I watch him swallow and look into his watery eyes. “I’m sorry. I should have known better. I just . . . You didn’t want to stay the night. And then, I didn’t hear from you on Sunday.”

“I thought maybe you needed some space. I’ll always do what I can to protect you, Camden.”

He smiles at that and nods, taking my hand in his. And it feels right again, like we can get through this together. We can get through anything together.

I start to lean in to kiss him, offer some form of comfort to us both, but his hand lands on my chest and keeps the distance between us. “We need to stop.”

“Stop?”

He nods, biting on his bottom lip but looking determined. “This was great. It was the most amazing gift you could’ve ever given me. But Kingston . . .” He sighs softly, and I don’t think he actually wants to say what he’s about to say. “We have to stop. You have your confidence, and I have my experience, but it’s becoming too dangerous.”

“I don’t give a fuck what anyone says.” And I really don’t. Unless it’s about Camden, and then I want to punch anyone who says anything negative about him.

“I know you think that. But I saw the fear in your eyes that night.”

“I was afraid for you,” I say because that’s all I could think about.

He nods but looks like he doesn’t completely believe me. “Still. We need to stop. It was always supposed to end anyway. Right?”

His eyes meet mine, pleading with me, but I don’t want to let this part go. Not yet. “I . . .”

“We have to.” He’s set on this. I can see it. When he decides something, that’s it. It’s always been that way with him.

“Okay,” I agree reluctantly. “But we can still hang out, right?”

He smiles at that and pushes my shoulder. “Of course. It just goes back to normal. The way it was before. That way, if Kennedy says anything, there’s no proof. We can’t get busted or risk it.”

I take his hand in mine again, meeting his eyes because I know he grew up feeling so different and probably wrong for the feelings he had. But I don’t want him to believe that. “We didn’t do anything wrong. I know you don’t want anyone to know, and you just want to leave. That’s your right. But know I’ll have your back if you ever want to just be who you are. You deserve to be you.”

“It’s too much.” He shakes his head, tears filling his eyes. “Too much of a risk. You heard Kennedy’s reaction. You saw the disgust on her face.”