Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 5

still thinks of Aiden as being her little boy. Everyone sees it, except for him."
    "It's not that," Cade insisted. "I'm fine. Just tired."
    "Yeah, okay. But don't be too tired to come to the fort tonight, okay? It's not like up there, not a big party. Just us, just the cousins. You'll be fine there."
    Oh, God, that was another thing to worry about. "How many of you are there? You and Todd and Aiden… what about the others? This 'Uncle Warren', does he have kids?"
    "Yeah, but they don't usually come here. His wife has them enrolled in fifty millions camps and activities and whatever, so they don't have time for goofing off. Uncle Warren comes up on his own for a week or two. They don't even have a cottage here; he just bunks with whoever has room." She seemed to realize that her voice was calming Cade down, and she kept talking. "The fort's just for us. It's just a little cabin, part way up a tree. We built it when we were kids, Aiden and Todd and me, and whatever friends we could recruit. The little guys use it during the day, but at night, it's just the three of us, and whoever we bring along. You'll be fine, seriously."
    Cade doubted that. He stayed down on the dock for the rest of the night, and Sarah stayed with him. Todd and Taylor eventually came down as well, and Sarah was right, it was fine. They were both sweet and easygoing and kind, confident in the same way Aiden was, the way that came from having been raised with love and security. Under other circumstances, Cade might have enjoyed their company, but as it was, it was taking a full effort just to keep himself from running away. He was going to lose it all, and there was nothing he could do about it. Nothing but sit there and wait.
    ****
    It had been full dark for at least an hour by the time Aiden appeared at the foot of the dock. He was carrying a flashlight, and held it up to his face to make himself look spooky and evil. "The civilians are going home," he said. "It's time for the creatures to come out."
    "And go hide in their tree fort," Taylor said with a roll of her eyes, but she snuggled in against Todd's chest as she said it, and he didn't seem worried about her judgment.
    "In this changing world, tradition is important," Aiden said as he walked out toward them. "A sense of community cannot replace the actual presence of old friends, and electronic communication is a poor substitute for face-to-face interaction."
    "Is that your way of telling me to stop texting you when I get drunk?" Todd asked.
    "No, me telling you, repeatedly, to STOP TEXTING ME WHEN YOU'RE DRUNK is my way of telling you that. This is my way of saying we should get our asses up to the fort and get caught up on the good stuff, because if I have another conversation about my grades and my career plans, my brain is going to leak out my ears." Aiden waved the flashlight authoritatively. " Allons-y ," he commanded.
    The others scrambled to their feet, but Cade rose more reluctantly. Obviously Aiden hadn't heard anything yet, and that was good. It was a sign of hope, at least. But the hope was painful, the anticipation of failure too much, and Cade needed it to end. Not by confessing; he'd tried that many times before, and had never been able to get the words out. And not by Warren saying anything, because Cade couldn't stand to think of the words that would come out of that man's mouth, couldn't let himself picture Aiden's face as he heard them. God, there had to be some escape. "Can I talk to you for a second," he said quietly, but everyone heard him, and froze.
    "Uh oh," Todd said, and Taylor wacked him on the shoulder.
    "I've got a flashlight," Sarah said. "We'll go up to the fort now. We'll see you there when you're ready." And she was off, the tiny light she pulled out of her pocket barely enough to guide one person, let alone three. But Todd and Taylor stumbled along gamely behind her.
    "I'm sorry," Cade started, but then Aiden was there, his body warm and solid as his hand cupped Cade's jaw and lifted his lips for a kiss.
    Cade wanted to stay like that forever, just the two of them, pure and safe and right. But Aiden pulled his face away, ran his thumb lovingly over Cade's lips like he always did after a kiss and said, "No, I'm sorry. This was way too much. I should have planned it better."
    "I'm not…" Cade trailed off. He wasn't what? Disabled? He didn't need special treatment, kid gloves? His melodramatic bullshit was making it pretty damn clear that he had an issue.