Текст книги "Reckless"

Автор книги: Nicole Edwards

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Текущая страница: 10 (всего у книги 21 страниц)

Seventeen

Cam tucked the check into the deposit bag and shoved it into the top drawer of his desk. He’d spent the last hour dealing with the hot-headed renter who’d insisted that he had paid his storage fee for the month. From the moment the guy had walked through the door, Cam had known he’d been itching for a fight, but Cam hadn’t given him one.

Finally, the guy had given up, writing a check though he insisted he’d already written one and Cam had probably just thrown it away—because that was something Cam would do. Right.

Glancing at his watch, he realized he didn’t have time to shower, but if he hurried, he would be able to change clothes. Grabbing his phone, Cam headed out, locking the door behind him and then double-timing it up the stairs to his apartment. He’d made it into the hall, was about to unlock his door when Roan stepped out.

“Where’re you goin’?” Roan asked, following Cam into his apartment.

“Date,” he said, heading to his dresser. He snagged a clean T-shirt, then shrugged out of the one he had been wearing.

“With Burgess?”

“Gannon, yes,” Cam said, pulling the clean shirt over his head before pulling open another drawer and locating a pair of cargo shorts.

He dropped his shorts, then tugged on the clean ones, looking up in time to see Roan watching him. For the first time in all the years he’d known Roan, Cam suddenly felt strangely uncomfortable changing clothes in front of him. Was he mistaken? Or was Roan watching him with interest?

Not that Cam had time to question his friend. And he damn sure didn’t want to put Roan on the spot if that hadn’t been the case.

“Where’re y’all goin’?” Roan inquired.

Cam headed for the bathroom, splashed water on his face, swiped more deodorant under his arms, and then returned to find Roan still standing in the doorway, leaning against the jamb. “Pizza.”

Roan nodded.

“Did you need somethin’?” Cam asked, grabbing his wallet and truck keys off the coffee table.

“Nah,” his friend said.

“I’ll catch you later, yeah?” Cam herded Roan out the door, then turned to face his friend.

“Sure.”

And as though that strange little encounter hadn’t happened, Roan disappeared back into his apartment while Cam ran out the door, down the stairs, and to his truck.

An hour later, Cam walked into a small pizza joint on South Congress in downtown Austin. As soon as he walked in the door, he was assaulted by the delicious scent of garlic and tomato. Scanning the somewhat crowded space, he found Gannon and Milly sitting at a table near the wall.

“Sorry I’m late,” he told Gannon, sliding into a chair beside him, across from Milly.

“Problems?” Gannon smiled at him, subtly touching Cam’s hand briefly.

“Had to deal with a renter,” he explained, glancing between Gannon and Milly. “Took longer than I thought.”

“No worries,” Milly said cheerfully. “Just means you get one less beer.”

Cam smiled, forcing himself to relax.

“I already ordered,” Gannon said. “Assume you like pepperoni.”

Cam nodded, noticing Milly was looking at them intently, her smile widening.

“Care to share with the class?” he prompted, looking over at Gannon briefly, then back to her.

“Nope. I’m good.” Milly’s blue eyes glittered and she giggled.

Cam looked at Gannon. Gannon shrugged.

“So...” Milly prompted, wrapping her fingers around her beer bottle. “Gannon tells me you’ve got your nipples pierced.”

Gannon choked on his beer, and Cam had to reach over and smack him on the back.

“Kidding,” she said, laughing. “I knew before he did.”

Cam stared at her, confused.

“I could see ’em through your shirt.”

“Ahh.”

“Wanna beer?” Gannon asked, his voice strained from his coughing spell.

“I can get it,” Cam told him.

“No, no. I’ll let Milly embarrass me while I’m not here for a change.”

Milly winked at Gannon.

When Gannon walked away from the table, Milly leaned forward, her expression morphing from carefree to serious. “What are your intentions with my friend?”

Cam sat up straight, trying to determine if he really needed to prepare an answer, but before he could, her smile returned.

“Gosh, you’re easy. Or so Gannon says.”

Cam laughed at that. He’d liked Milly from the beginning, but he liked her more now. It was obvious she cared about Gannon.

Leaning forward, Cam adopted a somber expression. When Milly leaned in close, clearly expecting him to lay something serious on her, he said, “Do you want to hear dirty details?”

Her laugh exploded from her, causing people to turn and look at them. Including Gannon, who was watching them from the counter.

“I like you,” Milly told him. “I think you’re good for him. Did you know he hadn’t taken a day off for years? Not until last weekend. That, my friend, tells me a lot about you.”

“Does it?” he asked, glancing over when Gannon returned to the table, three beers in his hand.

Cam took one and passed it to Milly, then took another.

“Yes, it does,” she answered, winking.

“It does what?” Gannon’s brow furrowed, as though he were trying to unravel a mystery.

“Oh, nothing. I was just telling him about your collection of sex toys. He wanted to know how one of them worked. I was just explaining.”

Cam peered over at Gannon, watching as his cheeks flushed and the tips of his ears reddened.

“Why did I think this was a good idea?” Gannon mumbled to himself.

“Because you love me,” Milly told him.

Gannon tilted his beer to his lips. “Or so you keep telling me.”

Yep, this was bound to get interesting.

Gannon spent nearly two hours listening to Milly regale Cam with stories. Luckily, after her initial teasing, she’d stopped trying to embarrass him too much.

So, he’d spent most of his time listening to Milly and Cam talk about their ski trips. Apparently that was something Cam had done since he was a kid, and Milly’s family used to go every year. Instead of feeling like a third wheel, Gannon had been relaxed, enjoying the easiness between them, the way Cam was frequently looking his way, sometimes brushing against him on purpose just to get his attention.

“No lie,” Milly insisted, her eyes locked on Cam. “I was racing down the hill and ran smack into the tree.”

Gannon frowned. “That’s not the way you told the story to me.”

Milly glared at him in a way that told him to be quiet.

Gannon laughed; so did Cam.

“Fine,” Milly said with a huff. “I didn’t so much ski down the hill. I kind of walked. And I didn’t run into the tree. I hugged it to keep on my feet. But I was ten. Sue me.”

Cam roared with laughter, making Gannon smile and Milly blush.

Going into this, Gannon hadn’t known how it would go, but truth was, Gannon wanted Milly and Cam to get along. She was the closest thing to family he had, and over the past couple of weeks, Cam had become important to him, as well. Looked as though he wasn’t going to have to worry about the two of them getting along.

“Thanks for putting up with me tonight,” Milly told Cam as they walked down the sidewalk toward the parking lot behind the restaurant.

“Thanks for sharing all of Gannon’s deep dark secrets with me,” Cam replied, smiling down at her.

“Okay, I’m gonna hug you now,” Milly said right before she walked up to Cam and put her arms around him.

Gannon grinned, watching Cam’s surprise flitter across his face as he hesitantly embraced her.

“And now, I’m gonna go sit in the car”—Milly snagged the car keys from Gannon’s hand—“while the two of you say good night.”

With a small wave, she headed across the lot to Gannon’s Lexus while he stood with Cam beside his truck.

When he turned back to face Cam, those dark blue eyes were locked on him. Thankfully, it was dark out and the single light post was on the other side of the lot, the yellow glow not making it to their part, which left them in the shadows. It afforded them a small measure of privacy, so Gannon urged Cam between his truck and the one beside it, backing him up against the driver’s door.

“I had fun tonight,” Gannon whispered. “But I can’t walk away without kissing you.”

Cam nodded but didn’t say anything.

“Is that gonna bother you? Me kissing you in public?”

“Will it bother you?” Cam countered.

Gannon answered that question by leaning in and pressing his mouth to Cam’s, placing his hand on the truck door on the side of Cam’s head. He licked Cam’s lips first, then urged him to open. A soft moan escaped Cam seconds before Gannon was crushing Cam’s body against the door, his hips pressing against Cam’s while their tongues explored.

Had they been anywhere else, Gannon would’ve pursued it further, but being in a public place, he knew he couldn’t let it get too far. As it was, his cock was rock hard by the time he pulled back, breaking the kiss and pressing his forehead to Cam’s.

“I want to see you again,” Gannon whispered.

“When?”

Pulling back, Gannon moved back enough so he could see Cam’s face fully. “I’m leaving for California in the morning.”

And just like that, it was as though Gannon had poured a bucket of ice water over Cam’s head rather than telling him that he had to go out of town for a couple of days. The heat he’d seen in Cam’s eyes turned glacial in an instant.

“What?” Gannon asked, taking a step back when Cam turned to open his truck door. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Cam declared, his tone icy.

Gannon watched as Cam climbed into his truck, confused.

“I need to get home,” Cam told him, turning his head toward Gannon but not meeting his eyes.

“Okay.” Gannon didn’t even know how to plead his case, because he had no clue what had just happened. One second Cam was melting in his arms, the next he was … Antarctica. “I’ll call you?”

Cam nodded, then waited for Gannon to move out of the way before closing the door and starting his engine. Still trying to figure out where things had gone wrong, Gannon didn’t move as Cam backed out of the parking space, then headed for the road.

When he finally made it back to the car, Milly was waiting for him, the radio turned up. Since he had no idea what had happened, or how he was supposed to explain it to her, he forced a smile as he slid into the driver’s seat.

“That was fun,” she told him, briefly looking at him before returning her attention to her cell phone.

“Yeah,” he said, putting his hand on the gear shift. “Fun.”

Eighteen

Friday night

“Where’s your man?” Dare asked, pointing his beer bottle at Cam, clearly letting him know he was talking to him.

Cam didn’t say anything, preoccupying himself by drinking his own beer.

“Uh-oh,” Teague offered. “Trouble in paradise?”

Cam’s gaze slid to Roan. He found his best friend studying him intently.

“No trouble,” Cam said, merely to get them off his case.

“He’s in Cali, right?” Dare asked.

Cam nodded.

He did not want to think about Gannon at the moment. Didn’t want to think about him several states away, where Cam couldn’t see him. Didn’t want to let his fears get the best of him.

Last night, when Gannon had reminded him that he was going to California, something had broken inside him. One minute his switch had been on, the next … off. He’d driven home in a fog, numb from the information. And most of the day, he’d attempted to process it, to no avail.

He knew he owed Gannon an apology. His abrupt turnabout had been unfair. He couldn’t deny that. But he couldn’t bring himself to answer his phone or return any of Gannon’s texts, either.

No one said he was acting rationally, but the only thing he could think about was Gannon in Florida. No. Not Florida. California.

Cam took a long pull on his beer, trying to dislodge the knot of emotion from his throat. He’d been choking on it all damn day while endless questions ran through his head.

What if something happened to Gannon?

What if he was sick?

What if he had a brain aneurysm and died while alone in his hotel room?

His throat was dry, his palms sweaty. He was choking on the hot ball of fear that seemed to be permanently lodged in his throat. Cam drained what was left of his beer, then grabbed another.

No, he wasn’t going to think about any of that.

Hell, it was bad enough that he’d had a nightmare last night, waking up in a cold sweat. He’d dreamed that someone had called him to let him know that Gannon’s body had been found in a hotel room. He’d died of a brain aneurysm.

The same way Cam’s mother had died. Hundreds of miles away. Alone.

“When’s he comin’ back?” Teague asked.

“Tomorrow,” Roan offered, meeting Cam’s gaze.

“Can we talk about somethin’ else? Seriously?” Cam didn’t want to dwell on this anymore.

Sure, he’d missed a call from Gannon earlier, and he’d received a few texts, but at the moment, he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to talk to him or about him. Shitty as it was.

“Dude,” Dare began with a smile, “did y’all see that hot guy who came to talk to Hudson today?”

Grateful for the change of subject, Cam watched Teague’s head snap over to Dare and had the urge to rub his own neck. That had to hurt.

“When?” Roan asked the question Teague clearly wanted to ask but didn’t.

“This mornin’ sometime. Holy fuck.” Dare let out a long, low whistle. “Not sure what they were talkin’ about, but Hudson looked happy.”

Cam couldn’t help but notice that Teague did not. Look happy. Not at all.

“Looks like the dry spell might be over,” Dare added. “At least for some of us.”

Cam looked away when Dare pinned him with his hazel gaze. He wasn’t going to confirm or deny that. At this point, he didn’t know how things stood between him and Gannon.

Sure, they’d rocketed out of the gate, hot and heavy, and he’d enjoyed the hell out of the time he’d spent with Gannon. But now … his fears had gotten the best of him.

As he’d always known they would.

And though he’d traveled himself, that didn’t bother him. It was when the people he cared about ventured out on their own, leaving Cam at home to worry whether they’d ever come back again.

He could still remember that horrible day, sixteen years ago.

“When’s Mom coming home?” Holly asked, passing the green beans over to Cam.

Looking up at his father, Cam waited, trying to do the math in his head. She’d left yesterday? Or the day before? He wasn’t sure. His mother took frequent trips for her job, so having her away had become the norm for them. Sometimes to the point that they didn’t get the details of the trip.

“Tomorrow afternoon,” his father told him, sipping his iced tea.

“Did you talk to her today?” Holly asked. “Is she having fun in Florida?”

Michael shook his head. “Not yet.” The smile on his face said he looked forward to hearing from her. “She’s having dinner with some colleagues.”

“Well, hopefully she got to go to the beach,” Holly said, stuffing chicken into her mouth. “I’ve always wanted to go to Florida.”

For the next few minutes, Cam listened to his sister ramble on and on about how great Florida was and how cool it would be to visit. How one day, when she got married, she wanted to have her honeymoon at Disney World.

“Who’s got the dishes tonight?” Cam’s father asked when they finished their meal.

“It’s my turn.” Holly frowned.

“Good. Cam, help your sister clear the table. I’ll be in the living room.”

Cam nodded, then began stacking the plates. As he was placing them on the counter beside the sink, there was a knock at the door.

Glancing over at his sister, he lifted an eyebrow, silently asking if she was expecting someone.

Holly shook her head.

Wiping his hand on a dish towel, Cam went to the bar that separated the kitchen from the living room, watching as his father made his way over to the front door. After a quick look through the security hole, Michael glanced back, meeting Cam’s eyes.

That was when Cam knew something was very, very wrong.

With his heart in his throat, Cam stood there as his father opened the door to reveal two uniformed officers standing on the porch.

Cam recognized them as a couple of guys his dad worked with. He couldn’t imagine what they’d be doing there. It wasn’t their regularly scheduled poker night, and not once had Cam ever seen them show up in uniform.

Afraid to move from his spot, Cam stood in the doorway, straining to hear what they were saying, but their voices were too low. When his father’s legs gave out and the two officers reached for him, holding him up, Cam knew that the news they’d brought hadn’t been good.

“What’s going on?” Holly whispered, coming to stand next to Cam.

He shrugged.

Before he could stop her, Holly took off toward their father.

“Daddy, what’s wrong?”

Michael muttered something, and when Holly turned to look back at him, Cam wasn’t sure he wanted to know what he’d said. His sister’s eyes widened, her chin trembled, and then she screamed, a horrible sound that had echoed through the entire house. When she crumpled into a heap, one of the officers managed to grab her, easing her down onto the couch.

Cam waited, his heart pounding in his throat. He didn’t want to know what they’d said. If he didn’t know, whatever it was hadn’t happened.

“Cam,” Bruce Derby said, moving toward him.

Cam shook his head adamantly. Whatever it was, he didn’t want to know.

Bruce’s eyes were sad. “It’s your mom.”

Cam’s heart stopped beating at that moment.

“She didn’t come into the office this morning. After a few hours, they got worried, so they sent one of her coworkers over to her hotel to check on her.”

Cam’s chest began to burn. He wasn’t breathing.

“They found her—” Bruce swallowed hard, then cleared his throat. “They found her body. Medical examiner said she’d suffered a brain aneurysm.”

From that point on, everything in Cam’s memory was a blur. At least for the few days that followed.

His mother had been away on business.

Alone in a hotel room.

And she’d died.

They’d never gotten to say good-bye.

“How’s Cam?” Milly asked, joining Gannon at the hotel bar. “Hear from him today?”

Gannon shook his head, wrapping his hands around the tumbler of scotch sitting in front of him.

The bartender strolled over and Milly rattled off her order before turning to face him.

“Talk to me,” she encouraged.

That was when Gannon accepted that the woman sitting beside him wasn’t his assistant, the woman who’d flown to California with him early that morning so they could spend a couple of days working on the marketing plan for the next game rollout. No, sitting beside him now was Milly, his friend. The woman who knew more about him than anyone on the planet.

“I tried calling, but he didn’t answer,” he admitted.

“Did you text?” she asked, thanking the bartender when he delivered her apple martini.

“Yeah.”

“And?”

Gannon lifted his head, looking directly at her. “I think he’s got an issue with me traveling.”

“Why do you think that?” she questioned, sipping her drink and blowing her bangs out of her face.

“Last night…” God, he didn’t even know how to explain what he didn’t understand. “Last night, after you went to the car, I was saying good night. Things were fine. Right up to the point I reminded him I had to come here. To California. Then it was weird. He just shut down, retreating into himself. Just like the last time.”

“The last time?” Milly’s ice-blue gaze settled on Gannon’s face.

“The first time I mentioned that I travel, he acted … strange.”

“You think maybe he’s just worried about you?”

Gannon shook his head. He tried to see that angle, but he didn’t think that was it. It was more than that.

“Didn’t you say his mom died?” Milly took another sip of her drink, crossing her legs and adjusting her skirt.

Nodding, he lifted his glass to his lips.

“How’d she die?”

Gannon shrugged. He didn’t know.

“Ever thought maybe you should ask him?”

Of course he had. He’d wanted to ask Cam, but after that first night, when he’d seen the sadness that had dimmed the light in Cam’s eyes, he hadn’t wanted to risk seeing that again.

“Want me to ask him for you?” Milly’s chipper tone said she’d do it in a heartbeat if he let her.

Gannon’s head snapped up, his eyes slamming into her face. “Don’t you dare.”

The smile she shot him was mischievous.

“I’m never letting the two of you in the same room together again,” he noted.

“Well, that’s good. ’Cause I’ve got a lot of questions for him. Last night, I was just being nice.”

“Like?” Gannon knew he shouldn’t encourage her, but what the hell. He was sitting at a hotel bar in California, and he wasn’t going back to Texas until tomorrow afternoon. Cam wasn’t answering his phone, so there was nothing stopping him from getting blind drunk at the bar and hashing out his problems with his closest friend.

“For one, why the hell hasn’t he jumped your bones yet?”

Gannon was grateful he hadn’t been taking a drink. He would’ve shot it out of his nose.

“And I’d ask him if he has any hot straight friends.”

“He doesn’t,” Gannon told her.

“And how do you know that?”

“Because I’ve met his friends.”

“And they’re all gay?” Milly didn’t sound convinced.

“The ones I’ve met, yeah.”

“Well, shit.” Milly grinned, lifting her glass to her lips.

Gannon chuckled.

“Did you tell him about your parents?” Milly inquired a moment later, her tone less enthusiastic.

“Not yet.”

“But you plan to, right?”

“Eventually.”

“So, all this take-things-slow crap, I thought it meant with the sex. But clearly the two of you haven’t shared some important details.”

“We’re getting there.” At least Gannon had thought they were.

“Well, don’t get all freaked out,” Milly told him, patting his thigh. “You’ve only known the guy for two weeks. I’m sure he’s just got something going on and that’s why he hasn’t answered.”

He hoped she was right, but he didn’t say as much.

“So, I think it’s time you put that dopey grin back on your face and buy me another drink.”

“Another?” Gannon grinned; he couldn’t help it.

“Of course. You didn’t think I was gonna buy my own drinks tonight, did you? Just because you’re gay doesn’t mean you get to take a lady out and let her pay her own way.”

Gannon laughed, as he knew Milly expected him to. She was really something else.

And that was one of the many reasons he loved her.