Fear Of Discovery [Eternal Flames 6]

PROLOGUE “I don’t know if this is such a good idea, Avery,” Manny said nervously as he sat on Avery’s bed and played with a loose thread from the blanket. “Come on, Manny. If not you, then who?” Avery pleaded. “If anyone finds out we could both be in huge trouble. And I’ve never…done anything like this before,” Manny confessed. “I know, but it’ll be okay. It’ll be fun, I promise.” Manny looked up at his best friend with fear in his eyes. “Have you ever?” He shrugged one shoulder. Avery sighed and looked down at his lap. He was quiet for a moment and Manny wasn’t sure he was going to answer. Then Avery raised his head and met Manny’s gaze. “Working with Ethan has made me see a lot of things for what they really are. A lot of things I thought I had done before, I actually haven’t. So, no, I haven’t, but I really want to. And I can’t see doing it with anyone else but you.” Manny could see the pain and guilt in Avery’s eyes right before he looked back down at his lap. His stomach twisted and his heart hurt for his friend. He knew how much Avery had been through when his father and uncle were alive, but just because they were dead now didn’t mean Avery’s nightmares were over. He still struggled with everything that happened and his guilt over everything that Manny had gone through. Even though he told Avery many times how much he forgave him and didn’t blame him for everything, he could still see the guilt Avery held onto. He wanted to help Avery out with whatever he needed, but what he was asking made Manny nervous. He wanted to do this for Avery but didn’t know if he could go through with it. “It’s okay if you don’t want to, Manny. I would never pressure you into anything,” Avery whispered. Manny slid from the bed and sat on the floor, crossing his legs, his knees pressing against Avery’s. He reached out and grabbed his best friend’s hands and waited for Avery to look at him. Once their eyes met Manny gave Avery a small smile. “It’s not that I don’t want to do this with you, it’s just that it makes me nervous. But if you promise me we’ll stop if I can’t go through with it, then I’m willing to try.” The corners of Avery’s lips raised into a full-on smile that stretched across his face and his eyes lit up. “Really?” “Yes, really.” “Thank you, Manny. You really are the bestest friend anyone could ever ask for,” Avery said happily and leaned forward, hugging Manny. “Yeah, well, that remains to be seen if I can actually go through with this. Won’t Illan and Justice be pissed if they find out? I know Angelo and Morgan will freak and s**t purple kittens,” Manny said nervously as they broke the hug. “If you’re too afraid, then we won’t do it. We can figure something else out to celebrate my twenty-first birthday,” Avery offered. Manny could see the truth in Avery’s words, but also the disappointment. His friend had been through so much in his life and didn’t have a whole lot of good memories, and Manny wanted to help him create some, to hell with the consequences. Manny straightened his back and held his head up high as he gave Avery a big smile. “Nope. This is what you want to do, then this is what we’ll do. But I have one question.” Avery chuckled as his eyes lit up with happiness. “Okay, shoot.” “What the hell am I going to wear?” Avery burst out laughing and grabbed Manny’s hand as he stood and pulled Manny to his feet. “Let’s go rummage through my closet and see what crazy s**t we can come up with. It’s not every day you turn twenty-one, or sneak into the next town to go visit a hip gay club. Come on, I think I have a great pair of black jeans that will look fantastic on your sweet bubble-butt.” “Hey! Are you saying I have a fat ass?” Manny asked as he reached back and cupped his ass, and looked over his shoulder trying to get a look at his butt. “You keep turning in a circle like that and everyone will think you’re a dog chasing your own tail,” Avery laughed as he entered his closet. “And you should be letting the hot guys chase that cute ass, not doing it yourself. It’s more fun that way.” “Oh, shut it, you ass.” Manny laughed and joined Avery in his closet. Avery turned around with a small black mesh shirt in his hands and smiled at Manny. “This will look great with the black jeans.” “But won’t that be too small? We’re about the same size and the last time I saw you wear that it seemed to be a bit small on you.” “That’s the point. With this, those tight jeans, and we can do a little guy-liner around your smoking hot crystal-blue eyes, you’ll have to beat the guys off you.” “Do you really think so?” Manny asked shyly. Avery walked closer and put his hands on Manny’s hips. His looked into his eyes and his face softened. “You’re a sexy man, Manny. I should know, I had a crush on you for a long time. But now you’ve become my best friend and I don’t ever want to lose you. We both know that we’ll meet our mate someday, and if we were together, we would have to break each other’s hearts and I’m not willing to do that. You’ve become way too important to me.” Manny blushed from Avery’s words. At first, he had thought that Avery had hated him and that’s why he had been giving him a hard time, but when he found out it was because Avery liked him, that shocked the hell out of him. He didn’t think anyone liked him, much less Avery who was so damn good looking that it hurt to gaze at him. But Manny had never had those kinds of feelings for Avery, and he was never happier about that than he was now. Avery was right, he had become Manny’s best friend and he wouldn’t want a romantic relationship getting in the way of that and probably losing his friend. But he was a gay man and he had desires like anyone else. He just didn’t see anyone wanting him. He was nobody special and very plain. “I see those self-deprecating thoughts running through that cute head of yours. You need to stop that. There is nothing wrong with you, honey. You’re smart and sweet, and adorable as hell, and any guy would be lucky to have you,” Avery admonished. “I guess,” Manny answered shyly and shrugged. “No, I guess. You are, and tonight we are going to prove that. Me and you are going to go have some fun, shake our asses, and check out some hot studs. Now strip and put these on,” Avery said as he handed Manny the mesh top and black jeans. “Oh, and here, put these combat boots on too, they’ll go fabulously with that outfit.” “All black? What am I, Goth now?” Manny asked teasing. “Well, let’s try out the look and see. We’ll spike your hair, put on some makeup and see what happens. Now go get ready while I find something for me.” Manny started to leave the closet when a thought hit him. He turned back to face Avery. “Hey, I thought you were supposed to go away with Justice and Illan for your birthday? I thought they were taking you on a cruise or something?” Avery’s shoulders slumped and a sad look crossed his face. “Yeah, but that’s not happening now,” Avery whispered. Manny stepped closer and placed a hand on Avery’s shoulder. “Why not? What happened?” Avery shrugged. “With everything going on, they, um…kind of forgot.” “What? They forgot about your trip?” Manny asked in horror. “That, and my birthday,” Avery mumbled. And Manny could hear the heartbreak in his voice. “s**t. That’s just not right. You’ve worked hard for almost a year working with Ethan and helping at the shelter, and volunteering at Taylor House. I thought this was their way of telling you how proud they were of you, as well as for your birthday?” “Yeah, well, now with the pixie’s dropping in and everything getting more dangerous, the both of them have been really busy. I guess it just slipped their minds. They said they had something important to talk to me about now that I’m twenty-one and I really wanted to find out what it was, but now I guess that won’t happen, either.” “Do you think maybe they were going to tell you that now that you were doing good and you were twenty-one that you could move out?” Manny asked curiously. Avery met his gaze and shook his head. “No. They said I could stay for as long as I wanted. That this would always be my home. But I was really curious to know what they wanted to talk about. They both seemed so excited. I even went out and got new clothes to wear. Now I guess either they forgot and they’ll tell me later, or they just forgot. Like my birthday,” Avery whispered that last part as he looked down. Manny saw the new clothes hanging in the back of the closet and walked over to them. Holy Hannah, they were see through and seriously inviting, "Avery, were you hoping for something more from them when you bought these?" Avery snatched the shirt Manny held from his hand and put it back on the bar. His cheeks grew red in embarrassment, "No, I was──" "Don't lie to me, Avery. We talked about this. We even went to Ethan about your infatuation with Illan and Justice. He told you it was most likely transference. They took you in and it's only normal to be drawn to them." Sighing heavily, Avery replied, "I know that, but somehow it feels different. I can't explain it. Anyway, it doesn't matter. It's a kids thing and I am not a kid anymore. That's one of the reasons I wanted to go to the club. I thought maybe I'd meet someone and forget──" Avery hung his head, but not before Manny saw the glistening in his best friend’s eyes. Then Avery whispered, "I just thought it might help." Manny felt so bad for his friend. He deserved to have his birthday commemorated. He deserved to have a good time and if he met someone along the way that was just a bonus. As nervous as Manny was about sneaking off to Maddox to go to a gay club, he would swallow his nerves and do it for Avery. He would make sure his friend had a great birthday. “Okay, so what do you think, black liner or blue to match my eyes?” Manny asked with excitement. Avery looked up at him with a big, happy smile. “Black would make you look mysterious, but blue would make your eyes pop.” “Let me go change and then how about we do one of each and see which one we like best? Then we’ll do the same for you,” Manny said with a bright smile. Avery nodded and Manny turned, walking out of the closet. He would make sure his friend had a great birthday. He only hoped that they both weren’t making a big mistake.