Page 18 of Aftermath #1

18

A week later, Cam was under Austin's command. It was a hot Saturday afternoon, and that was good. It meant Riley could use the pool.

Cam figured he needed all the help he could get, 'cause he was a fucking wreck. Which was why Austin was in charge. He handled that shit better than Cam.

Cam liked it, though. He wasn’t being coddled; sometimes Austin pushed Cam, but he didn’t pressure. There was a difference. He knew Cam's limits, and if anything, he made Cam feel stronger and more confident.

To make things easier today, Cam and Austin had invited their parents and Landon and Jules, too, but Cam wasn’t sure that was a good thing. Now he had to impress Austin's folks, too, and Cam just didn’t do that. He didn’t impress people. He didn’t suck up or mince words. Instead he fumbled awkwardly, had a knack for coming off as hostile, and he fidgeted.

The five minutes their families had met at the hospital right after the kidnapping wasn’t enough for this to be a "nice to see you again" kind of scene. This was a "nice to meet you" occasion. Without beeping hospital machines, drugs, IVs, sluggish minds, and distress.

Much to Cam's relief, Jules and Landon were first to arrive.

"You look like you're about to shit your pants, little brother." Landon smirked.

"They're shorts, dickwad. And fuck you." Cam looked down at his board shorts, then looked at Jules. "Shouldn’t you be at a hospital somewhere?" She was about to pop. Her belly was fucking huge, and there were two in there.

"You Nash boys always say the sweetest things," Jules said dryly. "Now, let me in. I need to sit down."

Cam moved out of the way just as Austin joined them in the hallway. "Right. This is Austin. Austin, my brother Landon, and Jules, my sister-in-law."

They were dressed pretty much the same—in board shorts and T-shirts—but Cam was sure Austin looked like a model while Cam came off as a homeless surfer. There was a handsome smile on Austin's face, his hazel eyes crinkling in the corners behind his glasses, a few strands of silver in his light brown hair, and he had a body that made Cam's dick perk up.

"It's nice to finally meet you— officially ," Austin said, shaking Jules's hand. Like a suave bastard, he even kissed the top of it, which made Jules blush. She never fucking blushed.

"Oh, you too." Jules giggled like some schoolgirl. Landon and Cam exchanged a look; the older Nash was slightly peeved, and the younger was amused. Austin probably shouldn’t bring out Landon's possessive side. "He's so handsome, Cam."

"Very funny," Landon said gruffly and stepped forward. He shook Austin's hand, too, with unnecessary force, but Austin didn’t seem to notice. The two men had the same build and height; they were even the same age. "So, you're with my little brother now, huh?"

"I am." Austin nodded and motioned for Jules to go to the patio. "And you should put your feet up." Of course, Austin had experience with pregnant women. "Anything you want to drink? Cam has stocked up on decaf iced tea."

"That sounds perfect." Jules was beaming. "Cam, don’t let this one go." That said, she waddled toward the patio.

Landon grunted and followed.

"I'm not sure that was smart." Cam's mouth slanted up in a lazy smile. "Now you don’t have my brother on your side."

Austin didn’t appear threatened. "I have a feeling the way into Landon's good graces is by earning Jules's approval."

Damn. He was probably right. "Well, you have that and more," Cam huffed. "All right, gimme somethin' to do."

"You can bring Jules her iced tea." Austin squeezed Cam's ass, kissed him chastely, and returned to the kitchen. "And I suppose my parents will be here with Riley any minute," he called over his shoulder.

Cam muttered a few curses and followed him to the kitchen, where he knew Austin was about to call Jade. Maybe not the most opportune moment, but it gave Austin a reason to cut the call short if needed.

"Wish me luck," Austin drawled.

Cam snickered, grabbed a tray, and loaded it up with the pitcher of iced tea from the fridge, a couple beers, and a glass, then headed to the patio where Bourbon was jumping in and out of the pool. He could swim just fine, but he didn’t like it. He did, however, love to cool off. So, he'd jump in a couple times, then go lie down in the shade with his bowl of water and whatever dog bone Cam had given him.

"You nervous?" Landon asked, nodding in thanks for the beer.

Cam shrugged and focused on the iced tea, never wanting to admit weaknesses.

"She'll adore you," Jules said confidently. "Austin's parents will, too."

"You've never even met them," Cam pointed out and slid a glass of iced tea toward her. He knew, with his luck, he'd end up killing Nacho.

Not wanting to hear more reassurances, Cam popped the cap on his beer and went back inside. He could hear Austin on the phone.

"No, Jade, I'm not trying to be funny," he was saying, and Cam caught his eye-roll just as he reentered the kitchen. "I wanted to call and tell you before Riley had the chance." There was a pause while Jade did the talking, and Cam raised an eyebrow, silently asking how it was going. Austin threw him a look of frustration in return, but there was a pinch of amusement there, too. "She thinks I'm kidding," he said, holding the phone away. "Now she's berating me for my poor sense of humor."

Cam snorted and hopped up to sit on the kitchen counter. "Tell her I'm willing to send evidence." That was a joke. He tugged Austin to him and dropped a sensual kiss on his neck. Now that Austin was working again, he was always clean-shaven, and he smelled of an aftershave that made Cam's mouth water.

"Yes, I'm listening to you." Austin was speaking to Jade, but his focus was on Cam's mouth. And then Cam's hand on Austin's cock. "Uh-huh. Yeah, keep going—what?" Cam stifled a laugh. "No, no—I just…fuck. Listen, I told you what I wanted to tell you. Cam and I aren't just friends, and he's meeting Riley today. My parents are coming over, too." Jade said something, to which Austin grinned. "Believe what you want, Jade—"

Frustrated, Cam grabbed the phone out of instinct and blurted out the first words that came to mind. "The sooner you believe him, the sooner I can get him off the phone and suck his—"

"Cam!" Austin snatched the phone away, looking stunned, furious, and like he was ready to laugh his ass off—all at once. "Jesus Christ." He blew out a breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Jade?" He placed the phone by his ear, then sighed. "She hung up."

Cam tried to hide the fact he felt bad—hell, worse than that. He felt like shit.

"That was so fucking juvenile," Austin said, though not angrily or anything. That confused Cam, and when he chanced a glance at Austin's face, he saw mirth in his eyes. Oh, thank fuck . "Next time we're alone together…" He grabbed Cam's jaw. "You will make it up to me. Understand?"

Hell yeah, Cam understood. "Yes, sir." He saluted Austin.

Austin smirked like the sexy motherfucker he was, but the spell was broken when the doorbell rang.

Cam paled as he could hear Riley outside. Fuckin' kitchen window was open.

"Hey, none of that." Austin's eyes softened, and he kissed the spot between Cam's brows. "It'll be fine. Come on."

Griffin and Maggie Huntley were definitely Austin's parents. Griffin was basically an older version, but with much lighter features and more gray in his hair. Tall, solid, and with a polite smile on his face. Maggie was short, looked kind, had darker hair, and the same hazel eyes that Austin had.

When Cam saw the logo on the chest pocket of Griffin's short-sleeved shirt, he exchanged a quick look of wry amusement with Austin, who could read his mind at that point. If it weren’t for the sweats with Griffin's construction business's logo on them that Austin had worn the day he was kidnapped, their lives would probably look a lot different now.

"Hi, Dad!" Riley bounced forward with Nacho in her arms and hugged Austin's middle.

"Hey, baby girl." Austin kissed the top of her head while Cam just watched.

Riley was…she was fucking cute. The brief time he'd seen her at the hospital right after they'd been saved, he hadn't really thought about it. And she looked more like Austin than Cam had originally thought. Her eyes were a little greener than brown, and her long hair was wavier, but it was Austin's coloring. There was a lot of Jade in her, too, and even some Maggie.

She dressed like a tomboy in denim shorts, All Stars sneakers, and a well-worn T-shirt that looked too big for her lanky frame, but Cam had seen plenty of photos of her. He knew she liked all things girl, too.

"I want you to meet Cam." Austin smiled at his girl and ushered her forward.

They'd agreed that Austin would take Riley aside later today and tell her everything, so for now, it was just Cam. No explanation. No title. Which he had to admit he preferred for the official meeting. Cam already felt nervous as it was. No need to add more pressure.

"Hello. I'm Riley Huntley," Riley said shyly, keeping close to Austin. "Daddy's shown me pictures of Bourbon. And this is Nacho." She pointed to the rat-sized dog in her arms.

Cam smiled nervously and barely resisted fidgeting. "It's good to meet you, Riley." He cleared his throat and looked toward the patio. "Bourbon's probably in the backyard if you wanna meet him. Uh, there's a pool, too—you know, if you wanna swim or whatever."

"Oh, yes . Dad told me." Riley nodded furiously. "Can I go change now?" She looked up at Austin, who chuckled.

"I'll take her," Maggie offered, stepping forward. She extended her hand to Cam. "It's so good to see you again, Cam."

"You too, Mrs. Huntley." Cam nodded. "The bathroom is just down the hall. Or here, I guess." He pointed to the half-bath next to him. "It's not very big, though."

"Thank you. And it's Maggie." She winked. "Come on, sweetie." She began to usher Riley down the hall. "Best we get Nacho ready, too."

"They insisted on giving that little rodent a life jacket," Griffin said wryly, and he was the last to greet Cam. "My boy's told me a lot about you. I hear you're good with cars."

"Yeah." Cam shook his hand. "I mean, uh, yes. Yes, sir. Fuck." He let out a frustrated breath.

Griffin barked out a laugh and slapped Austin on the back. "I approve, son." He smirked, much like Austin. "Now, I was told there was beer. Mags is driving."

Austin shook his head, amused. "Go out on the patio; I'll bring some."

When it was just the two of them left in the hall, Cam sagged against the wall and tugged at his hair. "That was fucking brutal."

"No." Austin disagreed. "We know what brutal is, and this wasn’t it." He had a point. "I want you to relax and just be yourself now. My parents aren't fancy people, so stop acting like it."

Cam nodded grudgingly and allowed Austin to drag him away from the hall.

Now they were just waiting for Jonathan and Lily, Cam's folks.

This was what Austin wanted.

Now, an hour or so later, the Nashes and the Huntleys had meshed together perfectly. Griffin and Jonathan were manning the grill, talking about the economy. Maggie, Lily, and Jules were at the table, and the unborn twins were the popular subject there.

As suspected, Jonathan and Lily had already had an idea about Austin and Cam, and they were very accepting.

Meanwhile, Cam, Austin, and Landon were in the pool with Riley and two dogs. The kidney-shaped pool was only about twelve feet wide and twenty feet long, but it was plenty for a family of three, and deep enough in the middle for the water to reach Riley's chest, and she was on her toes then.

"See?" Riley shouted. "Nacho can swim!"

"With a life jacket, yeah," Austin laughed, swimming over to her. "Get ready, baby girl." Picking her up, he threw her over to where Cam was helping Bourbon out of the pool.

"Incoming!" Riley squealed.

Bourbon barked and wagged his tail, jumping in again, to which Cam chuckled and groaned. The only thing that scratched up your skin more than a dog was a wet dog.

"Jules, we gotta get one of these!" Landon had evidently fallen for Nacho.

"You're paying for that shit, Austin," Cam chuckled darkly. "Come here, sweetheart." It was his turn to pick up Riley, and she was thoroughly enjoying being thrown around. "Splash as much as you can."

She giggled as he raised her in the air. "I will."

Not holding back, Cam threw a laughing and flailing Riley toward Austin, who ducked underwater right as she hit the surface.

Austin resurfaced laughing and coughing with Riley clinging to him and trying to push him under again. "Cheater, Dad!"

"I think the steaks are done now," Jonathan said casually.

"It's good seeing you more relaxed," Austin murmured, coming up behind Cam in the kitchen. Everyone else was outside enjoying the last of the sun and just talking. "It's going well, isn't it?" He kissed Cam's neck.

Dinner was over, and now it was coffee, more beer, sodas, ice cream, and desserts coming up.

"I haven't killed Nacho yet, so I suppose it's all good. For now." Cam turned around and placed his hands on Austin's hips. "Your mom's a fucking riot, by the way."

Austin hummed and claimed Cam's mouth with his. He had no interest in talking about his mother. Now that they were officially a couple with their families aware and accepting, it was difficult to stick to innocent touches. Austin couldn’t honestly call himself big on public displays on affection, but there was a difference between hand-holding and chaste kisses, and ass-groping and teenage-like make-outs. He definitely wanted the aforementioned.

"Um." That wasn’t Cam or Austin.

Breaking away, Austin looked over his shoulder and cursed internally at the sight of Riley in the doorway.

She looked like she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, and she was blushing profusely.

"Fuck," Cam whispered, scrubbing his hands over his face. "Talk to her."

Austin cleared his throat, his heart suddenly pounding, and turned to his daughter. "Uh, let's go find a quiet place." Guiding Riley past the living room and down the hall, he opened the door to Cam's second bedroom, which was pretty empty aside from some gym equipment.

Maybe this was why Austin hadn't been nervous about meeting Cam's family. He'd been waiting for this instead—telling his daughter that he was in a relationship so quickly after separating from Riley's mother.

Austin sat down on a chair next to a rack of dumbbells. "I have something to tell you."

Riley nodded, still avoiding his gaze, and let out a breath. "Do I need a stiff drink for this?" Austin was fairly certain he dropped his jaw at that, but Riley just waved him off. "I heard Landon say that to Jules when they talked about saving money for the twins' college. And Pops 'splained it to me."

"I, uh…I see." Austin wasn’t sure he liked how adult she sounded. She was supposed to be his baby girl forever. "Well, what you saw in the kitchen—"

"You were kissing Cam," she stated.

"Right." He nodded and phrased his words carefully. "I care about him very much—"

Riley gave him a funny look and cut him off— again , to Austin's frustration. This was already difficult enough as it was. "I'm ten, Dad. I know that friends don’t kiss like you kissed." She scowled and put her hands on her hips. "Are you peoples like Uncle Derek now?"

"People," he corrected automatically as his mind spun.

The question had thrown him off, and he tried to understand where Riley's thoughts were. Though, at the mention of his cousin who was gay, it didn’t take too long to catch up, and he was suddenly thankful for Derek. Not to mention his parents' strict acceptance of everyone. Since Derek lived on the East Coast, Riley didn’t see him very often, but she had met him. And his partner.

"Peoples makes more sense. It's plural of people," Riley retorted indignantly. "One people, many peoples. One person, many persons." Austin didn’t have the heart to correct her; she was being too cute. "But are you? Are you and Cam peoples like Uncle Derek?"

He took a breath and released it. "I suppose you could say that," he answered slowly and carefully. "We're together, if that’s what you mean."

"That’s what I mean." She chewed on her lip. "Is that why you divorced Mom?"

"No," Austin said quickly. "Remember how Mom and I told you that grown-ups sometimes drift apart?"

"Yeah, I remember," she said, having heard it too many times. "Mom said you started having problems years ago." Well, that was one way of putting it. No need to go into semantics. "But, I mean…did you have problems 'cause you like boys?"

Austin let out a shaky laugh. "No, baby girl. That’s not why we had problems."

He didn’t feel like adding a long rant about the fact that he wasn’t strictly attracted to one gender, but attraction was one thing. Cam was still the first man Austin felt drawn toward to the point of complete surrender. He had admired men in the past and thought nothing of it, but with Cam it was so different.

"So…what do you think about all this?" He tilted his head, trying to read Riley's face. "Cam's nice, isn't he?" He needed his daughter to approve of Cam.

"He's cool." She shrugged, then scrunched her nose. "He cusses a lot ," she giggled, and Austin grinned.

"Yeah, it takes some getting used to, doesn’t it?" he chuckled. "But today he was nervous. He curses more then."

"Why was he nervous?"

"Because he wants you to like him," he replied softly. "He knows how important you are to me—that you're number one—so that means your opinion of him matters." He'd added the number-one part because he wanted Riley to understand that she wasn’t being replaced. He'd read online that many children feared neglect when their divorced parents met new partners.

"Do you love him?" Riley asked. "Is he gonna move in with us? Did he ask you to be his boyfriend? Or did you ask him?" She was on a roll now. "Are you gonna have a baby—" She stopped short at that one. "How would that even work ?"

Austin opened his mouth then closed it again. Holy hell . The girl was inquisitive. "How about this—" he paused, racking his brain "—we're going to take this slow. Yes, I love him. No, he's not going to move in with us, but…" He hesitated. "One day," soon, he hoped , "if this works out, we might move in with him. Here. His house is better than our apartment, right?" Riley quickly glanced out the window toward the pool, and Austin had her answer. "You'd get your own room, of course. This one, actually. We'd redecorate it for you. It was Cam's suggestion." One point for Cam. "But, Riley, not yet. Right now, we'll focus on getting to know each other. For instance, I've told Cam that you're awesome at soccer. He'd love to come to your next game."

"He can do that." She grinned, proud of herself.

Austin was beyond relieved. "Do you understand what I'm saying, though? We'll start off slow. Maybe we can have movie nights, go to your games, have dinners together, take Bourbon and Nacho to the park, perhaps sleep over here sometimes…"

"I understand the conspect of slow, Dad." She rolled her eyes. "I'm ten."

Austin laughed through his nose and shook his head. "Concept, baby girl. And I know you understand; I just want to make sure you don’t think everything is going to change overnight. Are you okay with all this?"

" Yes ," she replied, sounding aggravated. "Mom's already told me that she's getting ready to start dating again or whatever. Can I have ice cream now?"

She can have all the ice cream in the world .

When Austin and Riley returned to the patio, the atmosphere was stilted and uncomfortable. Austin noticed how tense Cam was, so he concluded that they were all basically waiting for a result of the Dad and Daughter talk. The way Riley bounced over to the ice cream made Maggie and Lily look hopeful, and Austin's reassuring smile put the rest at ease.

"You can relax," Austin said quietly, sitting down next to Cam, whose shoulders visibly sagged with relief. "Everything went well." He grabbed Cam's hand and kissed it before threading their fingers together.

That was that.

For the rest of the evening, the two families continued to get to know each other, and whenever Austin and Cam even touched each other, Riley would giggle, roll her eyes, and turn red in the face.

Later that night when everyone had gone home, Austin and Cam stepped into the shower together in silence. Both were thinking about how well it had gone today, and while Austin was already planning a day he could spend with both Riley and Cam, Cam was simply enjoying the moment.

The reason Austin felt bold enough to think ahead was because Cam had told him earlier that they should go out and buy a pull-out couch for the living room.

It had felt like the proverbial green light. Cam was ready to try, and he wanted Riley comfortable when she visited. So, the living room would become a living room again, and Cam's bedroom would now belong to two men. When Austin spent the night, anyway.

"No, let me." Cam grabbed the bodywash from Austin. "I was gonna make things up to you, remember?"

Austin chuckled tiredly. "I was mostly joking, you know."

"Your dick wasn’t." Cam smirked. "Now, turn around."

Austin turned around, enjoying the hot water cascading down his naked body, then groaned in pleasure when Cam began to massage his shoulders, using bodywash instead of lotion.

"Do you think her room's gonna be all pink and bubblegum-y?" Cam asked after a minute. "'Cause I don’t know if I can handle that shit."

Austin grinned lazily to himself and dropped his chin to his chest. "I think her favorite color right now is yellow, but it changes."

The original plan had been for Austin and Riley to go home to their apartment tonight, but now there was a new agenda. Riley was excited at the prospect of decorating her own room, even if it wouldn’t be fully hers just yet. Regardless, she had tricked Nana and Pops into driving her around tomorrow to check color samples for the walls in Cam's second bedroom. So, she was spending another night with them.

"I can deal with yellow," Cam murmured, and that ended the subject.

Cam rubbed Austin's shoulders and upper back in firm and sensual strokes. His fingers kneaded the flesh, eliciting quiet groans from Austin. Then farther down his spine. When Cam told him to put his hands on the tiled wall and spread his legs, Austin did. He supported himself while Cam got down on his knees.

"Damn," Austin exhaled. Cam was kneading his thighs, the hot water washing away the suds quickly. It felt so fucking good. There was anticipation in the air, too. The closer Cam's fingers got to his ass, the harder his cock grew. Soon he felt those long fingers spreading his cheeks, still massaging and washing, but it was Cam's mouth that made him moan. "Jesus Christ…" His thighs shook with tension as Cam teased his hole with his tongue and fingers. At the same time, Cam was fingering his own ass, too. Reaching down, Austin began to stroke himself just as the tip of Cam's tongue entered him. It was soft, wet, and goddamn erotic.

Cam hummed and fucked him slowly with his tongue. Deep wasn’t deep enough, hard wasn’t hard enough; Austin grew frustrated with greed and started to push back.

"I think you're ready," Cam laughed quietly and withdrew. Standing up, he switched places with Austin and gave him a look over his shoulder. "There's lube on the counter."

Austin frowned and pushed away the shower curtain; sure enough, there was a bottle of lube. He grabbed it and raised a brow at Cam. "You planned this?" They didn’t exactly have a bottle of lube in every room of the house.

"You bet I did," Cam said, facing the wall. "I have needs, and when you're all riled up, you give it to me hard. I'm ready."

Austin had expected it to be the other way around tonight, but Cam's words surged through him like an aphrodisiac. All he wanted now was to slam his cock inside Cam's ass. So, that’s what he did after lubing up and nudging Cam's legs apart.

"Fuck," Cam choked out.

"Hard enough?" Austin hissed in his ear. Digging his fingers into Cam's hips, he pulled out only to shove his cock back in. Tight. Slick . "Goddamn, I love this ass." He watched with unmistakable hunger in his eyes how his erection slid in and out of Cam. Unfortunately, he knew he wasn’t going to last long, so he wrapped his fingers around Cam's hard cock and stroked him as he fucked his way toward climax.

Cam's head lolled back against Austin's shoulder, and he turned for a kiss. Austin obliged and stole his breath.

"I need to come," Cam groaned breathlessly. "Fuck, I need—"

"I'll get you there." Austin's hands went back to Cam's hips, and he pushed him forward a little. "One hand on the wall," he commanded. "You know what to do with the other." He rammed into Cam's ass and gritted his teeth. Over and over. It had to hurt, but Cam moaned for more, and it wasn’t long before they surrendered to their orgasms. "Fuck, Cam!" Austin threw his head back, his hips instinctively shifting forward in jerky movements. In hot pulses, his release filled Cam's ass. His chest heaved and every muscle tensed.

Cam clenched his jaw, releasing stream after stream against the tiled wall.

For several moments afterward, they could only hear the rushing water and their labored breaths.

"If you wanna carry me to bed, I probably won't stop you," Cam said after a while, still breathing heavily. "My poor ass."

Austin chuckled and began to wash them up. "You fucking begged for it." At Cam's tired groan and weak nod, he laughed and squeezed Cam affectionately. "Come on, baby. Let's finish up here and go to bed."