Page 41 of Flirt
“Eight months.”
Asher squeezed his eyes tighter for a second, then opened them. “Christ. I don’t even know this guy, and I kind of hate him.”
“Don’t worry. You’d still hate him if you knew him.”
Chuckling, Asher flipped his hand over and laced his fingers with Cameron’s. He needed to say something, and he just hoped it wouldn’t come back to bite him in the ass. Ever since Natalie had told them about how she’d been dumped, a pressure had settled on Asher’s chest that just wouldn’t leave.
“I’ve had a lot of anonymous sex.” He stopped and bit down on the tip of his tongue. They had never discussed his scandalous sex life before meeting Cameron, and he hadn’t meant to drop it in his lap like that.
“I know.” Ducking his head, Cameron peeked up at him through his long lashes. “I’m not an idiot, Ash. I saw the way the guys at the club look at you. And…” He paused and glanced down at their joined hands. “Well, I saw the blog.”
Not what he wanted to hear, but at least he didn’t have to worry that Cameron would run screaming in the opposite direction. He didn’t know all the details, but he knew enough. Plus, he’d read that fucking blog, and he was still there.
Asher took it as a good sign.
Choosing to ignore the gossip blog for now, he plowed ahead with the original topic. “I was always up front aboutit being just sex, but sometimes, wires got crossed. Some guys wanted it to be more. Some thought they could change my mind.”
Cameron squeezed his hand again. “I feel like you’re going somewhere with this, but I don’t understand. What do those guys have to do with anything?”
“Nothing really.” The confession was proving to be a lot harder to get out than he’d anticipated. “It’s not so much about them as it is about how I treated them.” He licked his lips to wet them. “I was arrogant, cruel in my rejection. They didn’t deserve that.”
“No, they didn’t.” Cameron shifted around in his seat until his back pressed against the door. “What Aiden said to Natalie? You’ve used a line like that before, haven’t you?”
Asher wanted to deny it with every fiber of his being, but he wouldn’t lie. “I have. Not those exact words, but close enough to count.”
Cameron nodded. “I thought so. Back at the shop, when she was telling us what he said, I saw how quiet you got. I figured that was why.” Lifting their joined hands, he brushed a kiss over Asher’s knuckles. “It’s a lot different seeing the other side of the conversation, isn’t it?”
Different wasn’t the right word. Heartbreaking, devastating, humbling, shaming—all much better descriptions.
Oh, he’d thought he was clever. Every snarky rejection and witty punchline had been delivered with skilled precision for maximum impact, but he’d never stuck around long enough to see what happened next.
“I was a fucking tool.”
“Probably,” Cameron agreed, but he was smiling this big, cheesy grin.
Bearing his soul was working out pretty well so far, so he decided to drop another little truth bomb. “I like me better when I’m with you.”
He expected Cameron to laugh or roll his eyes, but instead, his grin vanished, and he made a strangled sound in the back of his throat. Pushing away from the door, he lurched over the console, tangled his free hand in Asher’s hair, and planted a scorching kiss on his mouth.
“The things you say,” he breathed before diving back in, thrusting his tongue between Asher’s lips.
Cameron didn’t just kiss him, he fucking branded him, and Asher loved every second of it. Unfortunately, he’d been too hard for too long—namely since the minute he’d walked into Cameron’s office earlier—and his self-control stretched only so far.
Groaning with frustration, he pressed a hand to Cameron’s chest and leaned away. “You’re killing me, Cam.” Asher brushed chaste kisses over his lips, his nose, both cheeks. “Go. You need to go right now.”
Thank Christ, Cameron didn’t argue. “Yeah, okay, you’re right.” He stole another kiss then shoved himself away, fumbling with the door handle. “I’ll call you tonight.”
“Be prepared,” Asher teased. “I’m going to quiz you on those chapters in your desk.”
“There’s going to be a test?”
“Absolutely.”
“Great,” Cameron grumbled, climbing out of the car. “No pressure or anything.”
He closed the door and started to walk away, but Asher wasn’t finished teasing. Rolling down the passenger window, he called Cameron’s name.
“What?”
