Page 56 of Slots & Sticks
“Talk to Kingsley,” Cash insists.
I shake my head. “No, you’re a guy. I need a guy’s perspective. I can’t ask my dad, since he’s in the hospital.” I feela little low for bringing up my dad, but maybe a guilt trip will help.
Cash groans and drags his hose back to the driveway. He lays it out on the concrete, where it won’t touch his precious grass. I follow him up to the porch, where he takes the chair and I take the swing.
Once we’re both settled in, he steeples his fingers. “Clearly, this is important to you. What’s the question? And I can’t guarantee I’m going to answer it. Life was so much easier when I didn’t talk.”
“I only have one question.” I steel my resolve, take a deep breath, and square my shoulders. “Why won’t Camden have sex with me?”
Cash slaps his palm to his forehead. “God damn it. How am I supposed to know?”
“I could tell you what happened?” I offer.
Cash shakes his head. “This is not getting better. This is so much worse.”
My fingers twine together. “It’s not that bad. I just told you that hedidn’thave sex with me, remember?”
“I mean, thank Christ for that.” Cash inhales through his nose. I half expect him to boot me off the porch and send me home. For all his griping, I do trust his insight. Who better to dispense life advice than the silver fox who helped my dad figure himself out years ago? Going to Cash for guidance is a time-honored tradition in the Shaw family. Like seeking out Yoda in the swamps of Dagobah.
At last, Cash waves a hand to me. “You may proceed.”
Yahtzee.“Okay, so we were in a motel…”
“Words I never wanted to hear.”
“And there were condoms everywhere…”
Cash’s face contorts in horror. “What kind of seedy ass motel did he take you to? I swear…”
“There was a deer head on the wall.”
Cash presses his palms to his eyes and mutters something under his breath. Louder, he asks, “And you chose this place why, exactly?”
“There was a furry convention in the area. Our options were limited.” I hesitate for a moment. “Furries are—”
“I know what furries are, and I think we’ll both be happier if you don’t ask why. Move it along.”
“Right. So, uh, this was the closest place to the shelter. We were picking up the dogs. For my dad.”
“That doesnotmake it better. “ Cash motions for me to get on with it. “Skip the extraneous details. Let’s get this over with.”
“Okay. We were cuddling on the bed while Mira read us a story.”
Cash’s eye twitches. “He took you to a condom-filled sex dungeon where someone waswatchingyou? Shit, kid, if that’s what you’re into, you didn’t have to leave Vegas.”
“Mira is my AI assistant. Like Siri.” I hold up my hands to indicate the size of Mira, which in hindsight probably means nothing to him. “Anyway, I thought we were going to… you know.”
“Say less,” Cash insists.
“But we didn’t. And I told him I’d never done it before. And then he… well,wedidn’t.” I sit back on the swing. “So what gives?”
Cash closes his eyes. “Let me make sure that I’ve got this right. Am I to understand you have a problem with a guy you like and who definitely respects you, not wanting to have your first time happen in a questionable motel room where condoms are scattered about in candy dishes while our future robot overlords record everything you say and do? Sounds like the son of Anders Beck.”
I blink a few times.Respect.Did Camden keep his hands off me out of respect? More importantly, why didn’t I think of that? He said he wanted to talk later, once things have settled. Between the dogs and the accident and my rollercoaster of emotions, I can see why he’d want to take things slow if he likes me even half as much as I like him.
“I see what you’re saying. Okay, I feel better. For now.”
Cash’s other eye twitches. “For now?”
