“You love him. Remember you love this man so fucking much.” Jamie sighs.
“I tried to stop this, Jamie,” Mark says. “I was trying to save you. It’s not a hell I’d wish on my worst enemy, and up until then, that was you.”
Jamie smiles, taking a sip of his tea while Noah glares at his friend. “Well, are you going to defend my honor!?” Noah asks him.
Jamie grins, leaning down to kiss him. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Noah sticks his tongue out at Mark. “So what happened? Give us details!” Noah sips his iced coffee.
“I fucked him.” I choke on my muffin. “Is that what you want to hear, Noah? I fucked him, okay? I fucked him, and I liked it. A lot. Probably going to do it again tonight. Happy?”
Noah blinks at Cam’s outburst. “I uh, meant did you two talk, but uh, good for you both.” Cam’s face brightens with warmth. “Unrelated. Is the plaster in your guest room okay? Because it sounded like—”
Jamie slaps a palm over Noah’s mouth. “Stop licking me! I won’t let go if words come out of your mouth. Remember what we talked about?” Noah’s shoulders sink. “Now, I’m going to let go and you’re not going to ask any of our friends about their sex lives, or their penises, and no more picking on Mark.”
“Fine!” Noah folds his arms over his chest.
“So is everything good, then?” Jamie asks us, but he’s looking at Cam. I don’t know what’s going on with them, but I love it. I love Cam so much, but there are parts of him I will neverunderstand. I don’t know what Jamie’s been through, but I can tell they share similar pain.
Maybe it’ll bring him the strength he needs to set boundaries with his father. Cam has always searched for people to love him, and now he has a roomful of people ready to do just that.
“We’re amazing.” Cam looks down at me and kisses me between the eyes.
“So cute! You guys have the cutest trope too.”
“Trope?”
“You know. If you were a romance novel your trope would describe what you are. Best friends to lovers.” He swoons. “Jamie and I have grumpy sunshine. Ugh, and size difference. Love a good size difference.”
“What’s ours?” Mark asks.
“Why? Why ask?” Hunter groans.
“I don’t know. Blackmail dating?”
“Nerd and jock.” Bri smiles. “My favorite trope is enemies to lovers.”
Mark tugs Hunter against him, running his fingers through his beard. “You’re the sweetest man alive. I don’t give a shit about our trope.” He kisses him and I look around. At Noah on Jamie’s lap, leaning into his hold. At Bri sitting with us, and Xavi. We’re surrounded by so much love, and right next to me is the person I love the most.
“I love you, Camden Marcella Alemida.”
He laughs, leaning in to kiss me. “Nope. Not my middle name, Bo,” he whispers.
“What?” Hunter laughs. “What is your middle name?”
“It’s just a thing we do,” Cam says. “Neither of us have middle names. So we just say random names back and forth.”
“Generally, in my culture we don’t really have middle names.” I say.
“I don’t have one either. My last name, Almeida is my grandmother’s last name. I had it changed legally when I turned eighteen.” I watch Cam swallow, I remember when he made that decision. He wanted as much spaced removed between him and his father. “She died when I was seven. She lived with us until then. She basically took care of me.” Cam is downplaying it. That woman raised him until she passed away. “It’s actually how we met. I mean just after.”
I look at the soft set of his beautiful eyes. “I’d just joined the school year, and I hated it. I wanted my mom and didn’t understand why she needed to work full time. I was angry. The kids were awful. They made fun of me, my glasses, the food I’d bring to school. One day I got so mad and left the cafeteria to eat in the bathroom.” I can’t help but smile. “I heard crying when I got in there.”
I can’t help picture it, so clear in my mind, seeing Cam for the first time. “I got on my hands and knees—so fucking gross thinking about it now.” Cam laughs wetly. “And I saw him huddled on the toilet seat, pressing his little fists into his eyes. He slowly pulled them away and I couldn’t speak. Obviously I didn’t understand attraction back then, but there was something in his eyes that made me want to take his pain away.”
“I instantly stopped crying when I saw him crawl under the door to me. He asked me what was wrong, and I told him my abuela just died. She was everything to me. She’s the only reason I’m alive. I used to think she was being mean and strict with me, but I realize now that she was just trying to protect me. I could cook before I was five. I could do laundry. I knew so much so early. She was getting me ready to care for myself.” Cam swipes his hand over his cheek.
“We found out we lived on the same street. Even when we didn't share classes, we always found our way to each other afterschool There’s this playground near our houses we used to meet at. Then he would come over to my house.”
