The Silver Fox (Red's Tavern 3)

“Really though, we’ve just been talking,” Perry said, going back over to the stove. He was cooking up a batch of fresh bacon for what looked like BLT sandwiches. “Where has your pretty ass been today, Rock?”

“Well,” I said, taking a seat at one of the stools at the breakfast bar. “I... just got back from the Amberfield-Bridgeview fire station, actually.”

Perry’s eyes shot up to look at me, and Cam just smiled.

“You were there?”

I nodded once. “I met a few of the guys on the floor and talked to the division chief. It’s a really nice place they’ve got there.”

“Must be pretty different from what you’re used to back in the city, right?” Cameron asked.

“It’s different. Smaller, of course. But good.”

“I had no idea you were going to talk to them,” Perry said, genuine shock still on his face.

“I wanted to go check it out before I mentioned anything to you,” I said, “because I was actually there asking about openings.”

“You’re kidding me,” Perry said.

“Hell yes, Rock, that’s awesome,” Cam said. “Things really must be getting serious between you two.”

I cocked my head for a moment, looking between Cameron and Perry. “Wait, you didn’t tell him, too?”

A slight blush appeared on Perry’s cheeks, and suddenly he acted very interested in what was going on with his pan of bacon.

“Tell me what?” Cam asked.

“That… I’m considering moving to Amberfield,” I said quickly, trying to cover up for my mistake. I couldn’t believe Perry hadn’t told Cam that our reunion relationship was fake, knowing that he’d told his mother.

But apparently, Cameron hadn’t known at all.

“I didn’t know you were considering it that seriously,” Perry said. “Seriously enough to ask around the fire department here.”

“They actually said they’d be happy to have me there, if I do move down here.”

“Well of course, you’re totally overqualified for that place,” Perry said.

I shook my head. “I’m not really worried about that. I’m not in it for prestige. I’m in it because it’s the one thing I really feel like I’m good at. Useful at. You know?”

“Right,” Perry said.

“Having you around here would be amazing,” Cameron said. “You guys are ready to take that next step, huh? How long have you been together again?”

Perry and I both paused, our eyes locking. The only sound was the pop and sizzle of the bacon.

And then slowly, we both started smiling. Which turned into laughter, and a very, very confused Cameron.

“Oh God, I’m sorry, Cam,” Perry said, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “But I think Rock and I have something we need to tell you.”

It was a relief hearing him say it. I wanted to be honest, and it was obvious that Perry did too.

“We weren’t actually a couple at the reunion,” Perry said.

“Oh, please,” Cameron said, waving a hand through the air. “I don’t buy that for a second.”

“It’s true,” I said.

“I saw the two of you there. You were practically the happiest couple I’d ever seen.”

“But it wasn’t real,” Perry said. “Christ, Cameron, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, keeping the truth from you. But I did it for the family.”

Cameron looked at Perry like he was some sort of alien. “You lied to us about being in a relationship?”

Suddenly it didn’t seem so funny. Guilt flared through me, sinking my stomach.

“I wanted Mom to be okay. With everything going on. You know?”

Cameron looked deflated. He leaned forward on the kitchen counter, staring into the middle distance like he was trying to understand something he couldn’t grasp.

“Cam, I’m sorry,” I said. “For what it’s worth, it was my idea.”

“It’s okay, Rock,” he said, still not looking at me. “It’s just… hard for me to believe anything these days, and I really believed in you two.”

“Well, you still can,” Perry said softly. He turned off the burner, taking the pan of bacon off. He pulled in a long breath. “Because I do feel something for Rock. Something bloomed during the reunion, that neither of us ever expected.”

“And that’s why I’m looking around at where my career could take me if I came down here,” I said. “It was fake, but it’s real now. And I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to say that.”

There was a lull in the conversation, and I could tell Perry was feeling just as much guilt and regret as I was. I second guessed everything, thinking that we should have just kept it a little secret from Cameron, never told him the truth, and went along as a couple, no harm, no foul.

But Cam finally leaned back, scrubbing his palms over his face, and shook his head at Perry.

“Oh, I’m going to get you back for this one,” he said, a glimmer appearing in his eyes.

I could see the tension draining from Perry’s expression. “Oh, are you?”