Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 5

announced. "Aiden's boyfriend from Purdue." He smiled happily. "It's good to have somebody keeping Aiden in line down there, and lord knows his mother and I don't seem to have much influence anymore."
    Cade knew his face was flaming, but Aiden just laughed and pulled him back under his arm, then relented and rearranged until they were holding hands. "Come on, man. You should see the lake." He looked at all the people and grinned. "You'll figure them all out, but it'll take a while. For now…" He tugged Cade forward until they were in front of a pair of redheads, probably about the same age as Aiden and Cade. "These are my cousins, Sarah and Todd." He smiled at a pretty blonde and said, "Todd's girlfriend Taylor." He looked around as if searching for someone, then cut his eyes back to Sarah. "You didn't !"
    Sarah beamed. "Told you I was going to, and I did." She nodded decisively. "That bastard was cramping my summer style!"
    Aiden's eyes danced, as Cade had known they would. The man did love gossip. "Tonight," he said. "The fort."
    "We've already got it stocked and ready," Todd said happily. Then he extended his hand. "Cade, good to meet you."
    And Cade went with it. That was what Aiden always said he needed to work on. "You can't control everything , Cade, not even you. Sometimes, you just need to go with it." And then Aiden would kiss Cade, finding that special, tender spot on the side of his neck, to make it clear that he wasn't criticizing, just trying to help. Aiden was right. Cade couldn't control everything, and he couldn't even think of where to start trying to deal with this overwhelming crowd, so he hung onto Aiden's hand, the one stable thing in the dizzying swirl, and did his best to let go.
    ****
    He made it through dinner, bounced from one crowd of friendly strangers to another, Aiden keeping an eye on him but clearly hoping that Cade would get enough confidence to venture off on his own. Sarah was kind, steering Cade down to the lake a couple times, giving him a chance to recharge his energy away from the crush.
    "Just for the record, I'm not autistic or anything," Cade said after her third intervention. They were dangling their feet into the cool water of the lake, looking at the forest, and Sarah's laugh was low and pleasant.
    "I never said you were."
    "No, I just… I mean, it'd be a relief if there was a diagnosis, really. After a certain point, social awkwardness does start to seem fairly pathological."
    Sarah splashed her feet, creating little swirls that eddied over to hit Cade's calves. "Don't be so hard on yourself. It's overwhelming. And, honestly, Cade, think about it. You don't know me too well, so you maybe don't understand, but I'm not at all perceptive about these things. Like, about noticing when other people are uncomfortable. So you know why I can see it in you?" She bent down a little and crooked her neck so she could look at his face. "'Cause it feels so familiar. I've known that gang my whole life, and they still wear me out." She leaned over and nudged Cade's shoulder with her own. "Introverts of the world: Unite! And then find somewhere solitary to think about it for a while."
    "You're not as bad as I am," Cade protested.
    "Here, yeah. In the real world? With people I don't know? I'm a mess. Seriously. You're doing great."
    "Yeah, you are," a new, familiar voice said, and Sarah turned to greet the new arrival, but Cade didn't. He couldn't help feeling that he was letting Aiden down by being such a loser. Aiden, the golden boy, who loved parties and people and everything that made Cade crazy.
    Aiden's thigh was warm against Cade's as he eased down beside him and rolled up the legs of his jeans. "I honestly didn't know they'd all be here," he said quietly, and he pressed a quick kiss to Cade's neck before frowning over at Sarah. "My spies let me down."
    "It happened too fast," Sarah protested. "Your mom, this morning! She was suddenly all 'We need to welcome my baby! We need to show my baby we love him!" Sarah's imitation of Mrs. St. John bore no resemblance to the cool, controlled woman Cade knew, but Aiden grinned as if in recognition.
    "She gets a bit carried away sometimes," he agreed. "But it's a great party." Then he laughed. "For those who like that sort of thing."
    "Yeah, you're talking to the wrong crowd down here, my friend. Cade and me, we were thinking about building a raft and setting off to find the Mississippi. We think that might be the life for us."
    "You should