Page 99 of Steady Stroke
High praise, considering. “You’re welcome. Get some rest, okay?”
“You too.”
Watching Emmett drive away from the house left Lincoln unsettled in a way he couldn’t describe, even to himself. Something had changed between him and Emmett this weekend, but he didn’t know what or how. All he knew was that he loved Emmett more than ever, and he’d do whatever it took to keep things right between them.
No matter what.
Emmett did exactly what he told Lincoln he was going to do—he crawled into bed and stayed there for the rest of the night. His guilt stone made moving nearly impossible, never mind foraging for food. No one bothered him until long after dark, when Adrian came into his room.
“How was the wedding?” he asked.
“Except for my epic panic attack? Fun.” Emmett rolled to face his cousin, who was leaning against the shut bedroom door. “His sister was really nice. Lincoln and I danced together at the reception.”
“That’s cool. Kind of like coming out without words.”
“Kind of.”
“So why are you here alone, instead of with your boyfriend? Overexposure?”
“I love him.”
Adrian’s eyebrows arched. “Good for you. Honestly. He loves you, too, I guess?”
“Yes. That’s why I have to tell him.”
“Tell him what? That you love him?”
“About the accident.”
“What?” Adrian knelt beside the bed, putting them at eye level, his expression as intense as it had been the night he told Emmett the truth about the hit-and-run. “Why now?”
Emmett’s insides twisted up so tight he could barely breathe, much less talk. “He tells people how amazing I am, how great a person I am, and all I can do is see someone I nearly killed. I could have taken him away from his sister, who was so happy to have him at her wedding. I could have taken him away from Roxy and Dominic and all the other Boundses. Me, Adrian. I love Lincoln, but I’m lying to him.”
He wasn’t sure when the first tears started leaking.Adrian pulled a tissue from the box on his side table and shoved it at him, his own face blotchy. Emmett sat up and blew his nose. His entire body ached, his heart hurt, and he was pretty sure his soul was weeping, too.
“We even talked about the future this weekend,” Emmett said. “About if we ever wanted to get married, or to have kids. Things couples talk about when they’re building a life together, and I can’t start that life with this lie between us. The longer I wait, the worse it will be when he finds out. I’ve almost told him more than once.”
“What stopped you?”
“You.”
Adrian’s head jerked. “Me?”
“I don’t want to get you in trouble for keeping this a secret all year. For being in the truck with me. Hiding the dent.”
“Do you really think Lincoln would turn us in to the cops?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so, but he’d want to tell the others who were in the car with him. Dominic, Benji, Joshua, Tyson. They were all hurt, especially Joshua. He nearly died, too. One of them might want to make us pay.”
Adrian sat on the bed beside him, then looked at his lap. Emmett braced for a fight. Pleas or threats, anything for Emmett to stay silent. Except when Adrian raised his head again, his eyes were damp, his face resigned. “Okay.”
“Okay what?”
“Tell Lincoln the truth. Whatever happens is what happens. We made bad choices last summer, Em. Both of us. We gotta face the consequences sometime, right?”
Emmett’s heart broke a little bit. “Yeah, we do. Should we tell your mom first?”
“No. Lincoln deserves to know first.”
