Natalie who buried her face against his bicep with an adorable hiccup.
“If you need anything,” she said, “you call.”
“Anything at all,” Sarah agreed. “You don’t have to do this alone.”
Screwing his eyes closed, Asher held them both and just let their acceptance soothe him. “Yeah,” he whispered, “I’m starting to see that.”
~
Torn between the need to comfort Asher and not wanting to interrupt the moment, Cameron hesitated briefly, then turned, walking across the deck to join Nico and his father. As much as he wanted to reassure Asher and support him, the guy had everything he needed right then.
“You could have told me.” Leaning back against the railing, Nico tipped his beer to his lips, never taking his eyes off Cameron.
“It wasn’t my story to tell.” He wouldn’t want someone to invade his privacy that way .
The corners of Nico’s eyes crinkled, and his lips twitched. “You were always good at keeping secrets.”
That didn’t exactly sound like a compliment, but nor did he look angry, so Cameron decided to ignore him. “What about you, Dad?”
Mark Stone shoved his hands into the pockets of his Docker’s and rocked back on his heels. “If you’re asking if this changes how I feel about that young man, I’m going to be disappointed in you, son.”
Cameron snorted. “Yes, sir.”
“I have to ask, though. Are you sure you’re ready for all this? You two haven’t been dating very long.”
It seemed impossible that they’d met just over four weeks ago. Sometimes, it felt like he’d known Asher forever. “I honestly don’t know if I’m ready or not, but I’m not going anywhere.”
His dad bobbed his head a couple of times. “In that case, we’ll be here for you, both of you, whatever you need.”
“When you start getting hounded by reporters, be sure to mention Hart N Soul Ink.” Nico laughed when Cameron arched an eyebrow at him. “What? I could use the free publicity.”
“Your concern is touching.”
“I’m concerned. I’m, like, so concerned.” Nico held his arms out to his sides. “Look at my concernedness. ”
Cameron rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t stop laughing. “There is something very wrong with you.”
Pushing off the rail, Nico stepped up beside him and bumped their shoulders together. “Shut up. You know I’ve got your back.” He tipped the neck of his beer bottle toward Asher, who was still sandwiched between Sarah and Natalie. “Pretty boy is kind of starting to grow on me.”
Cameron’s heart fluttered, and a warm rush spread through him. “He’s kind of starting to grow on me as well.”