Harmless(11)

Two

"YOU WANT US TO COME inside with you?" Cam Strickland-Burgess asked Roan as he steered the car down the narrow road lined with duplexes.

"No. I'm good."

Funny. Cam didn't think Roan sounded good. Not good at all.

"You sure?"

"I'm sure. I'm not a kid, Cam. I can take care of myself." Roan's tone was a little harder this time, and Cam knew he had to stop pushing him.

But damn it to hell. It'd taken an act of congress to get Roan to agree to go to the game tonight. And then after …  If Cam didn't know better, he would've sworn Roan had no interest in meeting the Austin Arrows players.

"All right." Cam stopped at a stop sign. Took a right. "So, how do you know Seg? Seguine?"

"I … "

Cam peered at Roan in the rearview mirror, waiting, watching. For months, Cam had gotten the impression that Roan was hiding something. At the very least, he knew Roan had lied to him a time or two. About what, he hadn't figured out yet.

"I met him at a bar once."

"A bar?"

"Yeah. One of my trips into Austin."

Feasible.

Cam chuckled, focusing on the road. "And you didn't think to mention it? Like, hey, Cam, guess who I met today?"

When Cam checked the rearview mirror again, he noticed Roan was looking out the window. "Must've slipped my mind."

Right. There was more to that story, Cam knew. But again, he had learned that pushing Roan only made the man close up more.

Cam pulled the car to a stop in front of the duplex Roan lived in with his youngest sister, Cassie. It had been her place before Roan moved in to help her out with bills. Cam knew she couldn't keep up with the rent most months because he suspected she was spending whatever money she did have on her drug addiction. Based on the way the house looked, there wasn't anything left over for upkeep. Not that Roan was hurting for money. The marina was doing great, and Cam knew his friend had more than enough to get by.

"Thanks for the ride. See you tomorrow." Roan didn't look back as he hopped out of the car, shut the door, and took off toward the house.




 

 

Gannon squeezed Cam's hand, as though reminding him that he needed to get them home. Without wasting another second, Cam put his foot on the gas and drove down to the other end of the street. He hated leaving Roan like this. However, every attempt he'd made to talk to his best friend had resulted in Roan shutting him out more, usually picking a fight to ensure there was distance between them.

When they were two streets over, Cam glanced over at his husband. "Is it just me or does something seem really off with him?"

Gannon's dark eyes peered over at him in the dim light of the dashboard. "I assume you mean tonight."

Cam frowned.

"Babe, he's seemed off for a long time," Gannon said. "Ever since you and I got together."

Yes. Roan had initially had a problem with Cam and Gannon getting together. But they'd worked through that. Roan had even been the best man at their wedding. Surely he wasn't still worked up about that.

"Okay, sure. He hasn't been himself for a while, you're right," Cam acknowledged. "I know he's having a hard time dealing with Cassie. But tonight, it was really weird. For some reason, I don't think we should've left him alone."

This time Gannon was frowning. "He's not alone, Cam. He's got his sister living there with him."

Cam glared over at Gannon. "And we all know how well they get along."

"Like oil and water, yes," Gannon stated.

"Exactly. Did you hear him a minute ago?" Cam questioned, although it was rhetorical because Gannon had been in the car. He had to have heard. "He accused me of treating him like a child. It's always something with him. It's like he tries to pick a fight whenever I get too close."

Cam stopped the car before leaving Roan's neighborhood, turning to look at his husband more fully.

"I haven't been the greatest friend to him lately. I don't get to spend much time with him. Since he moved in with Cassie, he won't let me come over. For whatever reason, he's stopped coming over to our place. And he's missed so much work. I know something's bothering him, but I can't get him to talk about it."

"And you think tonight's gonna be different?" Gannon asked.

Cam shrugged. He didn't know. But he could confront Roan about it, at least. If he simply barged into his house, no way could Roan blow him off the way he had all this time. No matter how annoying he'd been lately, Roan never backed down. He didn't want to talk. He didn't want to hang out. He didn't want to do anything but go to work and go home. It was as though his sister had taken over his life and he had to spend all his time taking care of her. But for fuck's sake, the woman was almost thirty years old. She didn't need Roan holding her hand.