Dawson had no fucking clue. “It’s different when you’re there, in the arena,” he claimed, even though he knew that was shit. Whyhadhe reached over and taken Cam’s hand? Because he just wanted to, that was why. Because Cam had been clenching it around his leg, worry etched over his face, and it had seemed like a comfort to both of them, when things had gotten nerve-wracking in the third.
“Didn’t see you reaching formyhand,” Aidan said.
“That’s ’cause Levi would have chopped it off.” Dawson could hear the fear in his voice. Not because Levi was absolutely possessive as shit, but because he’d just beendoing, notthinking. Not about any of it.
But now he was recalling all the nights he and Cam had spent in each other’s beds—pretty much every night; notonlywhen they had sex, but plenty of other times, too—all the breakfasts and dinners and carpooling. They’d been basically inseparable. Dawson was six movies into theirFast and Furiousbinge, and maybe deeper into something else.
Butno, they’d agreed it was just hooking up. If that had changed, surely Cam would’ve said something. If he didn’t like what they were doing, hewould’vesaid something. Dawsonbelieved that, no question. Instead, he was going around looking cute as fuck, all the goddamn time, huge smile on his face, his sweet, sure positivity transforming Dawson’s life.
“What about the fact that you stayed in his room when we were in Indy,” Aidan said.
“Oh, that’s just . . .you know. Hooking up,” Dawson said. “Sex. I shouldn’t have to explain that to you anymore.”
Aidan shot him a pitying look. “Do you remember when Levi and I started dating?”
“You mean, when you were hooking up and were sure that was all it was? But you were actually head over heels in love with each other?” Dawson couldn’t help but feel a little smug as he leaned back in his chair. See? He knew what the fuck he was talking about. He could still get one over on Aidan.
But Aidan’s expression morphed from pity to . . .worse? Nope, that was not supposed to be happening. “Oh, bud,” he said.
“What?” Dawson demanded.
“Pot, meet kettle.”
“What,no,” Dawson said. He wasn’t in love with Cam. If he was, he’d . . .well, he couldn’t be. That was all it was. Whenever he thought about the last time he was in love and how that had ended—in betrayal and ugly words and even uglier metaphorical wounds, and then the capper to the whole nightmare, the logistics of the divorce—he felt sick to his stomach. He wasn’t doing that again. Not ever.
What he and Cam had was great. No strings. No worries. No fights. Everything wasgolden.
“You’re going on all these dates. You’re staying over in each other’s places—”
Dawson opened his mouth to argue about that even though he knew it would be a lie.
But Aidan just kept going. “I know you are, so don’t even bother trying to tell me otherwise. You both keep slipping up. You spend a night apart since that first night? Have you?”
Dawson wasn’t counting. That was thewhole point, fuck you very much.
“No idea,” Dawson said shortly.
“It’s not a bad thing. It’s a good thing. You’re happy. Way happier than you were when you showed up here this summer and it was like you had a little thundercloud hovering over you everywhere you went.”
“You’re one to talk,” Dawson grumbled.
Aidan leaned forward. “Exactly.Exactly.I’ve been there. I was fucking right there, with you, at one point, so I can see it. Way more clearly than you, anyway.”
“What does it matter what it is if we’re both enjoying it?” In the back of his mind, Dawson knew why it mattered, but if he believed it, then it would mean that it would have to end, because he couldn’t go there—not yet and maybe notever—and he was definitelynotready to have it end.
“That’s a question between you and Cameron,” Aidan said sympathetically.
“I came to you for restaurant recs, not a dissection of my personal life.” Dawson was annoyed.
“We’re all seeing it.”
“So what, you’re doing to us what you said you’d do for Nate and Ramsey? We don’t needany help. We’re not stupid; we’refine.”
“I think that’s probably up for debate,” Aidan said, and Dawson growled under his breath.
“Just saying,” Aidan said, grinning. “Kind of stupid.”
“Are you gonna send me more restaurant recs or am I gonna have to go ask someone else?”
