Jason stood there, mouth gaping as Cam beat against his chest. Finally, he had enough and wrapped his hands around Cam’s wrists, probably to stop him before Jason’s chest was bruised.

“I didn’t…” His gaze kept flicking between all of us as he tried to find something to say. “Well fuck, that explains a lot.”

He let go of Cam’s arms and walked past all of us on his way to the fridge. He cracked open the first bottle of beer and took a long draw. When he spun around to face us, his brow furrowed tightly. He pointed at me and shook his head. “Man, you don’t do anything half-ass, do you?”

I looked at Eric and then to Bryce. “Nope, apparently I don’t.”

I could practically feel Cam’s glare burning into the back of my head. At the current moment, Jason seemed to be the lesser of two evils. My shoulders stiffened when Eric moved directly behind me and Bryce took his place at my other side, putting up a united front.

“What business do any of you have getting serious about one person, let alone taking on two partners?” Jason asked accusingly. Although his thoughts weren’t that far off from what’d been running through my own mind most nights, it pissed me off to hear him questioning us. The relationship I wasn’t sure I wanted a short time ago was not something I was willing to discuss with him.

Luckily, Bryce took the lead as he typically did when we were together. He stepped between Jason and me, squaring his shoulders to make it clear that he was the one in control. “More business than you have jumping to conclusions. I love you like you were my own blood, but that doesn’t change the fact that you have no business judging what anyone else does in private.”

“I wasn’t judging,” Jason quickly explained. “I just don’t see this going anywhere good.”

Cam slid in beside Jason, working his way against his chest. For the first time, I was able to look at them without the slightest hint of jealousy clouding what stood before me. The way Cam looked up at him as he ran his hand across Jason’s cheek was the way I used to wish he’d look at me. But no matter how I might try, I’d never be able to make his eyes shine the way Jason could. As I felt the warmth of Eric’s arm across my back, I realized I didn’t need that anymore. I had everything I needed right here, if only I could be man enough to admit it was what I wanted.

“You know, as long as I’ve known you, you’ve been a pessimist,” Bryce said. Eric and I could have easily walked out of the room and the three of them wouldn’t have noticed. The only reason Cam’s absence would be missed was because he had cozied his way close enough to Jason that there wasn’t a sliver of space between their bodies. I envied my friend, wishing it were that easy for me to show affection for those I cared about rather than pushing them away when the emotional bullshit got to be too much. “Maybe that’s because of the circumstances, but you have to admit you were wrong about your own life being doomed to misery. I’d like to think you’re wrong about this as well. But if not, all three of us are big boys and can make that decision for ourselves.”

More headlights shone through the window. If someone didn’t defuse the situation brewing in front of me soon, whoever was here would get one hell of a show. And possibly be called in to break up a fight between Jason and Bryce. One trait the two of them shared was that they were both fiercely protective over those they cared about. Unfortunately, they seemed to quickly be devolving into a dick measuring contest to see who knew Eric and me best. While Jason had known both of us longer, I had to admit, Bryce had an uncanny ability to read people within minutes of meeting them.

When neither Eric nor Cam showed any sign of getting involved, I stepped forward. “Guys, I’m feeling the love, really, but tonight’s not about me or Eric or Bryce. We’re supposed to be welcoming Cam home.”

“Oh, come on, you know I love good drama,” Cam teased. He finally detached himself from Jason and wrapped his arms around my neck, whispering so only I could hear. “You and I will be discussing this later.”

My stomach lurched at his warning. This was exactly why I hadn’t wanted to deal with all three of us being in the same room as Cam. Not tonight. He was going to drag me down to the basement and give me the third degree, wanting every lurid detail of what I’d been up to since he was gone.

“It’s good to see you too.” I laughed and gave my friend a quick slap on the back. “Since you’re home already, I’m assuming you wound up getting cut?”

Cam had always been shit at keeping secrets. Even when the words didn’t spill past his lips, the truth was always in his eyes. And when he really wanted to say something he wasn’t supposed to, he bit down on his lips. It had to hurt to have his lips pinched so tightly between his teeth.

“Never mind, forget I asked,” I said, letting him off the hook. While I might not be the big shot who’d made it onto a reality cooking competition, I knew enough about the entertainment industry to understand they’d most certainly made him sign all sorts of non-disclosure agreements. Plus, I knew it’d kill him even more to think I didn’t care to know how he’d fared in New York.

“That’s it?” he scoffed, following me down the hall to my bedroom. I’d picked up Bryce’s duffel bag, hoping to stash it away before anyone else started asking questions. “You’re not even going to push me just a little?”

“Nah, I’ll find out when the rest of the world does,” I teased, trying my best to sound put out. “It’s okay, I get it. You’re taking all those contracts you signed seriously.”

Cam made himself at home, flopping down onto my bed. God, how many times had I wished to see him lying exactly as he was, with his long legs stretched out and his head propped up on his hand? Only, in those fantasies, he’d been wearing a lot less clothing. Now that the dynamic in our relationship had changed, it felt strange to remember that I’d ever thought of him that way.

“You know I’d tell you if I could,” Cam whined. He was so damn gullible sometimes. Hell yes I got it, but I wasn’t going to let him know that. “It’s killing me, but I can’t say anything to anyone. Not even Jason, and believe me, he’s been making some pretty harsh threats, trying to get me to talk.”

“So tell him,” I urged, knowing if he told Jason, he’d feel guilty enough that he’d have to tell me. “It’s not like he’s going to spread it around or sell spoilers to anyone.”

Cam grabbed my pillow and hugged it tightly to his chest. “Damn, I forgot how evil you can be,” he complained. “You know they made me sign a shitload of paperwork and I’ll walk away with nothing if they find out I’ve been talking to anyone.”

Whether he realized it or not, he’d just given me a hint as to how far he’d made it, and that was really fucking far. That confused me since the episodes were always spread out over months, but I guessed it made sense that they wouldn’t drag out filming as long.

“Not cool,” Cam warned me as he threw the pillow at my head. “You totally just fucking tricked me!”

“Did not,” I protested, throwing the pillow back at him. Unlike Cam, I knew how to throw and I hit my mark. “You just suck at secrets.”

Having Cam back in town felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest. No, he wasn’t what I used to dream he’d become, but in a strange way I felt as if we were closer than we’d ever been. Probably because there were no secrets between us, thanks to his shitty punctuality tonight.

Cam scooted up to the head of the bed and propped a pillow behind his back so the rough timbers of the headboard didn’t dig into his back. While it went well with the atmosphere of Eric’s luxury log home, it sucked when you wanted to sit up in bed. His face took on a serious expression I wasn’t sure I’d seen from him before. “So, you need to start talking and do it fast. What in the hell happened while I was gone?”