Page 55 of Made to Be

But I wasn’t an exhibitionist. And despite it being late into the night in a quiet, supposedly abandoned cemetery, I didn’t want a possible audience for the first time I got to suck Cam’s dick.

Clearing my throat, I rose on slightly trembling feet. “It looks fine,” I repeated, “but I’ll still take a closer look when we’re home, yeah?”

Cam’s throat bobbed with a swallow as he nodded. At some point his eyes had glazed over, and I was certain mine were reflecting that same intense need. Perhaps he had been envisioning the same scenario I had.

I certainly hoped so.

Reluctantly pulling my gaze from his, I scanned our surroundings. We had indeed stumbled, quite literally, into a cemetery. A few stone and marble mausoleums dotted the area amongst the many many gravestones. The sporadic placement of oaks looked somewhat familiar, but I couldn’t be sure with just a passing glance in the dark. Shadows danced around us as the moon was intermittently covered by drifting layers of gossamer clouds.

“Briarwood Cemetery,” Cam told me softly as he glanced around.

“How are you so sure?” I asked him, genuinely curious.

He pointed, and I followed his direction to a large sign posted into the ground a short distance away from where we were standing.

“Alright, Sherlock.” I snorted. “Grand deduction.”

He snickered, “Want to have a look around, Holmes?”

Before I could answer, Cam had already grabbed my hand to walk us down through the rows and rows of headstones.

“What do you plan to find,” I asked. “Certainly not buried treasure. Grave robbing is just as illegal as necromancy.”

I was growing slightly nervous. Why would they host a pumpkin festival so close to a damn cemetery? Andthiscemetery of all places. I couldn’t exactly remember where I’d left it, but as Briarwood’s largest public cemetery, what were the odds we’d just happen upon it?

After we’d strolled around for a few minutes through the stones with their intermittent flowers and softly fluttering flags, Cam’s sudden question nearly made me stumble.

“Is this...”

High. The odds were apparently very high.

Cam had pulled me to a stop in front of a newer-looking flat stone. It was black with a name I was all too familiar with etched neatly into it.

“V. Grimsley,” Cam read. “Why do you have a gravestone here?”

Well, cat was out of the bag. I could deny that it was mine, but I didn’t have a particularly common name. Plus, I didn’t like the idea of lying to Cam. He was either going to think I was a genius or a total weirdo. There could not be anything in between.

But the question that came out of my mouth was, “How do you know my last name?”

“Saw it on your mail,” he answered. “Also, Alice said it when she was scolding you. And you told that security guard at the morgue.”

Wow, I felt stupid.

I chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck with chilled fingers, “Right...”

He watched me expectantly. There was no judgement in his eyes, just questions. Questions I had no reason not to answer. Not when it was Cam who was asking them.

“People rob houses, they don’t rob graves anymore,” I told him casually. "I keep important stuff in there.”

Not to mention my drop-everything-and-go bag. Thus, the shovel in my trunk.

When I’d settled on Briarwood because of the job posting, buying my house had been a risk, but one that was necessary to take. I kept my backup plan, my escape route, safely hidden here. Not six feet under, screw shoveling that much dirt, but still safe. It didn’tlessen the lingering sense of fear that hovered around me like a cloud of dread. Where I lived, where I worked, places I frequented… They all carried the risk of being discovered. I couldn’t hide forever but I also couldn’t put my life on hold just because I was afraid. It helped lessen my anxiety to know that I had a way out if I needed it. If I had to abandon my life once more andgo.

Cam was watching me with a patient expression, so I puffed out a breath, dragging my fingers through my hair.

“I used to... move around a lot. I quickly got used to taking only what could fit on my back. Easier that way. I don’t have many mementos or valuables, but those I do have I keep in there.” I gestured to the grave at our feet. “And a bag of essentials and money. Just in case... Well... After what Ro-”

I quickly cut myself off before I said too much.