Page 74 of His Temptation
“What song is that?” he asked as I paused to take a breath, keeping his eyes closed.
“It’s an oldie,” I said, trailing one hand up and down his back, my fingertips gently grazing his soft skin. “Called ‘Moon River.’”
“The melody is sad,” Cason said, holding me tighter. “But soothing.”
I kissed his forehead and smiled. “I used to sing it to Ryan when he had trouble sleeping.”
“Can I hear more?”
And so I started from the beginning and sang it once through. He was asleep before the last note rang out.
Chapter 17
Cason
The firecracker squealed as it shot into the air and exploded with a loud pop.
Trevor was throwing a huge Fourth of July party and had invited a ton of people as usual. Some I knew, most I didn’t. The sun hadn’t yet set, so the huge fireworks were being saved until later. Bottle rockets and other smaller ones were being shot off now.
Ken, Trevor’s older brother, who had always bought the alcohol for the parties but rarely made appearances at them, threw an arm around the tall guy standing beside him. The two of them smiled and spoke quietly before breaking apart, grabbing a handful of bottle rockets, and lighting the fuses before shooting them toward each other.
Girls screamed as the firecrackers went off course and whistled toward them instead.
“Ken’s a dumbass,” Trevor said, shaking his head. “He and his butt buddy need to stop scaring off the chicks.”
“Butt buddy?” Ryan asked, before taking a drink from his red cup.
“Yeah. My brother’s a homo, dude. Didn’t you know?”
Ryan looked like he was about to choke on his vodka and fruit-punch concoction.
“He came out over Spring Break,” Trevor continued. “And man, Dad was pissed. He told Ken he couldn’t come back around, but he eventually got over it. Mainly because my mom threw a fit from hell and said Ken was still a part of the family no matter who he loved. Or some shit like that.”
“You gonna come out as a cocksucker next?” Brad asked Trevor, jabbing at his side.
Trevor dodged the hit. “Fuck no. I love pussy too much.”
Hearing my buddies talk that way was tough. Would they call me names, too, when they found out? Not that it mattered. Trevor had chosen to work in the family business selling feed for livestock and working on tractors instead of going to college. Typical farm boy crap. Brad was going to a college in California to play football.
Once fall arrived, I wouldn’t even see these guys anymore. It didn’t matter what they thought.
Ryan, on the other hand, was a different matter. We’d be going to different schools, but we’d still be close enough to hang out if we wanted. After the conversation we’d had in his car, I hoped he’d understand when I was ready to tell him.
But I never knew with Ryan. He was impulsive and unpredictable.
“Fuckin’ fags,” Brad said, watching Ken and his boyfriend.
“Shut the fuck up,” Ryan snapped at him, taking me by surprise. “They’re not hurting anyone, so mind your own goddamn business.”
“Dude. What the hell?” Brad put his hands up and stepped backward.
Ryan glared at him before glancing at Ken and then at the ground. One hand was in a fist, and the other gripped his drink. He’d defended Ken. It had been unexpected but amazing. And it made me think that, maybe, things would be okay when I told him about me.
My phone vibrated with a text.
Faith:Hey! I’m at the party. Are you?
Me:Yep. We’re by the shed.
