Page 5 of Curious
“So, you know how I was dating that guy, Evan?” My voice sounds falsely cheerful, even to me.
“Was? Uh-oh.”
“Yeah, uh-oh. Apparently he didn’t tell me that he has a wife and family in New York.” I turn right, following Cam through the Valley.
“What?” Alden yelps, and in the background I hear Danny, his boyfriend—and a lawyer at our firm—ask what’s wrong.
“Ugh.” I stop at a red light behind Cam. “So, I thought I’d finally found a guy who was out of the closet… but nope. He’s only out when he’s in LA. He’s a talent agent, and I knew he traveled a lot. But he didn’t tell me about this whole other life.”
“That’s terrible!”
“It gets worse. I found out about it, and”—I gulp, feeling the shakes try to start up again—“he got physical. Took some swipes at me.”
“Oh my god, are you okay?”
The light turns green, and we take off again. “I’m fine.”
“Uh, no. If he hit you, that’s not fine. It’s battery. Are you going to report it to the police?”
I can hear Danny in the background asking if he needs to go pay someone a visit, and my heart leaps. Some people just go to work. I’m lucky and have ended up working with amazing, supportive people who have become my close friends. I know they have my back.
My instincts tell me not to be a snitch. For one thing, I’m scared of the blowback. Worse, I’m mortified about the whole thing. That I even got involved with such a loser, that Cam had to save me, that he got hurt. I just want to forget about it. I’m much too ashamed to talk about this to anyone who would judge me for my bad decisions.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. It could come back to bite me.”
“I’m sure we can protect you,” Alden says.
“It’s not me who needs protection.” Or not primarily me.
“I don’t understand.”
Poor Alden. I know I’m not making much sense. I try again. “Um, this funny thing happened. You know Charlie’s brother Camden?”
“I don’t think so.”
“You met him at the Fourth of July party.”
“Did I? I don’t remember.”
I smirk, despite my all-over aches. Alden’s pretty much totally wrapped up in Danny. It figures he wouldn’t notice any other guy, no matter how hot. Because phew. Cam Cooper is as hot as they come.
“Anyhow, Cam was working on a house next door, and he saw me leaving. Maybe he heard some of the commotion, I dunno. He came over, and he kind of, sort of, maybe beat Evan up. A tiny bit.”
“What?”
“Cam didn’t throw the first punch. That was all Evan.”
“Still …”
“Yeah, still. I’m scared,” I admit. “I don’t want Evan to come after me. And I don’t want him to press charges against Cam. Although I suppose on Cam’s side, it was self-defense. Or defense of me. Cam could press charges, too, I guess. I don’t know, but he got hurt.”
“Oh my god. Is he okay?”
“I don’t know. And Evan threatened to sue him—”
“Tell Camden to ask for a lawyer if he gets arrested,” Danny calls in the background. “And not say anything else.Anything.”
I almost shriek. “No one is getting arrested. Cam doesn’t need a lawyer—at least I hope he doesn’t. Because if Evan called the police, I’d tell the truth about him hitting me because his wife found out about him, and his whole house of cards would come tumbling down. He’s got a rep to protect.”
