"Sorry, but the anticipation was killing me." Carson wiped at his eyes.
"Your what?" Seth shouted. He started to stand up, but Caleb's hand on his shoulder pulled him back down. "You've got to be kidding me? You're straight, and he's your coach." Seth pointed at PJ. "Aren't there rules against that kind of thing at the college? If you were still in high school this sort of thing never would have been allowed."
"Seth, please." Caleb tried to calm Seth down. "He's not in high school, and if they're mates there is nothing anyone can do about it." Caleb turned to Kam. "Kam's an adult, and this is his life."
"Thanks, Dad." A lump started to form in his throat, making it hard to swallow.
"Let me get this straight." Ryan started to laugh. "I'm gay, you two are gay, and now little bro is gay." Ryan shook his head. "I'm starting to think there is something in the water here. I'm serious." Ryan looked over at Kam. "You were the biggest pussy hound in Silver Creek, and from what I heard, you weren't doing too badly in Louisiana, but this? Dude, I'm shocked."
PJ reached over and entwined his fingers with Kam's. A low rumbling was coming from PJ and Kam turned to his mate.
"I totally wasn't a pussy hound." Kam winced at the lie. He held up his thumb and forefinger an inch apart. "Okay, maybe just a little, but that was all before I met you." Kam cupped the sides of PJ's face. A day's worth of stubble tickled against his palms. "You're mine, PJ. It doesn't matter what happened in either one of our pasts because, dude, it's in the past."
Kam reached for PJ's hand and placed it on his chest over his heart. "What I feel in here is stronger than anything I have ever felt before." The words Kam hadn't been able to utter in the past week suddenly exploded from his mouth. "I love you, PJ. And as far as I'm concerned nothing else matters. No ex-lovers or who was straight before this. It means nothing because we are together."
"I love you too, baby." PJ's chair scrapped over the concrete patio as he moved so he could pull Kam in close and kiss him. "Love you more than anything."
"I know." Kam kissed him again. "Who wouldn't love me? I'm freaking awesome."
"Does he ever take anything seriously?" Kam heard Ryan ask but didn't pay any attention to his brother.
"I think Kam falling in love is pretty serious," Carson answered. "Just look at them. They're in love."
"Yes we are." PJ pulled back just enough to nip at Kam's lips. "And that will never change."
"Never." Kam giggled, actually giggled like a little girl. He'd never been so happy before in his life. "You are so stuck with me."
"And that's a bad thing?" PJ cocked an eyebrow.
"Hell no! You get me." Kam leaned in for another kiss, oblivious to his family sitting around them. That was until his dad spoke.
"So how is this all going to work out?" Caleb asked. "I mean congratulations. I'm happy for both of you and welcome to our family, PJ. But what about this whole student – teacher-type thing you've got going on?" Kam glanced over at his dad. "And how is all this going to work exactly if you're still in college?"
And that right there was a mood killer. Kam looked back to PJ, and his mate looked just as perplexed as him. This was the one subject neither of them had broached because there wasn't an easy answer.
Chapter Thirteen
It had been two weeks since Kam and PJ had dinner at his dads' house. They tried to figure out a solution that would be for the best, but there really wasn't one. Kam was still in school, and neither he nor PJ wanted him to quit the team, so that left only one option, sneaking around until Kam graduated in two years.
"I hate this." Kam flopped down on the couch between Carson and Maurice. "I finally find my mate but I'm not able to live out and proud like you two," Kam whined.
"Listen to him." Maurice chuckled. "Out and proud. Give that boy a rainbow flag."
"Shut up." Kam elbowed Maurice in the side. "I'm not talking about my gay pride. I'm talking about being with my mate out in the open. We don't have the leisurely life you and Cars do. We have to hide that we are together or risk him losing his job at Hemsworth." Kam brought his hands up to his face to rub at his eyes. "There really should be a law that excludes shifters from this nonsense. It's not like we can control who we fall in love with."
"True, but if the human world knew about your kind you'd have a whole other set of issues to worry about," Maurice reminded him.
"Yeah, I know." Kam shifted to lay his head in Carson's lap and lifted his feet into Maurice's. "I just want to be able to go to bed every night next to my mate and wake up with him wrapped around me like an electric blanket. I want to be able to kiss him and to touch him whenever I want, but I can't."
It was getting harder and harder for Kam to control himself and his cougar. The animal within wanted to always be near its mate, and Kam couldn't blame it. The bond between him and PJ was growing stronger every day. The need to be together intimately nearly drove them both insane. When they were finally able to grab a moment alone they nearly tore each other's clothes off in their haste. Being forced to live separate was wreaking havoc on their animal sides. Just the other night PJ had pulled him into the supply closet in the locker room and fucked him so hard against the shelf they broke it. Toilet paper and towels littered the floor at their feet, but it didn't deter them from getting their fill of one another.
"But seriously, guys, when does the sex start to die down?" If it weren't for Kam being a shifter, he'd be covered in bruises and bite marks, and his ass probably would have given out by now.
"Die down?" Carson combed his fingers through Kam's hair. Kam hadn't shaved it since moving back to Silver Creek, and the dirty blond strands were getting longer. "Kam, I don't think it ever does." Carson huffed out a sigh. "I mean it becomes more under control, but you'll always want one another as if it was the first time. But in the case of you and PJ, I think your other natures are rebelling. You two aren't living together. You have school, and he has coaching. You're constantly busy or surrounded by other people and unable to show affection toward one another. That has to be hard."
"He's right, Kam-Kam." Maurice rubbed Kam's feet, kneading the sore muscles with his thin, strong fingers. "But what other options do you have? I agree with you that this situation sucks, but there's nothing you can do. You and PJ just have to make the best out of a shitty situation."
Kam didn't really expect his friends to have an answer to his problem but he liked having someone to whine to. And they were right of course. There really was nothing he or PJ could do about all this. It was just an obstacle they needed to hurdle over one step at a time.
"I'm sorry we don't have any better advice for you, Kam." Carson leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. "I don't envy you this, but I know how strong you are. You'll get through this."
"He's right, Kam." Maurice tickled the bottom of Kam's feet. "And think of all the hot sex you'll get out of it."
"True that." Kam sat up. He stretched his arms over his head then glanced over at the clock. "Shit. I have to go." Kam stood and headed for the front door. He slid on his shoes and grabbed his car keys. "Practice starts in thirty minutes, and being mates or not, PJ will still ream me a new one if I'm late."
That got him a giggle from both his best friends.
"What?"
"Um, well, Carson and I have a bet going."
Maurice's cheeks brightened. That was something that never happened. Maurice wasn't embarrassed about anything.
"About?" Kam waved his hand, trying to get his friends to spit it out.
"Let's see." Carson grinned. "I'll put this in baseball terms. Do you pitch or catch or both?"
Carson and Maurice laughed even harder.
"I can't believe I'm friends with you guys." Kam shook his head, feigning annoyance. He reached for the doorknob and pulled the door open. Kam started to step out then stopped to turn back to look at his friends. Kam wasn't one to shy away from anything. His personal life had always been an open book and he was eager to tell his friends how great of a lover his mate was. "Let's put it this way. PJ is working on a no hitter, and I'm catching all his balls." A huge smile spread over Kam's face at his friends' stunned expressions. "See ya later."