Page 89 of Flirt
Gathered on Cameron’s backdeck, 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, hehad 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 needto 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.
