A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies - Christina Lee Page 0,13

okay, but maybe some distance right now was for the best. He’d just kissed his best friend, and Rhys was probably considering the repercussions.

Why in the hell did he go through with it in the first place? And why did he want so bad to do it again?

What if they’d just ruined everything?

Emerson licked his lips to not only chase the flavor, but to make sure everything that just happened wasn’t a delusion. It would be the only memory he had of the kiss, he was sure of it.

When Audrey cleared her throat, he nearly jumped out of his skin.

“What?” he asked when a strange look crossed her features.

“How long have you and Rhys…” She waved her hand as her freckles became more pronounced, which normally happened when she was shy or embarrassed.

His stomach bottomed out. “What do you mean?”

“You guys were…well, you were kissing.”

Emerson gasped. “You saw that? We never…” He stammered, attempting to come up with some sort of explanation. “It just happened. Jesus, Audrey.” It freaking figured that his first kiss with a guy—with Rhys—was less private than he’d hoped.

But she sighed dreamily. “Well, I think it’s awesome.”

His eyebrows rose to his hairline. “You do?”

She shrugged. “It’s awesome to fall in love with your best friend.”

He pushed his fingers through his hair. Holy Christ. “I’m not— It was just a kiss, Audrey. And we have stuff to talk about, so you shouldn’t jump to conclusions or think that a kiss means—” Emerson sputtered, but Audrey just laughed and headed out of the kitchen.

“Whatever.”

He stood staring at the counter, then walked to the front door to lock it for the night.

What have I done?

He had that spinny feeling in his stomach again, when it seemed his life was being held together by a pin. But life also felt full of wonder because Rhys had kissed him and it had been amazing.

And yet, that look of panic in his eyes… Was that regret? There was no way to know until he talked to him again. Though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.

“No matter what, I will always be your friend.”

He’d promised.

And Emerson would take it all back if it meant their friendship would be strained.

He couldn’t handle not having him in his life.

He couldn’t lose him, too.

1

Present Day

Rhys

“Be careful up there,” Martin, Rhys’s boss at Flying High, the adventure shop where he worked, warned from his position on the ground. They had arrived at Acadia National Park that morning for a weekend of hiking and rock climbing. Hawkeye Hill was less crowded and a shorter ascent than the other cliffs, and therefore it would take less time to reach the summit. Martin was staying behind to set up camp with a couple of others from their climbing group.

“Always,” Rhys said as he pulled on the anchor rope and positioned his favorite climbing sneaker in the first foothold, while his fingers locked in a small stone fissure to leverage himself. Rhys and Jill were free-climbing today, which meant they were using rope only as an anchor, not to assist their route in any way.

It was freeing to find the hand and footholds on your own; exhilarating, actually. Still, he knew even experienced mountaineers shouldn’t have a casual attitude about the gamble they took every time they scaled a structure. Repetition and experience were never a substitute for vigilance, and he knew climbers who’d learned the hard way with shoddy gear or thoughtless risks.

He’d admit, though, that he was distracted that morning. Not only was the kiss with Emerson on constant rotation in his mind, but also the prospect of seeing him tomorrow at their family dinner, where they would sing that stupid rendition that had become tradition and have cake for Emerson’s birthday. Their busy week had gotten away from them, so he was looking forward to spending time together and finally facing what’d happened between them. In fact, he couldn’t wait.

Why in the hell had he bailed like that the other night? He should’ve stuck around to talk it through, or hell, to do it all over again, but Audrey walking in had made his brain go haywire and he’d needed a minute to think. Or several minutes, he supposed.

Emerson’s confession had shocked the hell out of him. But also…made him feel things he didn’t quite understand yet. Overwhelming things that made his stomach flutter and his heart all achy.

“I really only feel this way around you.”

Damn. That revelation had rocked his world, and made Rhys