38. Cameron
thirty-eight
Cameron
Talia falls to her knee and stares up at me, gripping my hardening cock in her small hand.
“Yes, just like that, baby.”
She wraps her lips around the tip and sucks. My hips fly up and force her mouth to open wide and take me deeper. Her head bobs up and down, driving me wild. I’m starving for her. It’s been too long since she’s been in my bed.
“Stop playing around and sit on my dick, Talia.”
A smile plays on her lips as she pulls off my cock with a pop. She bites her lip and crawls up my body. I run a hand down the middle of her body to her perfect pussy and circle her clit with my thumb.
She throws her head back, her tits heaving and screams, “Ding dong.”
What the fuck?
I buck my hips, tugging her hair. Instead of her sweet raspy moans, Talia cries out, “Ding dong,” again.
My eyes fly open.
Fuck, it was just a dream. My cock is hard as stone, and my chest aches as my hand strokes the cold empty side of the bed where Talia sleeps.
It’s been two weeks since I’ve seen her. Since I sent her home.
I’m fucking miserable.
Talia is on a ten-day shift, covering other nurses who switched with her so she could get away for the week with me. I could kick myself for putting her in the car and kissing her goodbye.
She’s texted me, but it’s been quick like she’s avoiding me. I don’t know where that leaves us, and it’s driving me out of my mind.
The doorbell rings again. Who the fuck is at my door at… I check my phone for the time. 5 AM.
I live in a gated community, and the only people allowed past are on my pre-approved list, which means it can only be one of six people.
Fucking great. Just what I need right now.
I climb out of bed and grab a clean t-shirt from my drawer, pulling it over my head, then pick up my athletic shorts from last night. Running a hand through my hair, I pad to the front door and pull it open.
“Hey, kiddo.” My dad stands in front of me with a huge grin on his face, shocking the hell out of me.
“It’s fucking dark out. What are you doing here so early?” I grumble. I mean, I know why he’s here, but… Why is he here?
He lifts a brow at me. “Really?” The look he gives me is one he’s used a million times before. It’s a mix of “stop fucking around” and “are you kidding me right now”.
I play dumb anyway. “It’s early.”
“No shit, Sherlock. Now, get your fucking running shoes on, and let’s go.” He holds up a black stopwatch and dangles it in front of me.
I groan. “Seriously?”
“As serious as a kick in the ass. Now, get moving.”
I hesitate for a second, remembering the grueling canyon run he used to put me through in college. He’d roll up to the baseball house at exactly five and wait for me to come out. Then, he’d drive us to the trails. Sometimes, he would walk; other times, he’d sit on the hood of his car with his stopwatch and push start. Then, he’d say, “Beat it.”
I never pushed as hard as I did during those sessions. There was no time to think, just run. Hard.
“Yes, sir.” There’s no point in arguing with him. He knows as well as I do … I’m going with him.
When I come back, shoes on and ready to go, my dad is sitting in his SUV waiting for me. His car is on the older side and in good shape. He loves this thing even though I think he deserves a new model, but he’s stubborn and refuses to let me upgrade his ride.
I climb into the car, buckle in, and sit back. Just like the old days, Dad’s favorite 80s’ rock band plays in the background as we sit in silence and head towards Topanga Canyon State Park—our old stomping grounds.
When we park in the lot at the base of the trailhead, Dad climbs out and starts up the fire road. Surrounded by red stone and green mountains, my anxiety about everything ebbs.
No thinking, we walk. I breathe in deep. There’s no fire ravaging the hills or a tinge of smog left in the air, only a hint of sea salt and a clean California breeze.
“Are you ready to talk?” Dad asks, breaking the silence as we reach the two-mile lookout.
I’m surprised we made it this far without talking. “About?”
“Quit yanking my dick, boy, and talk to me already.”
Ladies and gentlemen, my dad, the wordsmith.
“Does Mom know you talk like this?” I chuckle. I know damn well she does. He’s fantastic at hiding it and being proper in public.
“How do you think I won her over? Pretty words only go so far.” He smirks and winks at me.
I bark a laugh. “Touché.”
My brain automatically conjures up a picture of Talia blushing as I give her a rundown of all the dirty things I want to do to her. The way her pussy gets wet with desire when I pull her hair and call her my good little slut .
“I guess being a dirty-mouthed mother fucker is hereditary.” Joking with him makes me feel better about having to tell him what’s going on in my head.
My dad laughs. “I forget how alike we are.”
“No wonder I’m Mom’s favorite.” I bump his shoulder as we continue our trek.
When we make it to the mile-three marker, the sun is rising behind us. I plop down onto one of the open benches that overlook the Pacific Ocean.
Dad takes a seat next to me. “Are you really not going to tell me what’s going on with you?”
“Who says something’s going on with me?”
“Everyone. It doesn’t take a genius to know it has something to do with that punch you took to the jaw.”
I feign hurt, clutching my chest. “Listening to the talking heads again, are ya?”
“I don’t have to listen to them to know when my boy is in a slump. I was there, and I’ve been watching you with my own damn eyes.”
“Jesus, you’re not supposed to say the S word out loud.” I knock on the wooden bench. You can never be too careful.
“Oh please. That’s not a real thing.”
It is. Ask any baseball player.
“Besides, I’m not in a sl— I’m not in one, okay?” I can’t say the word out loud. My dad might not believe in luck, but I do. Saying the word is a jinx, and I already have my work cut out for me.
“You can deny that shit to everyone but me. I know you, Cam. Your head’s not into it. You haven’t hit shit in the last four games, and you might as well be pitching softballs. You keep fucking up, and your team won’t make it to the end.”
“Geez, Pop, tell me how you really feel.” I groan. I fucking hate it when he’s right. My head isn’t in it, and everyone knows it. “You think I don’t know all this? I told Anson to bench my ass, but he’s having too much fun torturing me. ”
“Good. Take your lumps like a man.” He slaps my back.
“That’s what Coach said.”
Anson said a lot more than that during our meeting the day after. He called me and Nico into his office to yell at us about sportsmanship and team unity. For once, Nico looked remorseful when he apologized for punching me. I accepted. End of. No explanations necessary. I didn’t want Talia brought into Evaders’ business even though all parties knew she was the reason he’d hit me.
After the meeting, Romero ducked out to go to the Home Run Derby. I’m glad he did. I don’t think I would have been able to stop myself from asking him about Talia. Not knowing where I stand with her is killing me. But I promised her space, so that’s what I’m going to give her.
“Smart man. Knew I liked Anson. So, what’s next?”
“I have no fucking clue.” I don’t know what to do to get my head back in the game. All I can think about is Talia.
“So, you’re just going to continue being a sad sack?” He looks at me like I grew a second head.
“Jesus, is this how I sound to others?”
A resounding “Yes!” fills the air from behind.
I turn around to find my three older brothers standing back at the fork in the trail, arms crossed and eyes narrowed, looking like they are ready to whip my ass.
“What the fuck are you guys doing here?”
Jace walks over and smacks me upside the head.
“Hey, what was that for?” That fucking hurt.
“For fucking up,” he says.
“How do you know I fucked up?” I rub my head.
“Because you’re a Miller, and that’s what we do,” Mason interjects. He joins me and Dad on the bench. “At least, before we get the girl.”
“Speak for yourselves,” Eli snarks.
My dad points at him. “Your day will come, E. Just you wait. ”
“Whatever. We didn’t hike all this fucking way to talk about my love life.” Eli shifts from foot to foot, looking uncomfortable talking about his so-called love life, as usual.
“That’s because you don’t have one,” Jace jokes.
“He’s got you there.” Mason covers his mouth with his fist, hiding his laugh.
“Fuck off,” Eli grumbles. “I could have one if I wanted. I’m just busy right now.”
“Enough,” my dad interrupts. “We can rag on Eli later. We need to fix Cameron before your mom starts crying about him never giving her grandbabies.”
“Mason doesn’t have any either.” I chuck my thumb at my brother. “She should bug him. He’s the married one.”
I look over to find Mason puffing his chest with a grin. “I will in seven months.”
“Dude.” I throw my arm around his neck and squeeze the fuck out of him, giving him a noogie. “This is fucking awesome news. Congrats.”
“Easy, kid. He’s turning blue.” Jace pulls me off Mason, who sucks in a ragged breath before he’s wrapped in another bear hug from Jace and then Eli.
“Why didn’t you say something at Riah’s party?” Jace looks a little hurt.
Mason shrugs. “We didn’t want to overshadow her first birthday.”
“Thanks, man, but Rylann and I wouldn’t have cared. I’m sure Ry already knows anyway.” Jace smiles thinking about his wife.
Mason chuckles. He looks so damn happy. I’m only, like, twenty-percent jealous. Okay, fine, ninety percent, but it’s only because I miss my girl.
“She does. Busted Em throwing up at work and railed into her for being a shit secret keeper.”
We all have a good laugh at that. My sister-in-law is beyond intuitive .
“Your mother and I knew.” Dad smiles like the proud grandad he is. “I hope it’s a girl too. Too many boys in this family. It’s become a sausage party.”
I burst out laughing while my brothers groan.
“How have we never realized that Cameron is Dad’s clone?” Jace muses, making us all laugh.
I drape my arm over Dad’s shoulders. “Because you like to deny being in the presence of double the greatness.”
“You’re an idiot.” Mason punches me in the arm.
“Mase, watch the arm,” Dad chides. Good old Mark Miller is my fucking hero. “He just pitched a perfect game. He’s not ready for retirement yet.”
“Can we get back to the point, so we can get off this godforsaken mountain before we cook in the sun?” Eli runs his hands through his hair. I bet the bastard is itching to get back to the office.
“Speaking of retirement…” Everyone looks my way with horrified looks on their faces. “Relax. I’m not retiring. At least, not yet.”
My dad starts breathing again, and it feels damn good to know he still has faith in me to turn shit around. This is the perfect opportunity to get some things off my chest.
“I know you guys think I’m a jokester. A playboy who doesn’t take life seriously and can’t be trusted to watch your kids alone or work with you. But there’s more to me.”
“Hold up,” Jace cuts me off, looking appalled. He places a hand on his chest. “None of us think that, Cameron. If I ever made you feel like I didn’t trust you with Rhys, I’m sorry, little brother. I know you would die for that kid. When I look at you with him, it makes me so fucking proud of the man you’ve become. I’m proud to call you my brother. Sure, you fuck around, but when it comes down to it, you have always been there for us. You’ve proven, time and again, what an amazing man you are. On and off the diamond.”
I’m stunned silent, and my stomach squelches. I’ve never heard him say anything like this before .
Mason interjects next. “Cam, you amaze me every day with your dedication and willpower. Your strength to achieve something so many dream about and so few accomplish in their lifetime. No offense, Dad.”
“None taken. I completely agree with you, Mase.” Dad looks me in the eye. “Cam, you wanted to pitch in the majors, and you made that happen. Sure, I helped along the way, but you were the one who showed up and put in the work. You graduated from college with two degrees and went into the MLB draft right after. I couldn’t be prouder of you.”
Eli continues, “Cam, we know you’re more than just a professional baseball player. We just weren’t sure you saw it. You majored in communications and sports management. You think I didn’t know why? Hell, I’ve been waiting for you to bring up working with me someday. Why do you think I’ve made friends with other agents who rep athletes?”
I point at him. “Because you like being the spider of Hollywood with all your secrets and favors?”
Eli preens like a peacock and shoots us all a smug grin. “New nickname alert.”
“Great, look what you did, Cam.” Dad knocks me upside the head.
“Hey, quit it with all the hitting.” The joy of being the youngest? I get beaten up the most.
“Anyway,” Eli steers us back on track. “I made all those connections for you. For when you’re ready to step into the new phase of your life.”
My throat clogs with emotion, my nose tingles, and my eyes cloud over. I knew my family loved me, but I guess I underestimated how much. My girl was right. My brothers have always seen me. The real me.
“You don’t know how much it means to me to hear you all say that. I love you guys.” I look away and wipe my eyes on my shirt. The distinct sounds of throats clearing have me glancing up to see all the men in my life overwhelmed with emotion. “We better get off this mountain. I think I’m allergic to trees or something.”
Everyone chuckles as Jace pulls me into a hug. “Love you, kid.”
“I thought we came to fix his love life, not kiss his ring and tell him how fantastic he is,” Eli jokes.
“That’s Mr. Fantastic to you.” I point at him and wink. “Besides, there’s no fixing my love life. I pushed Talia to go home and fix stuff with her brother. Being here with you made me realize I did the right thing by giving her space. Sure, it’s killing me, but I did what I had to do to save her family. There isn’t a single person on the planet I’d let come between us. She deserves the same choice.”
“Wait.” Mason scratches his head. “I get what you’re saying, but how does that relate to her brother punching your pretty face?”
Jace taps his nose. “Good question. You’re leaving something out.”
“Spill. It’s the only way we can help you fix this shit.” Eli rubs his hands together, ready for the dirty details. My brothers are too fucking smart; it figures they would catch on.
I rub the back of my neck. If there was a way to take this to the grave, I would do it in a heartbeat. “You know how Romero hates me, right?”
“Yes,” they all say in unison.
“Well, umm, he hates me because … I slept with his girlfriend.” I spit the words out as fast as I can, the burn like acid on my tongue.
“When?” Eli asks.
“That’s the thing. He didn’t say when. I didn’t know he even had a girlfriend to begin with. And you can be sure as fuck I would never knowingly sleep with her. I don’t do that shit.” I look at Jace, begging him to believe me.
He went through a lot with his ex-wife. She cheated on him, got pregnant, and then trapped him into marrying her. It took him years before he admitted this to us.
“I believe you,” Jace says .
My shoulders sag in relief. After hearing my brothers tell me they are proud of me, the last thing I wanted was to tell them this and possibly lose their respect.
Eli laughs. “You’re telling me this guy hates you because you slept with his chick an undetermined amount of time ago? No. He’s a fucking liar. That’s just the cherry on the sundae. He hated you before that.”
“Agree,” Mason says, scratching his five o’clock shadow. “He was a prick from the start.”
I don’t disagree, but it changes nothing. “It doesn’t matter, guys. There’s no way Talia will ever look at me the same way again. I can’t even look at myself in the mirror. She’s better off without me. At least this way, she has her family to support her.”
“Horseshit.” All eyes fall on Dad, who is shaking in disappointment. “She’s your person. She knew you weren’t a saint when you started dating, and she fell for you anyway. Her family can just get on board. No one loves that girl more than you. So, fuck them. Go get your girl.”
Eli rubs his hands together. “You know what this means, right?”
Jace and Mason smirk.
“What does it mean?” Dad asks.
I kid you not. Eli’s creepy eye glints as he grins at me like the devil. “It’s grand gesture time. And I have just the thing.”
“Whatever you have in mind, no.” I do not trust the look in his eye.
“Too bad. I have eight favors, and I’m cashing one in.” Eli pulls out his phone and texts someone.
Jace whistles. “How’d you stack so many favors?”
I shrug off his question. No way am I telling him how I accrued that many favors. Eli better keep his mouth shut too, or I’ll have to bury him.
Eli continues to type on his phone. “‘Cause he’s a dumb-ass and asked his busy big brother for help instead of hiring an assistant to clean up his messes. ”
“You were supposed to be helping me with that for the off-season.”
“Don’t worry. I found you the perfect person.”
“Really?” Damn. I’m curious to find out who he thinks is the perfect assistant. “When do I get to meet him?”
“Her.”
“Nope. No way.” What the fuck is Eli thinking? I don’t need some chick pretending that she likes baseball and trying to sleep with me.
Eli shoves his phone in his pocket. “Just trust me. Now, let’s fucking go. Grab some food—’cause I’m starving—then meet my guy at nine. He’ll be waiting to help you out with that grand gesture. Then, I set up a meeting with your new assistant at the stadium for after practice.”
“Let’s go back to this grand gesture. What did you have in mind?” I ask him.
“You need something big enough for Talia to know you’re serious about her, but also something a guy like Romero can respect. For him to be cool, you need something that proves your loyalty.”
“That doesn’t really answer my question.”
Eli’s being too cryptic, and it’s freaking me out.
Dad, Jace, and Mason share a similar skeptical look and start down the trail ahead of me and Eli. My stomach growls, and for once, I’m not sure if it’s because I’m hungry or nervous.
Eli throws his arm over my shoulder and tugs me forward. “Don’t worry, baby bro. I got you.”
That’s what I’m afraid of.