Page 24 of Finding Shelter
Kash’s chin shot up.
Valon’s cellphone rang, cutting off Ledger. Valon moved his sunglasses to the top of his head. His eyes were blood red and red-rimmed. They had black blotches underneath them. “There’s the party police known as my bodyguard.” He answered, “Hello?”The shout coming through the phone had Valon jerking the phone away from his ear for a second. “Dang, dude. Take it down a notch. You know I’m an adult, right? Plus, you work for me, not the other way around.” Valon pushed away from the table and walked away before the true yelling match began.
Kash and Ledger held each other’s stare. A silent message passed between them, and their feet brushed beneath the table as if reassuring each other. Today wasn’t the day. Valon already had enough going on. They might not know what it was, but they couldn’t add to it.
Chapter Eleven
Shadowsofleavesdancedbetween the strips of light on the ceiling from the window blinds. Kash had no idea what time it was, but he knew he had slept much later than usual. His muscles ached from the massive workout Ledger had put him through the entire night. Between being in the sun all day yesterday and the way he had serviced Ledger last night, he had fallen asleep in total exhaustion. Kash stretched. He knew Ledgerwasn’t there without looking. There was an emptiness to the room only Ledger’s presence could fill.
Kash rolled out of the bed and padded to the bathroom. He rushed through the usual morning pee and teeth brushing. Kash found a discarded pair of pajama pants and went in search of Ledger. A bright smile lit his face when he saw Ledger sitting at the kitchen island with his entire recording setup. For whatever reason, Ledger always slipped away to do these videos, like it embarrassed him to have an audience. He looked sexy in nothing but shorts and an apron. Ledger spoke softly and held up various vegetables and kitchen utensils. Kash couldn’t take it. He sneaked across the room and then pounced. Kash snaggedLedger’s jaw and tilted his head back, cutting off his words with a scorching kiss.
He pulled away and brushed noses with Ledger. “There’s the love of my life.”
Ledger blinked, looking stunned. “I love you too. Um, I’m on live.”
It took a second for the words to penetrate before the horror set in. “Fuck.” His shock wouldn’t abate. No way would he have done that on purpose. “I’m sorry.” The apology came from his soul. He didn’t know if this would go straight to Valon. Most likely. Kash would never have chosen for Valon to find out this way. He quickly backed out of camera view.
Still wearing his open shock, Ledger’s gaze slid back to the phone clipped to a ring light. He clearedhis throat. “Sorry about that. That’s about all for my lesson today. Thank you all for hanging out with me. Until next time.” Ledger killed the feed and stared into space.
“Holy shit, Ledge. I never would’ve done that had I known. Will this get straight back to Valon? What can I do? How can I fix this?”
Ledger cleared his throat. While still visibly reeling, Ledger focused on him. “It’s fine. I’ll call Valon. It’s time we talked anyway. I don’t want him to think I’m hiding things from him. For real, I don’t know what to say, though. I don’t know how he’ll react.”
Kash was furious with himself. He felt like he had betrayed Ledger, taking away Ledger’s right to handle things his way. Kash swiped his hand over his eyes andpaced away. “Fuck! I’m so… ugh. You deserved better from me.”
Ledger stood and wrapped his arms around Kash, stopping his crash out. “Today is no better or worse to do this. He’s always needed to be told.”
Ledger didn’t understand. Kash knew this was the end of them. He knew as soon as Valon snapped, Ledger would walk away from them.
The pain was nearly his undoing. He held Ledger’s stare. Kash knew Ledger had to see his heart breaking. “I’m not ready. When I woke up, all I could think about was finding you so I could touch you again. There’s no way I could’ve known it would be my last time. I’m not ready,” he repeated. That was one point hecouldn’t drive home hard enough. He didn’t know how to lose Ledger, but he would.
Ledger’s expression and voice became comforting. “Stop. Valon is a grown man with his own life. I’m allowed to have one of those too, and you’re it. You’re the life I want. When I say I love you, I mean it. I can’t let you go. We just—” Ledger’s phone rang, cutting him off. He glanced toward the device, looking resigned.
Kash took a step back. “Not answering will only make it worse.”
With a nod, Ledger headed for the phone. He stared at the face as he removed it from the ring light. “I don’t recognize the number, but he might be calling from anywhere.” Ledger didn’t hesitate. He looked determined.Thankfully, he answered on speaker so Kash wasn’t left out.
“Hello?”
“You slimy son of a bitch. How could you do this to our son?”
Ledger pinched the spot between his eyes. “So much for you not knowing my number.”
“Really? That’s what you have to say right now.”
This entire conversation was rich as hell, considering Ry had already gotten his ass handed to him over trying to fuck Kash. Now he had the nerve to lecture Ledger.
“Does Valon even know? Don’t answer that. I know he doesn’t. Don’t worry. I’ll fix that.” The phone call disconnected before either of them could speak.
Ledger tossed him a defeated look.
Kash didn’t know what to do, but he knew Ledger couldn’t let Ry get to Valon first. “Call him. Don’t let Ry make things seem worse than they are—like you’re a liar or something. He could spin shit any way he wants. Get to Valon first.”
Ringing came through the speaker before the words finished falling from Kash’s lips, proving they were on the same page. Ledger was already calling Valon. It rang several times before going to voicemail. “Yo. You know what to do?”
Ledger didn’t hesitate. “I don’t know if any rumors have reached you yet, but please call me. Ry has already called here, making threats. Please don’t let him twist things. Call me.” He hit end and covered his face withboth hands.
Kash stood by feeling helpless.
