In a sense, Gannon knew how Cam felt. He’d been abandoned by his parents, and though Cam’s mother hadn’t had the choice, from Cam’s perspective, she’d left him. Different but the same.

“It’s not easy for me to trust people,” Gannon told Cam. He needed him to understand that it wasn’t easy for him when Cam tried to push him away. “I’m not ashamed of who I am. From that day on, when I walked out of my parents’ house, I made a promise that I’d be true to myself. No hiding. Not from them and certainly not from myself. But I had learned a huge lesson. I’d learned that even though some people claimed to love you for you, sometimes the version of you they loved wasn’t real. It was merely the version they could live with. And it only took one revelation for them to turn their backs.”

Clearing his throat, Gannon broke out of his thoughts and glanced down at the ground. “I try not to give too much of myself, for fear I’ll be left to pick up the pieces again. Alone.”

Cam didn’t say anything, so Gannon stopped talking. He’d cut himself open and bled for this man at this point. If Cam couldn’t deal with Gannon as he was, he wasn’t sure there was anything else he could do to convince him. They’d taken things slow, and Gannon didn’t have a problem with that. He didn’t want to rush this. It was that important to him.

Cam was that important to him.

But he wasn’t going to be with someone who cared about the version of him they could live with. He needed to know that when things got tough, he could depend on Cam.

Because at this point, Gannon was fairly certain he was in love with the man.

Twenty-One

One week later

With another week behind him, another Saturday under his belt, Cam was looking forward to an afternoon out on the lake. Sundays were usually busy enough to keep all of them working, but this one was slower than normal, and Cam had convinced Dare to manage the few appointments they had for the afternoon so Cam could get Gannon out on the water again.

It’d been a long week, and they needed to do something fun, to take some time to relax and enjoy. Without all the stress of work, without the constant friction caused by Cam’s fears. Even though they’d talked it out, things had still been tense between them all week.

Ever since the night Gannon had called him from California, letting Cam know that he missed him, Cam had been thinking about him often. About whether they should move forward, see where this took them. Whether or not it was time for them to take things to the next level, because if they did go forward, that was inevitable—seriously, the sexual tension between them was like a dry twig folded in half, ready to break at any second. But mostly, Cam had been thinking how relieved he’d been to share one of his deepest fears with someone and not be judged. Knowing Gannon had been in California, Cam had nearly come undone. And it hadn’t been until Gannon had landed back in Texas a week ago that he’d released the breath he’d been holding for the two days Gannon had been gone.

Still, it was more than that. The fact that he’d been scared enough to run from Gannon meant he had feelings for him. This wasn’t casual anymore.

“What’s up, bro?”

Cam looked up to see Teague darting through the office.

“Where’re you off to?” Cam hollered.

“Gotta go see a man about a thing.”

Cam had no idea what that meant, nor did he bother to ask; instead, he pulled out the appointment book and scanned through the next week, his thoughts drifting back to Gannon.

It all came down to the fact that Cam missed him. More than he even cared to admit to himself, but more than he could deny. Although work had been hectic for both of them, they’d managed to spend several hours together over the course of the week since Gannon had gone to California. It had helped. Some. And when they couldn’t see each other, they’d talked on the phone late at night when Gannon got home, even texted throughout the day, but still, Thursday night had been the last time Cam had seen Gannon, and he was ready for more.

Because they both knew their relationship was escalating rapidly, they’d opted to keep playing it safe during the week, going to dinner out rather than eating in. Gannon had taken Cam to an Indian restaurant on Monday—apparently one of Gannon’s favorites—and Cam had been schooled on curries and spices. All in all, Cam hadn’t hated it. It wasn’t his favorite, either. Then, on Tuesday night, Cam had taken Gannon to Chuy’s, his favorite Mexican food restaurant in Austin. And on Friday night, they’d agreed to compromise with pizza again.

Although that night had been awkward. Milly and some wannabe rock star she was dating had met them at a popular downtown Austin restaurant that boasted live music as well as good food. The guy had come off as a narcissistic asshole, and Cam was fairly certain Milly had decided she’d had enough of him.

Still, Cam had had a good time because he’d been with Gannon.

The bing of the door notification system had Cam looking up from the appointment book he was reviewing for the following week. A smile split his face as soon as he saw Gannon, looking pretty damn edible in shorts and a navy blue T-shirt.

“Are those…” Cam laughed as he looked at Gannon’s feet.

“Flip-flops.” Gannon lifted his foot, showing them off. “Like ’em?”

Cam moved around the counter so he could get closer to Gannon. He kissed him on the mouth, still smiling. “I’m impressed.”

That adorable dimple in Gannon’s cheek winked back at him.

“I thought you might be. So, what’s the plan?”

“Jet skis.”

The horrified look that took the place of the smile that had been there previously made Cam laugh.

“You’re gonna be fine,” Cam told Gannon. “Come on.”

Taking Gannon’s hand, Cam led him through the marina office and out the back door, then down to the slip where they kept their personal watercraft. He’d convinced Dare to let Gannon borrow his since Cam’s was supercharged and likely too powerful for Gannon’s first time out.

After a quick lesson on what levers did what, and helping Gannon into a life jacket, Cam mounted his own jet ski while Gannon got into position on Dare’s. It was cute watching Gannon try to look calm when it was obvious his head was about to explode.

“You’re gonna be fine,” Cam assured him.

“Can I get that in writing?” Gannon retorted, his words terse.

Yep, he was definitely nervous.

For the first half hour, Cam took it slow with Gannon, helping him to learn how to navigate the wake, to speed up, slow down, make wide turns. He’d basically done the same for Gannon that he did for any of the clients who were new to the water sport. And because he liked the way Gannon watched him, Cam showed off a little.

But then, fueled by adrenaline, sunshine, and simply being close to Gannon, Cam could no longer contain the energy that throbbed in his veins. Telling Gannon that he’d be back, Cam opened the throttle and took off, soaring across the water, controlling the powerful machine between his thighs. Twice he encountered a couple of guys who wanted to race, but Cam shrugged them off. And when he returned to Gannon, finding him rocketing across the water on his own, he felt his spirits lift even more.

“Wanna race?” Cam challenged when Gannon made his way back around.

“Not a chance,” Gannon said with a strained laugh. “I’m doing my best not to fall in the damn water as it is.”

“Chicken,” Cam teased.

He saw the spark in Gannon’s eyes, a banked flame that flickered at the dare. Yeah, Gannon wasn’t as level-headed as he wanted everyone to believe.

Cam pointed to a buoy far off in the distance. “Down there and back.”

Gannon studied the distance, probably mentally calculating how long it would take to get there and back while Cam continued to tease him.