11. Cameron
CAMERON
TEN YEARS EARLIER
The bass thumped through the farmhouse as I rummaged through the fridge for another beer. Tomorrow, Mark and Nico would head back to Boston for their senior year, so we were throwing a party. My classes at the local state school didn’t start until next week.
With a beer in hand, I stepped out into the backyard and spotted Nico leaning against a tree, laughing with a girl from our high school.
I grimaced, taking a long swig of my drink. She touched his arm, leaning close to him. His eyes met mine, sparkling knowingly as she whispered in his ear, and his mouth tilted into a devastating smile.
What I wouldn’t have given to elicit that reaction, but I didn’t get Flirting 101 as part of my business degree curriculum. I’d been attempting to seduce Nico all summer with no results. He would never see me as anything other than his best friend’s awkward little brother.
My breath caught in my throat when Nico dismissed the pretty girl and made his way over to me. I moved to let him up the porch stairs, but he stayed in my space. “Having fun, Cam?”
If the music were any quieter, he could have heard my heart beating. I got lost for a few moments in the electricity of his blue eyes. He raised an eyebrow in question, and I realized I’d been staring for too long.
I threw on a smile and faked the confidence I didn’t feel. “Sure.”
“Were you jealous?” he said with that same mischievous twinkle in his eye.
I almost fainted being that close to his charm.
Moment to moment, I couldn’t decide whether to throw myself at his feet or keep my fruitless crush hidden forever. I looked away, letting out what I hoped was a dismissive chuckle.
“Nah,” I said, looking down at the can in my hand. “This beer’s just not very good.”
Nico’s gaze bore into the side of my face for a few moments until he finally hummed and turned to lean on the porch railing beside me.
“It’s been nice getting to know you better this summer,” he said. “Who knew Mark’s little brother was so cool?”
I rolled my eyes and shoved his shoulder with mine. “I’ve been telling you, but you’re a stubborn ass who won’t listen.”
“Maybe I’ve matured.”
I tilted my head to look at him.
He let out a small self-deprecating laugh, and when the puff of air landed on my face, I realized how close we were standing.
“Maybe I have, too,” I whispered.
Nervous, I licked my lips. I watched in awe as his pupils dilated and his gaze dropped to my mouth.
Tonight was my last opportunity to take this chance, and Nico’s reaction finally gave me the courage I needed to close the gap between us.
At least if he didn’t want this, he would be gone tomorrow, and I’d have a whole school year to recover my dignity.
My mouth found his, our lips pressing together, and I held my breath until he fisted my shirt to pull me closer. When I gasped, he pressed his advantage, his soft tongue tangling with mine. He tasted like cheap beer, but it was the best thing I’d ever experienced.
“Damn right you have,” Nico said breathlessly when we finally parted. He grabbed my hand and pulled me through the house, up the stairs, and into my bedroom. My brain was spinning a million miles a minute. Maybe I had a chance with Nico Galanis after all.
Once we were alone in my room, he pushed me against the door. I could hear the lock clicking beneath his hand as our lips clashed again.
“What do you want, Cameron?” Nico murmured against my mouth.
“Everything.”
Nothing—nothing—prepared me for the reality of seeing my brother’s best friend naked for the first time.
And I was allowed to look. The dark hair that covered his chest and thighs, the trail from his belly button down to his trimmed pubes, the way his lean muscles curved and flexed as he pulled off his clothes.
I was drowning in it all. My eyes were glued to his hard cock, as perfect as the rest of him, at least to me.
Then, his knees hit the floor, he spread my cheeks, and his breath caressed my hole. I couldn’t help the groan that escaped when his broad, wet tongue slid up my crack, swirling against the furled skin there.
“You taste so fucking good, Cam.” Nico sounded almost feral, and my legs threatened to buckle beneath me. He hadn’t even touched my dick yet, but I was already sitting right on the edge.
“Stop, stop,” I said with a gasp when I was finally able to form words. “I want to come on your cock.”
“Fuck.” Nico pulled himself to his feet. “Where did you come from, Cameron Frost?
I spun to face him. “Been right here the whole time.”
Nico shrieked with laughter as I picked him up and tossed him on the bed, reaching into my bedside table for the lube and a condom. I was about to have a real cock in my ass for the first time. And it was Nico.
I closed my eyes as I settled into the mattress, and I felt Nico’s weight between my legs. He pressed my thighs up and back. I whined when the blunt head of his cock slid against my hole. My muscles clenched, feeling empty.
“Look at me,” he demanded.
My eyes shot open.
I had seen Nico in so many different states—thrilled when his soccer team won the state championship, nervous when his college acceptance letter arrived, distraught when his childhood dog went missing for a few days—but this new, debauched Nico was my favorite.
His lips were puffy and slick with spit.
His eyes were wide, and his chest heaved as all his muscles tensed.
I nodded my head, and he pressed into me. The moment stretched for what felt like forever until his hips were flush against the backs of my thighs, and I pulled him down into a deep kiss while I adjusted to the size of him inside me.
“Fuck, you’re perfect,” he said. “Tightest fucking perfect hole.”
I swore I could come just from his praise.
“Yours,” I gasped, and then immediately wanted to take it back.
This was not how I wanted to tell him how I felt, but Nico just moaned and threw his head back as he began to thrust with purpose, hitting a spot that made me see stars.
“I’m so close,” he gritted out. “I need to feel you come for me.”
That’s what pushed me over the edge, cum spilling over his hand and onto my abs—way more than I thought I was capable of.
He closed his eyes as he lifted his hand to his mouth and tasted me, the image sending aftershocks through my system.
Suddenly, he pulled out and ripped off the condom, jerking his cock frantically.
“Yes, do it,” I said. “Cover me.”
With that, Nico clenched his jaw and let out a strangled cry as he unloaded all over my stomach and chest.
When he collapsed onto the bed in a boneless heap, I rolled to the side and pulled him close to me, no care for the sticky mess I was leaving all over my sheets. “That was even better than I’d imagined.”
“You’ve been thinking about me, huh?” Nico threw me a smug grin, and I flushed bright red.
“Shit.” I racked my brain for an excuse, but maybe I needed to be honest. “What I meant was…”
“I’m just teasing you, Cam.” Nico’s smile softened. “I’ve been thinking about you, too.”
“Really?” I squeaked in surprise, clearing my throat before continuing. “Because I was hoping—”
A knock on my door interrupted me, and we both froze.
“Hey, Cameron, are you in there?” Mark called through the door.
“Uh, yeah,” I said, my arms tightening around Nico. “Spilled a drink on my shirt and had to come up to change.”
“Have you seen Nico? We’re doing a senior toast soon, and I can’t find him anywhere.”
I glanced at the man in question, who gave the smallest shake of his head.
“Last I saw him, he was in the backyard,” I shouted back.
“Ok.”
I waited, not daring to move until Mark’s footsteps retreated down the hall. I felt Nico exhale against my chest before he rolled away and started grabbing his clothes.
“We don’t need to scar your brother tonight,” Nico said.
My throat started to close up.
“Meet me on the back porch in ten, and we can finish our conversation?”
I nodded, embarrassed. How was I going to tell him this was more than a one-night stand for me? Boston wasn’t that far, and he only had a year of school left.
Exactly ten minutes later, I threw on my clothes and crept back downstairs to the kitchen, hoping the courage would come to me in time.
“I can’t wait to be back in Boston.” Nico’s voice carried through the open kitchen window.
I paused.
“I’ve been so bored in this sleepy town all summer.”
“I thought you and Cam had been hanging out.” That was Mark.
“Yeah, I mean, that’s been fun,” Nico said. “But nothing compares to the energy of the city. I miss it.”
My heart cracked at how easily he dismissed the thought of us as just some fun.
“I hope I can get a job there after graduation, or maybe even in New York,” Nico said with excitement.
The crack in my heart widened.
He continued. “I don’t want to come back to Sleighbell Springs if I can help it. There’s nothing for me here.”
Nothing. The words echoed in the empty cavern of my chest.