“I know.” I move closer to him, seeing his eyes are wet with unshed tears and more than likely so much fear and anxiety, even though he still tries to hide it. “You don’t always have to be the strong one.”

He laughs at that sadly and sniffs. “Yeah. Clearly, I’m not the strong one. I just keep everything quiet and play my part. It’s all I’ve ever done.”

“Must be exhausting,” I say with certainty because I know it’s true. I’ve watched him trying to carry everyone his entire life. His mom when his dad left. Our team. Me. Everyone he comes into contact with.

Camden Prescott is his world’s keeper. And it’s not fair.

“Let me take some of the weight. I don’t care if they call me gay or whatever.”

He shakes his head slowly, sniffing again. “Rumors are scary, even if they aren’t true, Kingston. You have to know that. You were terrified of Kennedy starting shit about you.”

I shrug and try to mull that over. Yeah, the thought of her telling everyone I have a small dick and I’m bad in bed was scary. But I could have shaken it off in public. Mostly, I was afraid she was right.

“Well, you proved her wrong on the whole dick thing. But not the lay part yet,” I add coyly, and he shakes his head at me.

“We’re not doing that again.”

I don’t address that because I still want to go there. But right now isn’t the time. “She fucked with my confidence. I was worried it was true, and I needed a boost, which you gave me. But them using fucked-up slurs and making fun of gay people or being gay, that’s totally different. That’s not okay. At all. If I’m a bad lay, I can change that. You can’t and shouldn’t want to change this part of you.”

He looks at me carefully, his eyes studying my face. “Wow, Kingston.”

“What?” I cock my head to the side in question.

“That’s um . . .” He swallows thickly again, his eyes trailing over my face, seeming to land on my lips before meeting my eyes. “That’s really enlightened, and I’m sorry I didn’t have your back. I should have.”

“I get it. It’s scary.” I move closer to him, my shoulder brushing his as I turn my head to look into his eyes and cupping his cheek with my hand. “I’ll always keep your secrets.”

“I’m tired of them having to be secrets, but they do.”

I nod my head. I may not 100 percent understand his fears because I’m not in his position, but I care about him. I want to make things better for him. “Can I kiss you again?”