The Manny Read online

  His bed felt empty at night. He ached to hold Cameron in his arms again as they slept, and when he saw him during the day, he felt something stirring inside his chest. He looked forward to spending time with Cameron and the kids, to having dinner with them, and he loved to see him during the day as he went about his daily life.

  He was falling in love with Cameron. If he was going to be truthful with himself, he was already there, and that was very, very dangerous.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Cameron was distracted the entire drive to his sister’s house. The whole family was getting together at Cara’s for a barbeque to celebrate all the September birthdays in the family, which was a lot.

  Four of the twelve nieces and nephews had been born in September, and so had Cynthia, Alex, and his brother-in-law Gavin. It was the most active month for birthdays, so for as long as anyone could remember, they held one big party and celebrated everyone’s birthdays at the same time.

  Something with Nathan had felt different this time. It was true the sex had been hard and hot and more than a little desperate, but it had stirred something in him that Cameron had been trying to ignore.

  The physical connection between them had been as intense as ever, but the emotional one had almost overwhelmed him. He liked Nathan, loved their time together, but the line between love and like had been blurring for a while. They were supposed to be friends who slept together, falling in love hadn’t been part of the deal.

  When he pulled up to Cara’s house, he glanced at himself in the mirror. He was a little flustered, but for the most part he looked like himself. The kids wouldn’t know anything was bothering him, but his sisters would. They didn’t miss anything when it came to him and his emotions.

  With a sigh, he grabbed the gifts on the seat next to him and headed towards the house.

  “Uncle Cameron!”

  As soon as he cleared the back gate, his two youngest nephews and three youngest nieces came rushing towards him. Laughing, he knelt and held out his arms out so all five kids could hug him at the same time, almost knocking him over.

  “Here, I’ll get those,” Celeste said with a smile as she reached out to take the gifts from him so he could either hug the kids back or break his fall if they did manage to knock him over.

  “Thanks,” he said with a grateful smile as he let her take the bags and wrapped his arms around all five kids and gave them a big hug.

  “Okay, okay,” Cassidy said with a laugh as she grabbed her two daughters and pulled them off Cameron. “Let your uncle come inside and say hello before you trample him.”

  It took a moment, but he ended up with a kid holding each hand and one behind him as they pulled and pushed him into the yard.

  He was late. Everyone was already there, and they’d already started the barbeque. After he made his rounds and kissed all his sisters hello and hugged all his brothers-in-law, he let the kids pull him over to the grass so he could give hello hugs to the rest of the kids.

  As he said hello to Nick, he instantly knew something was wrong. Nick hugged him like he always did, but there was a look in his eyes that told Cameron he had something on his mind.

  Every thought of what had happened between him and Nathan flew from his mind as he leaned closer to Nick.

  “Do you have any homework you need help with?” he asked quietly, giving Nick a knowing look.

  “Yeah.” Nick nodded gratefully. “Thank you.”

  “Come on.” He looked around to find one Cara or Alex and saw Alex at the grill a few feet away.

  “Hey kiddo,” Alex greeted with a smile when they came up to him. “What’s going on?”

  “I promised Nick I’d help him with a report. I was supposed to get here early, but there was an issue with the kids, and I had to leave a bit later than I’d hoped.”

  “It’s a party, and you want to help him with his homework?” Alex raised his eyebrow at them.

  “What can I say, professors don’t really accept parties as excuses for not doing papers,” he said with a slightly forced laugh.

  Cameron felt terrible for lying, but if he said Nick wanted to talk about something, Alex would never leave it alone.

  Alex seemed to accept his explanation and handed Cameron a glass of wine before turning back to the grill.

  Cameron followed Nick down to his basement room and sat on the bed with him as Nick stared silently down at the bedspread.

  “What’s up, Nick?” he asked as he sipped his wine. “Is it school?”

  “No, not really.”

  “Girls?”

  When Nick didn’t say anything, Cameron decided to prod him a little.

  “A specific girl?”

  “Yeah.” He looked up, and Cameron could see the fear in his eyes.

  “Tell me what happened.”

  “I met this girl at a party during frosh week.”

  “But you’re a sophomore.”

  “Yeah, but the best parties are at frosh week, so everyone goes.”

  “Right, sorry.” he gave him a grin. “It’s been a while since I was in school.”

  “Maybe, but you’re still pretty cool.”

  “Thank you. Now what happened at the party?” he asked when Nick sighed and rubbed his hand over his face.

  “I hooked up with this girl.”

  “Okay.” Cameron waited for him to continue, wondering where this was going.

  “It was a onetime thing. I got her number but was never going to call. She was cute, but it was just sex.”

  “Did she accuse you of anything?” he asked carefully.

  “No.”

  “Were you drinking?”

  Nick nodded and concentrated on his hands.

  “Is she pregnant?” he asked softly.

  Nick looked up at him, and the fear in his eyes was so apparent Cameron felt his own adrenaline kick in as a wave of panic washed over him.

  “And it’s yours?”

  “She said it is. She said the dates work, but I don’t understand that stuff.”

  “When was the party?”

  “August twenty-fifth.”

  “And when did she tell you about the pregnancy?”

  “A week ago.”

  “And how far did she say she was?”

  “Five weeks, but the party was only a month ago so how does that even work?”

  “They count pregnancy from the end of the woman’s cycle, so the day she gets pregnant is actually two weeks into the pregnancy weeks.”

  “That makes no sense.”

  “I know. But that’s how they do it.”

  “So if they add two weeks and the party was a month ago, then she’d be six weeks, right? Not five?” he asked hopefully.

  “You have to add a week, Nick. She said five weeks a week ago, so it would be six now.”

  “I’m fucked.” He buried his head in his hands as his shoulders began to shake.

  “Nick.” He put his glass down on the floor and scooted closer so he could put his arm around his nephew’s shoulders. “You’re not fucked.”

  “I am.” He looked up, and Cameron could see tears in his eyes. “I’m only in my second year of school. I’m nineteen, and I got a girl pregnant because I was too stupid to put on a condom. What am I going to do?”

  “What do you know about her?” Cameron asked as he sat back.

  “Nothing really. Her name is Ashleigh; she’s in her first year. She’s studying sociology, and she’s pregnant.”

  “The dates match up, but there may be a chance it’s not yours. Did you ask her about that?”

  “She said I was the only guy she was with.”

  “I hate to be that person, but just because she says so doesn’t mean it’s true.”

  “You think there’s a chance it’s not mine?”

  “There’s always a chance.” He nodded. “But if it is, what are you going to do? What does she want to do?”

  “She wants to have it.” He ran his hands through his dark hair. “She said she d
oesn’t believe in abortion.”

  “And does she want to raise it?”

  “I don’t know. She said she doesn’t know. That she’s going to have it, but she might give it up for adoption.”

  “How do you feel about that, about any of this?”

  “I never really thought about abortion. I don’t really like the idea, but I’m not against it. If that makes sense.”

  “It does.” Cameron nodded. “But in cases like this, it doesn’t matter what you or I think because it’s not our body. Her body, her choice.”

  “Pretty much. If it is mine, then I don’t like the idea of giving it up, but I’m not in any place to raise a kid. I live in my parent’s basement. I’m in school, and I have a part-time job stocking shelves. I can’t pay for a baby. My life only just started. I’m not even an adult yet.”

  “You know, if you do end up being a father, the family will support you,” he said carefully.

  “Yeah, right. Mom and Dad are going to be so proud. Everyone will be so loving and supportive of stupid Nick and his baby momma,” he said bitterly.

  “Everyone makes mistakes, Nick. But the family loves you no matter what. Your parents are going to be angry, and they’re going to need time to adjust and figure things out, but they will never stop supporting you. I will never stop supporting you, and neither will anyone else. Lots of people have kids young; it doesn’t have to define your life. You can be a good father and build your life.”

  “I want to believe you,” Nick said softly. “You’ve never lied to me before.”

  “And I’m not lying about this,” Cameron said with a smile as he patted Nick’s knee. “Has she told her family yet?”

  “Not as far as I know.”

  “Do you want to tell your parents together? You know the longer you keep this from them, the harder it will be. They don’t like being lied to.”

  “I know.” Nick sighed and rubbed his hands over his eyes again. “I know, but it’s just so hard to wrap my head around.”

  “I can only imagine.”

  “You’ll be there when I talk to them?”

  “If you want me to be.” He nodded. “But you have to tell them tonight. If they find out we both hid this, it will devastate them.”

  “I know.” He sighed again. “This sucks.”

  “Feel better at all?”

  “Surprisingly.” Nick gave him a smile that actually reached his eyes. “I do feel better now that I’ve said it out loud.”

  “That’s a huge thing to keep to yourself. I’m sorry I haven’t been around more and we couldn’t talk about this sooner.”

  “It’s okay. I could have texted you.”

  “I mean it, Nick. If there’s ever anything you need to talk about, text me. I’m always just a message away.”

  “Thanks, Cameron.”

  “Come on. Let’s get back to the party, eat way too much junk food, and when everyone leaves, we’ll tackle your parents.”

  THE REST OF THE PARTY went pretty well. Everyone had a good time, and Nick was able to relax and enjoy himself. Cameron was so distracted by what Nick had told him he didn’t spare Nathan or what had happened earlier a second thought.

  He’d told Nathan he would probably be home by nine o’clock, but the party didn’t break up until after eight. Then he and Nick had taken Cara and Alex aside to talk to them.

  Nick had told them what happened— that he’d met a girl at a party, he’d had unprotected sex with her, and now she was pregnant. He’d explained the dates and that she was most likely going to have the baby, then braced himself for the backlash.

  Cara and Alex had handled it much better than Cameron thought they would. They’d asked a few questions, Alex had given Nick a lecture about consequences, and Cara had to be told a few times before she would let herself believe it, but there had been no yelling and no fight.

  They were disappointed, confused, and in shock, but Cara had hugged Nick and told him that she would love and support him no matter what, and Alex had hugged him and told him they would deal with whatever happened.

  Cameron had suggested everyone sleep on it and talk about it again in the morning. He’d hugged Nick goodbye and made him promise again to text him if there was anything he ever needed to talk about, no matter the time or how hard it was for him to say.

  By the time he was in his car and on his way back to the house, it was almost ten.

  His mind was spinning, and he was so scared for Nick. If it was his kid and he did have to become a father, it would have such a big impact on his life. He knew everyone would support him, but it was a huge thing to happen when he was so young.

  The worst part was that it wasn’t even with someone he loved. He’d never had a relationship with this girl, just a one-night stand, but he hadn’t been safe. He could be tied to this girl for the rest of his life, and he knew nothing about her except her name and her major.

  It was sobering to think that one night could determine the rest of his life.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Cameron lay in bed with a book in his hand. It was late, well after midnight, but he couldn’t sleep.

  Between his newly discovered love for Nathan and what was going on with Nick, his mind refused to shut down. He stared at the page in front of him and realized he had no idea what he’d been reading. He’d read at least twenty pages but hadn’t absorbed a single thing.

  With a sigh, he went back to where he’d started and slipped a bookmark between the pages. There was no point reading when he was like this. He was about to put the book away when there was a knock on his door.

  “Yes?” He sat up and looked over at the door. No one had ever come to his room before. Was one of the kids sick? Did they need him?

  “Nathan?” He put his book down on the bed as Nathan pushed the door open. “Is everything okay?”

  “I saw the light on,” he said after a long pause.

  “Do you want to come in?” Cameron asked as Nathan hovered at the door.

  Nathan nodded and stepped into the room. He quickly locked the door and awkwardly stopped in the center of the room.

  Cameron put his book on the bedside table and shifted over as he pulled the sheet down. Nathan never acted like this around him, and even as he climbed into bed and pulled Cameron against his body, he knew something was different.

  “Are you okay?” he asked as he cuddled against Nathan’s strong body.

  “I’m fine.”

  “You smell good,” he softly as he breathed in Nathan’s fresh, clean scent. He loved the soap Nathan used, and he could tell by the way his hair was still damp that he’d taken a shower before coming up to see him.

  “So do you,” Nathan said softly as he kissed the top of his hair. “How was the party?”

  “It was good, although my nephew dropped a gigantic bomb on me right after I got there.”

  “What happened? Is he okay?”

  “He got himself into some trouble,” Cameron said with a sigh.

  “How old is he?”

  “He’s nineteen, the oldest.”

  “So I’m guessing it’s adult trouble.”

  “You could definitely say that. Last week a girl he hooked up with at a party tracked him down and told him she’s pregnant, and it’s his.”

  “Wow. Could it be?”

  “He had sex with her, and if she’s telling the truth about the dates, then it probably is. He was drinking, and he didn’t use protection. She says there was no one else, so it probably is his.”

  “Wow.”

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s kind of strange to think of getting pregnant by accident. The hoops Jason and I had to jump through to get a surrogate, not to mention the cost. It was eye-opening.”

  “Do the kids all have the same mother?” Cameron asked, hoping he wasn’t overstepping.

  “They do. We were lucky to have the same woman carry all three of them for us.”

  “I’m freaked out for him. This is so huge.”
>
  “If your family is half as wonderful as you say they are, I’m sure he’ll be fine, no matter what happens.”

  Cameron didn’t say anything as he snuggled closer to Nathan, drinking in everything about the man he was in love with.

  “You’re comfortable. I really like this part.”

  “What part is that?” Nathan asked as he pulled Cameron up on his body so he could hold him a little closer.

  “This part.” He smiled. “The talking and the cuddling.”

  “I like this part too,” Nathan said softly as he bent his head and gently kissed him.

  “Don’t get me wrong, I love the sex,” Cameron said with a laugh when Nathan pulled away. “But sometimes it’s nice to feel...” he trailed off and turned away.

  “Feel what?” Nathan asked gently.

  “Loved. For lack of a better word,” Cameron added quickly. “When we’re together, it’s incredible and amazing, but sometimes it’s not until after that I feel...”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not complaining.” Cameron shook his head and looked up at Nathan. “Not at all. I love being with you, and I love when we’re together.”

  “But sometimes you just want to feel cherished and loved,” Nathan finished for him. “I understand, Cameron. I really do.”

  “I feel like such an asshole for complaining that my sex life is too good.”

  Nathan laughed and shifted his body so they were facing each other. “Yes, our sex life is amazing, but I get what you’re saying. It doesn’t always have to be about sex. Sometimes it can be about making love.”

  Cameron smiled, relieved Nathan had understood his ramblings.

  Nathan gently reached out and cupped the back of Cameron’s neck with his hand, toying with Cameron’s hair as he did. After a moment, he slowly guided Cameron toward him, his lips soft and almost feathery as he kissed him.

  Nathan rolled them so he was leaning over Cameron, still kissing him as though he was made of glass. His other hand snaked around Cameron’s waist, holding him close.

  Cameron melted against him. Nathan was being so tender and gentle it made his heart race and his skin flush.