Page 85 of Out on a Limb

“At least he’s having fun. That’s the most important thing.”

“I think so,” Walker said before rolling his eyes at the intense parents on the sidelines.

Doug clapped his hands to get Hobie’s attention. “Hobie, the ball’s coming. Be prepared. Remember what we practiced.”

“Well, now I understand helicopter parenting,” Cameron said.

Walker snaked his fingers through Cameron’s. He loved the way his fingers felt on his hand. He was going to miss this easy connection.

“Hey, what did we say? No tears until later,” Walker whispered.

Cameron reached up and felt droplets at his eyes. He couldn’t remember the last time he burst into spontaneous tears that didn’t result from a fight or a funeral. He wiped them away.Well, that was embarrassing.

He let himself enjoy holding hands with Walker. It was like a mini hug contained to his hand. They watched Hobie kick the ball to the outskirts of the field, where it rolled out of bounds. Once the ball made its way back to offense, Doug sidled up to their spot on the grass.

“Nice to see you again, Cameron.”

He released his hand from Walker and shook Doug’s cold palm. “I didn’t know you were coaching the team, Doug.”

Doug tensed for a second. His sunglasses made it seem like he was scowling at Cameron all the time, which might’ve been accurate.

“I’m just a parent invested in his child’s activities.” His head swiveled to Walker, whose relaxed demeanor was a thing of the past.

Cameron offered to make room on the coat, but Doug preferred to look down at them.

“Are you excited about graduating? Do you know what they have planned for senior week yet?” Somehow, everything Doug said came out like a personal dig. He had that natural bitchy quality to him that came easily to gay men and the British. “It’s an exciting time. It seems like forever ago. Although, I guess it was for Walker and me.”

“I won’t be here for that. I got a job in LA. So lucky for you, I’ll be out of your hairplugs in a week.”

Doug felt his hair reflexively. It was all real, for now. “You’re really going?”

“I am.”

The snarky smile slipped from Doug’s face. He seemed to be taking the news in, and he glanced at the soccer field.

“That’s very exciting.” He whipped his head back to the adult area, and Cameron felt something much more serious than a bitchy look emanate off Doug. “Cameron, after today’s game, you should say goodbye to Hobie for good.”

“Excuse me?” Walker asked.

Cameron massaged his arm to calm him down.“I still have a week, Doug.”

“Don’t make it any harder on him. Just say your goodbyes now, and then I don’t want you to see my son again.”

“Our son, and you don’t get to make that call,” Walker growled.

“The more he sees Cameron now, the more it’s going to hurt later.”

“Cameron and I already talked about this.”

“You never discussed it with me, Walker. Like you said, he’s our son. How do you think Hobie is going to feel? You’re spending all this time with him, and then you just go.”

“We’re all going to hurt later, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the time we have left.” Walker shot Cameron a look that showed just how much hurt was underneath those eyes. Hurt due to Cameron. “Hobie can see Cameron as much as he wants until he leaves.”

“Until he leaves,” Doug repeated and gestured at Cameron. “You initiated this relationship, which I learned to accept no matter how unorthodox it was.” Every word sounded strained from Doug’s mouth. “You built this relationship with Hobie, and just as fast, you’re taking it away.”

“Taking it away?” Cameron glanced at Walker for backup, but he was in his own world. “Do you have these requirements of every person your son comes into contact with? What about if someone dies? I don’t want to hurt Hobie, but people come and go. It’s a part of the world, and he’s going to learn that sooner or later. You can’t control every aspect of Hobie’s life.”

Doug crossed his arms and returned to calm. “I don’t know why you want to prolong this. You have no intention of staying in Hobie’s life. Just leave now while you have the chance.”