Page 73 of Flirt
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 Cameronhappy, 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 toshare 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 talkabout 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.”
