Page 89 of The Leaving Kind
“Sure thing.”
Victor poked Beck on the shoulder. “See you then.”
They smiled, ducked their head in a shy nod, and then went to join Jorge and Gray.
Cam turned to Victor. “So, the sweet potato fries are probably burning and I forgot to put the mac and cheese back in the oven. Also, the damn grill isn’t lit yet. I hope everyone’s good with eating around midnight.”
Victor laughed.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t find an elegant way to introduce you to Emma. Or anyone else.”
“I stood there mentally flailing along with you.”
“We were supposed to talk about it on Friday night.”
“As I remember, you had your mouth full, then I had my mouth full, and then we went out to eat.”
Cam never blushed. Except, apparently, for right now. Moving closer to Victor, he traced a hand down his arm. “Yeah.” Their fingers tangled together naturally, as though activated by proximity sensors.
“You should be lighting the grill, not looking at me intently enough to make me hard.”
“Damn.”
“I’m not sure we have to explain ourselves. Just stand together and it’s obvious we’d rather be in bed.”
Nick and Emma glanced over, and Cam’s never-before-and-would-never-happen-again blush intensified.
Cam tugged Victor up off the chair he’d been lounging in. “C’mon. Let’s light a fire.”
“Here or upstairs?” Victor’s light blue eyes sparkled merrily.
“Here.”
Somehow, he got the charcoal lit, then he led Victor back into the kitchen under the guise of “I need someone to help me get all of this shit timed right.”
He hustled Victor into the nook beside the fridge and kissed him senseless. Was thinking about dragging him upstairs, when the oven timer dinged.
“Not that I need an alarm to tell you I’m ready, but ...” Victor broke off with a laugh.
Cam grinned. “Okay, need to stop thinking about sex and start thinking about the fact I have invited people over to eat and that I would prefer to serve something other than burned crumbs.”
“I’ll help.” Victor pushed up his sleeves. “What do we have?”
Cam took him on a quick tour of the menu, and they fell into step, prepping dishes, deciding what needed to be heated and how, and getting the variety of burgers ready for the grill.
“So much easier with you here,” Cam said, leaning over to press a fast kiss to Victor’s mouth.
Victor’s eyes softened. “And here you thought I was all about complication.”
“Oh, you are. But I’m starting to think I like it.”
“Me too.”
“Jazmine, dear, how are you?” Victor observed his lips moving in the mirror over his dresser and wondered whether he sounded as manic as he looked.
If so, his agent didn’t seem to notice. “Victor! Great minds. You were on my list of calls today.”
“Oh?” His reflection frowned, and Victor turned away. He wasn’t in the mood to watch his face age five years for every beat of news his agent had to deliver. He hadn’t been on her list of calls for over a month.