“So you’re gonna see him in person and judge,” Aidan said, always astute.
“Basically, yeah,” Dawson said.
“Well, good luck. If you want a drink after—you’re always welcome.”
“Sure. Yeah. You gonna take the rookie with you?”
Aidan shot him a look. “Oh, now you’re worried about him?”
“I never said I wasn’t,” Dawson argued, even though he knew it would only give Aidan more ammunition.
“Yeah, yeah, we’ll watch out for your boy,” Aidan said, nodding, a glimmer of a smile on his face as he turned to walk towards his locker.
He finished up, shower and a few questions for the media, before he pulled Cam aside, right before he was ready to head out and meet Alex.
“Hey,” he said, leaning against the wall of the corridor, “you going to Vault with the guys tonight?”
“Yeah, I was going to talk to my dad first and change. Then head out.”
Dawson felt a pulse of worry. Was Cam going to try to be a hero again? Try to prove that he could walk alone in the city when he didn’tneedto do that? He wouldn’t be there to talk Cameron down if he had another panic attack.
Aidan probably could. Lane or Trevor or Mo. But Dawson selfishly didn’t want them to. Well, he didn’t want Cam to have a panic attackat all.
Which was the whole point of this conversation.
“Take a cab, okay? Or don’t walk alone. Let those guys pick you up.”
Cam smiled at him. “You worried about me, Daws?”
It wasn’t hard to be honest. “Yeah. I am. Last time—”
“Last time was different. I was . . .I was cocky.Stupid. Thought I could just get over it,” Cam admitted wryly.
There were still a handful of people in the corridor, but Dawson decided he didn’t give a shit. He reached out and cupped Cam’s cheek, and Cam, to Dawson’s delight, leaned into the touch. “If it was only that easy,” Dawson said.
“I do feel better. Like . . .a more healthy level of fear, if that makes sense?” Cam confessed. “Like, I went out last week to the farmers’ market. And that was fine. But you’ve helped. Helped me see the city as something not to fear, but as something cool and exciting, too.”
That hadn’t been Dawson’s only purpose in taking Cam out, but it was a nice side benefit. He was thrilled it was working.
“I’m glad to hear it,” Dawson said.
Cam tucked himself into Dawson’s side, and Dawson couldn’t help it—he put an arm around his waist, tugging him in closer. “It’s probably smart to be cautious,” Cam said.
“It is,” Dawson agreed. “I don’t ever want anything bad to happen to you,ever.”
Cam gazed up at him, dimples on full display. “That’s pretty sweet, Hall.”
“It’s how I feel,” Dawson said, shrugging like it was no big deal. But he knew it was. It was that feeling that he kept pushing back down, like if he pretended it didn’t exist, then it didn’t.
But that didn’t stop him fromfeelingit.
“Good.” Cam brushed a quick kiss across his cheek. “I’ll be safe, I promise. Even text you when I get there.”
“And text me when you leave.”
“You’ll probably be home by then,” Cam said, confusion crossing his face.
“Yeah, you can tell me when you’re coming home to me.” Dawson realized a second after he said it what that sounded like, but then decidedfuck it, he’d already said it, hadn’t he? And hemeantit.
