“Yeah, you’re right,” he mumbled, turning his face to the side on the pillow. “Just a few more minutes.”
Asher laughed, carefully easing out of him and crossing the room to dispose of the condom. “Fine. Scoot over.” When Cameron complied, he crawled onto the bed andmolded himself down the length of Cameron’s back, whispering soft kisses across his nape. “Just for a few minutes.”
Chapter Fourteen
Since taking a showerin the middle of the day would have been a dead giveaway, Cameron contented himself with cleaning up the best he could with a washcloth. His mom was totally going to notice that he’d stripped his bed, but that was a lot less embarrassing than her finding the huge wet stain in the center of the comforter.
Descending the stairs, his ass pleasantly sore and his heart filled to bursting, Cameron almost suggested they sneak out the front door and disappear back to his place for the rest of the week. Of course, his mother would kill him, but death would probably be less painful than having to introduce Asher to his crazy family.
He found his mom and aunts still in the kitchen, already working on their third bottle of wine. They were all dressed in glaringly orange shirts baring colorful, handprint turkeys and the wordsGobble, Gobble, emblazoned across the chest. It was a tradition dating back for as far as Cameron could remember, and every year, they got together to come up with a new design.
He had a feeling this year had been his mother’s turn. Not overly creative, but still whimsical and sweet. Either way, the Thanksgiving shirts were a hell of a lot better than the ugly sweater contests they held every Christmas.
Eyes slightly glassy, cheeks rosy, they giggled like a bunch of teenagers when Cameron and Asher entered the room with their hands linked together between them.
“Oh, heishandsome,” Aunt Nora cooed, eyeing Asher up and down like a slab of prized beef.
“They’re so cute together!” Aunt Elaine exclaimed, her booming voice echoing around the kitchen.
Aunt Kelly pushed her red, cat-eyed glasses up her nose and peered through her bifocals appraisingly. “Too skinny,” she pronounced with a dismissive sniff. “I like mine with a bit more meat on their bones.”
Cameron rolled his eyes, but he was too used to their antics to take offense. “Everyone, this is Asher Dare. Asher, these are my aunts.” He pointed to each of the women in turn as he introduced them. “Nora, Elaine, and Kelly. They’re all insane, so just ignore them.”
His mother came bustling around the island, smiling in welcome as she pulled Asher into a hug. “I’m so glad you made it, honey. Dinner will be ready soon, but there’s a veggie platter on the counter if you’re hungry.”
“Thank you,” Asher breathed, holding onto her tightly. He seemed to be thanking her for a lot more than celery and ranch dip. “I have a cake out in the car, but—”
“What kind of cake?” Elaine demanded. “Is it chocolate?”
Releasing Sarah, Asher straightened and nodded. “Is there any other kind?”
Nora cackled gleefully. “I like this boy.”
Even Kelly appeared to soften toward him at the promise of chocolate. “I guess he’ll do.”
Introducing Asher to his uncles went about the same. Bobby pried his attention away from the television long enough to grunt something that might have been a greeting. Craig actually stood and shook Asher’s hand, but ruined it by drunkenly asking if this was the guy Cameron was doing “the gay thing” with, then laughing hilariously at his own joke. Uncle Joe just waved a hand and yelled at them to keep it down.
Like Cameron’s mother, Mark Stone greeted Asher with a hug. Instead of food, however, he offered him a beer, which Asher gratefully accepted. When he finished it in just a few, long swallows, Cameron turned away to hide his smirk. His family was a lot, and they could drive anyone to drink.
Easing down onto the arm of the chair where Asher was sitting, Cameron pressed a kiss to his cheek as he took the empty bottle from his hand. “There’s some bourbon in the study.”
Asher smiled, hooking his arm around Cameron’s waist and dragging him into his lap. “I’m okay, but thank you.” He brushed their lips together, slow and chaste and sweet. “I should probably go get that cake out of the car.”
“I can do it,” Cameron offered, holding his empty hand out for Asher’s keys. “Where is it?”
Asher hesitated for a moment, then arched up to dig his keys out of the front pocket of his jeans. “In the backseat. Driver’s side.” He helped Cameron to his feet, his hand lingering on his hip. “Thanks, sweetheart.”
Cameron wasn’t delusional enough to believe that they’d never have another argument. There would be obstacles to overcome, hurdles to jump, and hoops to leap through. They’d disagree. They’d say things they didn’t mean, then have to apologize for it.
Yet, as he detoured to the kitchen to deposit the empty beer bottle in the recycling bin, he couldn’t stop smiling. Love wasn’t a magic wand that would make all of their problems—both internal and external—disappear, but itwasa promise. A promise to try, to do better, to give more of themselves. It was a pledge to trust each other, to lean on one another when things got hard.
It wouldn’t be easy, but it would be worth it.
Making his way outside to the driveway, he grimaced as the rain splattered against his face. It wasn’t falling as hard as it had been earlier in the day, but in a way, that was worse. It was just so damn depressing.
Opening the back door of the shiny Lexus, found the dessert exactly where Asher had said it would be. A pretty blue box with white polka dots and a black, satin ribbon rested neatly in the backseat of the car behind the driver’s seat. Cameron didn’t recognize the packaging, but a tag onthe top of the box listed an address for a specialty bakery in McKinney.
He shook his head and snorted. It really shouldn’t have surprised him that Asher had driven nearly an hour away just to buy some fancy cake to bring to Thanksgiving dinner. There was no telling how much he’d spent on it, either. A plain chocolate cake from the local supermarket would have been perfectly acceptable, but Asher never did anything halfway.
