"But he should've tried!" Ash snapped, then he immediately paused. When he spoke again, the anger was gone. "What happened with Kindle?"
That he knew the guy's name said more than Ash probably realized, but I wasn't about to call him on it. "Sounds like Cy caught him with someone else, and it sounds like that happened just before the funeral. Maybe a couple of months at most."
One more time, Ashton fell quiet. This time, however, he didn't break it. I knew this was hard for him. Those two had burned so brightly when they were younger. At first, I'd been convinced that they hated each other, but Gran told me to be patient. She said there were some things that boys needed a little time to figure out. Then, one day, I'd walked in on the pair staring longingly into each other's eyes.
Cyan was the only reason that Ashton wouldn't call himself straight. He wasn't into most men, but something about Cy had gotten under his skin and never went away. When I was younger, I'd been convinced that there would never be a love as true as theirs, until they exploded just as intensely as they'd fallen together.
"Ash?" I finally asked.
"It's kinda funny, you know?" he finally said. "Cy ended up a doctor and working in a jail. The last time I saw him, he looked like the kind of guy who'd beat up Luke for being too prissy." He huffed out a laugh. "Um, yeah. He'd be good there. He knows what it's like to be unsure of who you are, to be in a bad situation, and to hate the world for throwing you a raw deal." Then he sighed. "I can call the rest if you want, but pretty sure none of the board will have a problem with him. He's one of us."
"I'm not worried about the board," I promised. "Ash, I'm worried aboutyou."
"You two are the core of the colors," he said. "Gran started naming us because you both got stuck with those names. Soon as anyone found out what Cy was short for? Yeah. Then when you showed up? It was all Gran needed to make having your own color into a bribe we'd all work for. To be one of Gran's little Shades of Trouble, right? Vi, he belongs there. I can't promise things won't be tense if I show up, but - "
"So come back," I said. "You only have to be up there for a week, right? Come back, get the weirdness out of the way. I dunno, talk to him. He'd been with that guy for two years, and sounds like they split almost six months ago. How long has Cy been playing it tough with no one to talk to?"
"He won't talk to me," Ash insisted.
"I think you're wrong."
"He'll talk to you," he countered. "C'mon. When we were little, that guy loved you. He was gonna sneak out and go beat the shit out of the girls at that school."
I giggled. "Somehow, I believe that. I also know that he and I snuck out almost as much as you and I did. And when you two got together..."
"You thought I was gay," Ash teased. "Yep, I remember that. Just one little downside for your big plan."
"What's that?" I grabbed my tablet, ready to start problem solving, but his next words made me put it back down.
"Luke's his type. I mean, so are you, but you know how to deal with him. Luke? That country boy is about to get the shit scared out of him."
"You think it'll chase him off?" I asked.
"Mm..." Ash murmured, clearly thinking about that. "What if it does?"
"Then fuck him," I decided. "If Luke can't handle that my friends aren't all white, Christian, orstraight, then I don't need him in my life. Not gonna lose my rainbow, Magenta."
"Not sure you could, Vi," he said. "Just warn Cy that the locals aren't so understanding and he can pass. What happens at Southwind, though, stays at Southwind."
"Yeah." I leaned over, staring at the new rug beneath my feet. "What if Luke's not ok with it? You think I should warn him?"
"Nope." To follow that, Ash made another noise negating my idea. "I think you need to let Cy decide if he's outing himself or not. I mean, I let your little Romeo think what he wanted, and he assumed I'm trying to get in your pants."
"Shit," I breathed. "What did you tell him?"
"Not a damned thing," he assured me. "Figured that if you and he want to talk about old lovers, then that's on you. So far as he knows, I'm boning the other models."
A little laugh slipped out and I didn't try to stop it. "You're so full of shit. The only lovers you've had lately are your latest designs. If you want to get laid, you'd have to stop following me around."
"Our secret," he teased. "Just didn't want to scare your boy off before you could catch him. And believe it or not, I really did think I was helping you. I mean, what kinda man sees the woman of his dreams almost naked, lying across the hood of a truck, and does nothing about it?"
"Oh, he did something," I reminded Ash. "He put a fist in your gut. Next time, make sure I'm actually with a guy before you try to set up some kink for me, ok?"
"Yeah..." Ash paused to clear his throat. "Speaking of kink. What's the deal with you and Cy?"
"Just friends," I assured him.
"Because you're not into him, or because you think he's not into you? I can assure you he used to have a few fantasies about you."
