“Yeah, I can do that,” I told him.

“I’m really sorry about this,” he responded, and I could tell he was. It may have been wishful thinking, but it seemed to me that he was just as disappointed as I was that we weren’t going to get our repeat of the night in the basement.

“It is what it is,” I said. “If you could, ask Drew to give me a call.”

I couldn’t explain why, but I needed to talk to him. I needed some sort of reassurance for him that Cam coming home wasn’t simply a convenient excuse to get out of spending time together. Unfortunately, he’d run so hot and cold since the attack that it was impossible for me to squash those thoughts.

“Will do. He’s taking a shower right now, so it might be a bit.” We both laughed because it had become an ongoing joke that Drew made it his mission in life to try and drain the hot water heater. It had also crossed my mind that it was an escape for him. He could hide in the bathroom as long as he wanted and no one would push him to talk or do anything. And the man needed to be pushed because it wasn’t healthy to spend all day every day alternating between screwing around on the computer and vegetating in front of the television. He was an athlete, and he needed to remember that letting himself go in a fit of self-pity wouldn’t do any good in the long run.

We hung up and I pulled onto the street, aiming the car toward the Chinese takeout place on my way home. I was sick of eating Chinese all the time, but the people there had gotten to know me and were always friendly when I walked in.

I’d just placed my order when my phone rang again. I checked the caller ID and saw it was Jason. “Don’t you have better things to do than bother me?” I asked, trying to sound put out by his call. And I was perturbed, but it wasn’t his fault, it was his boyfriend’s because he was the one who was coming home unannounced.

“Well, hello to you too.” Jason chuckled. “And no, I don’t have anything more pressing at the moment. I’m sitting here waiting for Cam’s flight to land, but they’re delayed.”

“And I was the only person you could think of to entertain you?”

“No, asshole, I was calling because we’re having an impromptu welcome home party and I was hoping you’d come,” he told me.

I had to figure out how I was going to get out of this. I reminded myself that this didn’t mean Jason suspected anything. In fact, if he did, he likely wouldn’t have called me since I had to imagine the party was at Eric’s. For some reason, his place appeared to be the venue for just about any gathering their group had. Still, Eric had begged off me coming over tonight and let me know Drew wasn’t comfortable with all three of us being there when Cam was around. I had to respect that.

“That’d be great, but I just ordered dinner.” The excuse was lame, but it was the only thing I could come up with.

“Not a valid excuse,” Jason shot back. “Knowing you, that means you plan on heading back to your completely depressing apartment and working all night. Well, I’m sorry but that’s not going to happen. You’re working too hard and you need a night off.”

“I can’t afford a night off,” I lied. He wasn’t wrong that I’d wind up going back to my apartment to work all night, but I didn’t need to. I’d made sure I got enough done at the office today that I wouldn’t feel guilty for spending the entire weekend with Drew and Eric.

“Yeah, you can,” Jason insisted. “I know you. You’ve been obsessing over how to fix all the center’s problems as quickly as possible even though it’d take a miracle to turn it around in less than a year or two.”

I should’ve known better than to share so much with Jason. He liked to pretend he was nothing more than a ball player, but the truth was he had one hell of a future in business when his playing days ended. If he didn’t possess such a knack for picking up on where companies were failing, it would’ve been easier to bullshit him and get out of this little party.

“Exactly. They’re in worse shape than I originally thought, and I need to get some things sorted out so we’re not handing a hopeless situation off to whoever we hire to run the center,” I shared with him.

“And you’re going to burn out,” he stated bluntly. “It’s my job as your friend to keep that from happening. So, you’re going to go to your place, put the takeout you picked up into the fridge and get ready to let loose for one night. Besides, I’d really like for you to get to know Cam better. He’s worried that you don’t like him because we weren’t exactly in a good place when the two of you met.”

“And did you point out to him that that’s not how I operate?” I asked. I understood why Cam might feel that way, but I also knew Jason was an intelligent man and wouldn’t put up with anyone taking advantage of him or leading him on. In my mind, I hadn’t given it a second thought when Jason told me that he and Cam were both trying to figure out what they wanted in life and that sometimes it wasn’t easy.

“Yeah.” Jason laughed. “Unfortunately, Cam’s the type of guy who needs to see and hear it for himself before he’ll truly believe it.”

“And let me guess, it’s important to you that the two of us get along?” I teased. Hopefully Drew understood that my friend was almost as pushy as his friend and wouldn’t be too upset about me choosing the path of least resistance. If I stood my ground and refused to go, that’d make Jason think I wasn’t interested in getting to know the man he’d fallen in love with.

“Something like that,” Jason grumbled. It seemed he was uncomfortable admitting just how important Cam’s comfort was to him. Personally, I thought it was refreshing to see him finally stepping out of the shadow he’d been in since Adam’s death. “So, are you coming?”

I considered admitting to him why I was so hesitant to accept his invitation. Knowing some of the secrets he’d kept in his life, I knew he wouldn’t tell anyone, not even Cam, about what had been going on between Drew, Eric, and me. I knew that, but I still couldn’t bring myself to betray their trust in any way. That left me with only one option. “Sure, just tell me what time you plan on being there.”

“It looks like Cam’s flight just landed,” he informed me. “So, by the time he gets his bags and I break it to him that he doesn’t live with Eric anymore, I’d say about an hour or so.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Given what I’d heard about the two of them combined with Jason’s complete inability to set a schedule and stick to it, I knew there was no way in hell they’d get to Eric’s in anything less than two. Then again, that could work to my advantage because I could head over there early and make sure Drew wasn’t going to have a meltdown.

“Sure, so you’ll be there about eight?” I asked, although it wasn’t really a question at all.

This time, it was Jason who chuckled. “You have no faith in me.”

“Nope. I’ve known you long enough to know you’re incapable of being on time anywhere.”

“Okay, so then let’s say eight-thirty and we’ll do our best to be there by then.” Jason paused while he listened to an announcement over the public address system. “If you want, head on over whenever. I’m sure Drew is busy trying to do too much to make sure everything’s perfect for when Cam gets there.”

“Oh, so what you’re really saying is you want me to go over and make sure the Mavericks’ rising star doesn’t hurt himself?” Jason was probably right about Drew trying to make sure nothing was out of place for tonight. Even though I was relatively new to Drew’s life, I could see that it was important to him to please Cam.

“I didn’t say that at all,” Jason disputed. “But we both know it’s true. Just go over there and make sure he sits down and relaxes for a bit.”

“No worries, I was just giving you a hard time,” I reassured him. “Now, go get your man, take him home for a quickie and get your ass over to Eric’s. I’m not cut out to play hostess.”